Mon 23rd Dec: Some happy stories for Christmas

I realised this morning that far from being a day off (due to our driver Ming being on holiday all week) I had a lot of things on my "to do" list that couldn't wait.  Anyway, if it's good news I'm more than happy to be working, and today there were a couple of special cases that brightened my day.

Isaac's ready for Christmas!

This was how Isaac arrived, left outside our Homing Centre

The first was that little Isaac, the senior pom who had been dumped in a cage outside our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, was picked up by his new foster parent, with adoption on the cards if all goes well.   Just seeing the photo of him snuggled into his soft bed made me smile, and I bet this was the best day of his life for a very long time.

The other great piece of news was that the adoption paperwork has been completed for Billy, and he'll be leaving Tai Po to start his new life on Thursday.  Billy was the first of the shocking cruelty case dogs that I took from AFCD when the trial had finally been concluded, and after the six-plus months all of the surviving dogs had to stay as case exhibits. 

Beautiful Billy the day I took him out of AFCD

It should be said that their life at AFCD was a step up from the horrors of where they'd come from, and at least they had food, water, and also veterinary care for the extreme cases.   When I first saw them after they'd been rescued from the shelter they were emaciated, and Billy was the first to stand out as being "normal" while most were unresponsive and in shock.   The AFCD staff gave him the name of Billy, and they helped him and the others recover from their trauma.   I believe Billy is the first of all of those cruelty case dogs to have been adopted, and I hope this is the start of a trend for the others still waiting at the AFCD Centres and other rescue organisations.

Jemma's also a sweet and happy girl 

We also have have Robin, Jemma, Lily and Tawny from the same cruelty case waiting at Tai Po, and even if you can't adopt perhaps you could consider sponsoring their care through the Life Saver Club.  You can email volunteer Ellen at lifesaver@hongkongdogrescue.com for details.

Tony-now-Mocho is so happy in his new home

I was reminded today by Yannie at Tai Po that Toby, who had his adoption confirmed yesterday, was the same dog that his now ex-owners had wanted to surrender to us.  I hadn't connected the dots myself as I'd taken him from AFCD where he'd been abandoned, and the worst thing is that Toby had actually been adopted from HKDR as a puppy and I'd agreed to take him back, even though I was furious that he was being left behind when the family were leaving Hong Kong.  The only thing I asked for was a surrender fee, and that was the last I heard from the scrooges.  The irony is that the way the ex-family had described his temperament is nothing like the sweet dog he really is, so I guess Toby just didn't like them and is in a far better place now.

Sweet deams Maddie

One final happy Christmas scene from Maddie's foster home, which she returned to after a stay at Whiskers N Paws.  They'd missed her so much they asked if they could take her back, so everyone's clearly very happy now.