Mon 4th May: Please THINK before getting a dog

We don't have lockdown in Hong Kong but still many are working from home

As I wrote in my blog on for 2nd May, the number of adoption enquiries has increased so much that I'm spending almost all of my days replying to them.  It seems this isn't only happening in Hong Kong as shown by the new Dogs Trust advertisement, and if it was just adoptions I would be over the moon, but it's the breeders and pet shops too who are seeing a massive increase in their sales and profits.  Why are so many people suddenly opening their homes to dogs and puppies if previously they weren't interested?   At least at HKDR, and I would hope and assume all of the other animal rescue organisations, our standard adoption requirements still apply, but no breeder cares about who takes their dogs as long as the money is handed over.  I hate to think of the sad lives so many bought animals are enduring, or what will happen to them when students go back to school, office workers return and overseas travel becomes normal again.

Apart from the prospect of taking in surrendered puppies in the coming months, something which I hope happens as it means we can find good homes, I want to write again about the inherited health problems that are standard in so many breeds, one of the worst being the Cavalier King Charles. I know there's a local Hong Kong breeder of these dogs because I've seen countless puppies around, and I also know many of them are sick.  In brief this is what you can expect:  Some serious genetic health problems, including early-onset mitral valve disease (MVD), the potentially severely painful syringomyelia (SM), hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, and certain vision and hearing disorders are health problems for this breed.

Lottie is a very sweet girl but she has the typical heart problem 

Almost all King Charles spaniels will develop at least one of these problems at an early age, with MVD being very common.  I took a very sweet King Charles from AFCD today on medical grounds, meaning the formal re-homing paperwork hasn't been completed but the dog needed urgent veterinary care.  Now-Lottie was found as a stray (can you believe?) and has MVD but also bronchopneumonia, so treatment was imperative.  We have no history for her other than she was imported as a baby puppy in 2011, so we can assume her age is nine even though she has never been licensed since arriving in Hong Kong.   Now at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre after a thorough health check at Concordia Pet Care today, Lottie can go to a foster home but isn't available for adoption at this point.   Any potential adopters also need to bear in mind that although the pneumonia is treatable, the mitral valve disease is a heart condition that will never get better.

Della is living her dream now

Moving on to the best breed of all, sweet girl Della had her adoption confirmed today after a short trial period where she proved herself to be a perfect family dog.

Also finding his forever home, one of the two brothers found tied to a tree as young puppies and subsequently called Mitsu and Bishi, Bishi is the lucky boy.

Lucky Bishi moved from his foster home to adopted