Fri 21st Aug: Yes we have puppies

 The puppies that came to us as baby foundlings and went straight to foster homes are now starting to come back to our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, and now we have six youngsters waiting to meet their forever families.  Other than William they're still babies in the sense that they really need to be able to play and have a friend, so ideally they'll go to homes where there's another dog, or a cat that's willing to play, but in any case company of sorts.  

 It's always a dilemma with young puppies choosing between keeping them safe from infectious diseases while at the same time making sure they're well socialised, and even if you can't take them out walking (remember too that puppies have soft bones that aren't fully formed) you can still carry them out in a bag so they can get used to all the noise and busy-ness of life outside the home. Our trainer Cactus has to help a lot with puppies who are scared when the time comes for them to venture out of the home for the first time, so starting early really makes a difference. 

We're still waiting for new smaller dogs to come in, and this always happens with very little notice so we can't say when it will be or how many, or what type or size.  We only have a senior poodle who's not very well and pretty little pom-cross Igloo who suffers from separation anxiety and can't be left alone.  Unfortunately Igloo has no interest in other dogs even if she's fine having them around, so  having a dog companion makes no difference.  Her ideal home would be one where there was always someone around and no neighbours to hear her barking, and I'm sure one day the perfect opportunity will come along. 

There have been quite a few reported cases of leptospirosis following the recent heavy rain, and this always happens when the underground water level rises and washes the rat urine-infected water into the streams that dogs like to play in.  This seems to be particularly prevalent in Mid-Levels and the water that runs down from the Peak, so please take care and bring along your own water for your dogs rather than letting them drink from the streams, or even stay away completely for the time being.