Wednesday 29 May 2019

Weds 29th May: Dog rescue isn't as simple as it sounds

I had a full day working from home rather than a day off today, as we have so many projects in the pipeline that need to be dealt with.  It would be simple if dog rescue was just about taking care of and finding homes for dogs, but there's so much more to it than that.   Somehow we have to raise the money to pay for food, vet bills, rent and staff salaries, even if we try to keep overheads as low as possible, and we wouldn't be able to manage any of this without volunteer support as well.

It's easy to donate via www.twopresents.com
Donors and sponsors also play a large part in keeping HKDR running, and the extra food donations as well as other materials are important to us too, even the newspaper we use for the puppy toilet areas.  In fact we can use pretty much anything when it comes to helping, such as cleaning products, rubber gloves, mops and buckets.  We get so many requests from young students wanting to volunteer or do something useful, and while we can't accept anyone under eighteen years of age to walk the dogs or even be with them,  collecting miscellaneous donations is one thing that anyone can do as part of their school projects.   Our younger supporters (and adults too!) can also help by sharing their birthdays and other celebrations via www.twopresents.com, making donating easy and hassle-free.

Another aspect of dog rescue work that we consider to be almost as important as finding the right homes for our dogs, is the follow-up support we provide for all adopters.  Nobody who takes a dog or puppy home from HKDR is left to deal with everything by themselves, whether it's training or anything else.  It's important to us to know that everything is going well and that nobody is struggling to cope, because in the end it's the dogs that will be affected.  The last thing we want is to have a grown-up puppy returned for behaviour issues that could and should have been addressed right from the start. That's why we say: You're Never Alone with an HKDR Dog.

We have some new volunteer recruits to our fundraising team, and work is already underway on this year's big event at the Aberdeen Marina Club taking place on Saturday 21st September.  A "Save the Date" memo is about to be sent out so I won't spoil it by giving anything away here, although I can say we are all excited about the new look and feel of this important fundraiser and how it's taking shape.

Minto has a home to go to after his vet check
Although he still has to go to the vet for a check-up and vaccination, the little "French corgi" puppy Minto already has a home to go to. We have so many other young and small-sized dogs available at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre including two gorgeous little pug girls (although Tiggy is currently in a post-surgery foster home) , Peppa the French bulldog, Freckles the spotty-nosed mix, poodle Twizzle and, of course, the baby pups and their mother.
Freckles is a gorgeous young boy
Twiglet is also young and very sweet


All of the above are very sweet and easy young dogs so finding homes won't be a problem, but we also have some special cases who need more experienced adopters who have the patience and knowledge to help the dogs overcome their past.  One of those is pretty Marnie who was abandoned at AFCD following her ex-owner's divorce when neither side wanted her.  She arrived at the Homing Centre as a very scared and confused little girl, but she's already much happier and is beginning to accept human attention as well as enjoying being with the other dogs.  We think she would do best in a home where there was another confident dog so she could continue to watch and learn as she's doing now, so if you can help her by offering a place in your family (no children please) let us know.

Marine is much happier these days



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