Thurs 12th March: Saving more lives

See the little brush under the eye

As I wrote yesterday, I went to AFCD Pokfulam to take out two more of the cruelty case dogs that had been transferred from the Shatin AFCD Centre, and it's very sad to think that they have been in kennels since July last year (if my memory is correct).  It's a long time anyway, and that's meant no interaction with other dogs, exercise or any of the things we can now provide at our Tai Po Homing Centre, but the dogs are alive and have been well taken care of in general terms so I'm not complaining. 

They're also lovely dogs in terms of character, with the older one (now called Eddie) being very calm during the whole process of the van ride and being checked out at Acorn, while Brush is young and was very excited about gaining his freedom.  I called him Brush because he has a very unusual, if not unique, patch of hair growing from just under one eye, and at first I thought it was loose and tried to pull it off.  When it didn't budge I realised it was attached, and when Dr Joe took a look he agreed it was there for real, and since it looks like the end of a paintbrush he became Brush.

Eddie is a very sweet 7 year-old boy

I'm sure by now you have read in this blog or via our Facebook and Instagram pages as well as the email that was sent to all subscribers, that like so many others HKDR has been hard hit by the events of the past year which resulted in event cancellations and a sharp drop in donations and income. I want to thank you all again for the wonderful response to our plea for support to help us through this very challenging period, and it means an incredible amount to all of us to know how many really care about the dogs in our care.  Ka Yan and Kathy are busy responding to all of the requested receipts, and please be assured that all donations will be used only for the dogs and their ongoing food and vet costs.

Elvin Lui and his four dogs

Just as the decision had been made to go public about our worrying financial situation, we received a wonderful donation via bank transfer but didn't know where it had come from. In fact I was even wondering if there had been a mistake at the bank and we would be asked to give it back, but today I found out that the money was a bequest from a supporter of HKDR who had very sadly passed away at far too young an age, and had requested that this donation be made to help our charity.  With the executors' permission, I would like to say how grateful I am to Elvin Lui for choosing to remember the dogs in his Will, and for requesting that HKDR be one of the beneficiaries.

"Elvin was an animal lover.  He was the parent of four adorable westies (three of whom survived him and were adopted by his friends upon his death).  Elvin treasured his dogs and was most kind to all other furry friends as well. He treated his friends, and his friends' dogs, as his own family.   It is most tragic that Elvin died so early in his 40s.

We recall that Elvin was a supporter of HKDR and he praised HKDR for your dedication to helping dogs.  We trust that you will put Elvin's donation to good use.  It would be great if you could, upon receipt of the funds, send us a short note to acknowledge receipt and say a few words about the donation, so that we can let Elvin's friends know about Elvin's selfless bequest."

Although Elvin isn't here to understand how much his substantial donation meant at this particular time, I hope his friends and family will take solace from knowing how grateful we are.

As it happens I'm also in the process of drawing up my own Will, not for any specific reason as I'm perfectly healthy, but it seems to be a good time to mention that including a charity bequest (and of course I'm hoping that could be HKDR) is something you might consider if you have already made a Will or are thinking about it.