Fri 17th Jan: Ex-mother and mother-to-be

Cara is now a 2 year-old cockapoo

We took in the little mother dog that had arrived at Catherine's Puppies with one dead newborn and another barely alive, and presumably due to the trauma of being transported during or immediately after giving birth, and the fact that the live pup was removed from the mother and put in a separate carrier (why??), the second baby also died.  The mother hadn't bonded and shows no signs of missing her puppies, and in fact it's hard to see that just days ago she was pregnant.  During the few days of fostering it became apparent that all now-Cara was interested in was being cuddled herself, and being a mother didn't play any part in her life.  At Acorn today she just wanted to sit on my lap and make herself at home, letting everyone that came into the clinic know that she was there.

Cara's a very pretty little dog, and as she needed to be microchipped and licensed I had to give her a breed name.  She's part poodle but her face isn't poodle-ish, and then it dawned on me that she's probably a cockapoo, half poodle, half cocker spaniel.  We get asked so many times for this "breed", so now we have one.  I do need to say that while being adorable and very affectionate, Cara would like to be an only "child" and have all the attention, so no other dogs, cats or rabbits.  The vet Dr Seems estimated she's two years old, so that's also now official.

If you're interested in adopting Cara please complete the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire as a first step.  I don't respond to adoption enquiries on this blog, or on Facebook other than asking everyone to complete the questionnaire.

Nando and Scarlet seemed to be best friend

While this ex-mother girl was being prepared for her new life, we had another very big suprise when poodle Scarlet was sent for desexing and found to be heavily pregnant.  Scarlet came from AFCD along with another poodle, Nando, and as they seemed to be close we assumed they had been in the same home before.   My first thought was that Nando was the father of Scarlet's pups, but then I was reminded that Nando was already desexed when he came to us.  We tried asking AFCD for information but that didn't work, so we have no idea who the father is, or what.  The only thing we can  be sure of is that the mother is a poodle.  We also need a foster home for Scarlet that us reasonably close to Acorn in case of emergencies, so if you can help please contact Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.

Which brings me round to the subject of poodle crossbreeds, from doodles to cockapoos and all of the other silly names they are given.   If Scarlet's puppies don't have a poodle father and he has a flat coat, the pups may have a poodle-type coat or not. The same applies to all of the poodle crossbreeds but you never see a labradoodle with a flat labrador coat.  Why is that you might wonder.  It's because the breeders dispose of the pups that don't have the desired look, and there's a 50-50 chance of that when you cross two breeds. It's a horrible business that's ruthless when it comes to making money and providing what the customers want.  Please bear that in mind if you have bought, or are planning on buying one of these crossbreed "breeds".

My heart melts on seeing these two, Gabby and Kit

We'll be at Concordia Pet Care in Happy Valley on Saturday afternoon with a collection of lovely puppies and a few adult small-sized dogs, although some will stay behind at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, including Cara and the three small-sized pups.  These are mixed breeds of unknown parents, but could they be any cuter?