Sun 29th Dec: A happy final 2019 Sunday

Ferris is a young boy poodle 

Before talking about the great day we had today, I should correct the information from yesterday's post when I said we were taking in a poodle/schnauzer cross.  As it turned out it was two dogs, a poodle and a schnauzer separately and both boys, so they'll be heading off on Monday for their vet checks and licensing.  The poodle (Ferris)  is young, schnauzer Schnitzel older, but I haven't met them yet so can't be sure of their probable age.  They're both very sweet dogs though, and I have to thank Kaz of Freedom Rides for delivering them to us on a Sunday.

Jonah is now an official family member

Schnitzel is a schnauzer boy

Back to today, we had a busy last-of-the-year afternoon at Whiskers N Paws, with the adoption of foster babies Jonah and Marina confirmed, plus little Kayak although he wasn't actually present. 

Miley left her brother Merlin behind to move to her new home

Jonah's sister, Miley, was also given the gift of a forever home, while the biggest, in terms of size and surprise, came right at the end when Maddie was adopted.  Sweet Maddie finally got her family, and while it will almost certainly be scary for her at first having to adjust, I'm sure she'll soon be fine. 

We had two photographers doing the honours today, Aaron Howland

 Puppy Adoption Day 29 December 2019 - Part 1

and Rodger So  Puppy Adoption Day 29 December 2019 - Part 2 and thanks to both for not only helping in such a valuable way but also being such a great addition to our volunteer team.

Marina's foster status was changed to adopted

Maddie will be missed as she's such a sweet girl

Another older puppy who had to wait a long time for her forever family is Dorothy, and I can now confirm that she's slotted right in and is loved by everyone in the home, children included, and she won't be coming back.

Remember Dorothy?  She has her own family now

Mercury  has transformed from the terrified poodle that he was

Before choosing Maddie in the end, her family had visited our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre and were also considering older puppy Melanie and young poodle Mercury.  Melanie is a very sweet girl but shy at first, while Mercury has delighted everyone by dropping his fearful shell and becoming a happy and cheerful young poodle, full of energy and enthusiasm for games.  We would still not recommend him for families with young children but overall the transformation has been quite amazing.  Mercury needs adopters with an active lifestyle, including hiking and swimming, so if that's you please come and meet him.

Going back to the adoption of puppy Jonah, his family are first-timers and they took advantage of our promise to all adopters that you are never alone with an HKDR dog.  It was a struggle at first with a young puppy and never having had any dog experience before, but with the help of our trainer Cactus (any myself on Sundays), they persevered and finally took the big step today. 

As I tell all puppy adopters, baby puppies and baby humans are basically the same when it comes to their need for gentle guidance and training, the difference being that you can see progress week by week with a puppy, and the growing is compressed into a matter of months rather than years.  What seems like an insurmountable problem one week will have disappeared by the next, and before you know it you have a new member of the family who understands you and the the house rules.  All it takes is a little patience with lots of praise and reward when the puppy gets it right, and that's it.