Fri 27th Dec: Give the "Red Dogs" a chance

Cinder, Santa and Georgia (photos thanks to Harryn again)

I got the best greeting when I dropped by the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre today, as several of the puppies now staying there know me from their Lamma days or Sundays at Whiskers N Paws.  Maddie started it (her foster parent is a volunteer so Maddie comes to "work" with her), then Georgia and Santa joined in the excitement, and that prompted the others to rush over even though they weren't really sure why.  There's nothing better than to have so many happy and friendly faces looking so pleased to see you, with tails wagging like crazy.  We have such a lovely group of puppies at the Homing Centre and you're welcome to come and experience the "puppy rush" any day, or come to Whiskers N Paws on Sunday afternoons.

I think the one on the right is Santa, Anna on the left

One puppy who won't be there this Sunday or any other is Anna, Santa's sister, and while I'm always happy about any puppy or dog finding a home this adoption makes life much easier for me.  Why?  Because when I've been trying to add names to the photos taken at the puppy afternoons I could never tell which one was Santa and which was Anna.  Anna was taken home last Sunday for fostering and we got the message today that she'll be staying.

Sweet Vera leaving the Tai Po Homing Centre

I forgot to mention another confirmed adoption yesterday, that of Vera, a Tai Po dog who went home recently.  There's been a good number of adoptions in these past few days which helps boost the total for the year to close to five hundred, and that's not bad at all.


Our Ap Lei Chau volunteer Harryn made a great video of the dogs playing in the dog park, and you can see it on our HKDR Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hkdogrescue/videos/598510734232230/

A few of the dogs shown are "Red Dogs", meaning they're not suitable for homes with children, but you'll see that corgi Bonnie is lovely with the volunteers and she just needs the right adopter.  Mercury is coming on leaps and bounds, literally, as you can see he's a poodle with loads of energy.  The other name for mercury is quicksilver, and that's exactly right.  Mercury is a dog that would really benefit from long hikes, swimming, and all of the things that few poodles get. 

A dog that is impossible to rehabilitate or re-train is extremely rare, and as I've said many times before it's often poodles that end up with behaviour issues because they're incorrectly thought of as being lap dogs or baby substitutes.  Maya was a "Red Dog" who was given the chance to prove herself, and our regular volunteers can vouch for the fact that all of the "Red" poodles are lovely once they know and trust you.  Here's Maya's Christmas update:

Maya was one of the very lucky "Red" poodles given a chance

"I thought I would take this time to wish you all at HKDR a very Merry Christmas. I have been reading your blog and know you have had some very sad cases lately so thought I would cheer you up a bit by giving you an update on Maya. She is doing great. She is a very different dog from when I picked her up from Ap Lei Chau a couple of years ago.

She will always be a little doggie with a large personality, but she is very playful, smart and funny, loves her ball (s) and Teddy (a Rogz thins toy that is looking slightly worse for wear) and is a very loving and sweet companion as long as you are not trying to bath her! We have recently moved to Lantau which has been really good for her. She still gets a bit nervous when it’s busy so now I take her to the beach where it’s quiet so she can run around and play. All in all she has come a very long way. She no longer bites or resource guards but you do have to be very patient with her and just give her a bit more time to get used to things.

You can teach her anything and quickly providing there are treats involved and she in particular loves to learn new games."