Tues 11th Aug: Matching the home and the dog is vital

 After having agreed to take the multiple puppies in need of help, and Cindy having arranged foster homes for as many as possible, we were on standby in the morning to receive sixteen of them.  I was sent photos of the poor things crammed into cages and on their way, but knew it would be for a short time and then we could get them out and into care, whether at the Homing Centre or in foster.  Suddenly there was another message saying someone else was taking the puppies so they wouldn't be coming after all, and while we didn't really need such a large intake all at once it's still annoying to say the least.   So thank you to everyone who had offered to help with fostering the puppies, and apologies for the last-minute change.

We do have other puppies in foster care and two of them came back today, but still being too young to be adopted they went straight to another foster home for a couple of weeks.  Also one of the three other puppies recently returned from foster was adopted today, and that lucky girl was Prissy.

We've had so many enquiries about the bichon Beanie, but something that happened today reinforced what we already know about how the right home can make such a difference to a dog's behaviour.  

Another dog that had been surrendered due to apparent behaviour issues, and like Beanie had been prescribed the anti-anxiety medication Clomicalm (which in many cases makes the behaviour worse as well as having other awful side effects). Now called King, this shiba inu came back to Lamma for some rest and rehab and was perfectly behaved from the minute he arrived, in fact it was hard to believe he had any issues at all. He seemed to be a good candidate for adoption and went for a trial yesterday, but was returned after less than a day.  He had been fighting with the resident shiba and his attitude was so completely different from the laid-back and happy boy he'd been on Lamma.  Once again it was clear that it's not the dog that has the problem, and that finding the right home to suit the needs and character of every dog is so important. 

We all know that Hong Kong isn't a city that welcomes dogs unless you live out in the countryside or on one of the Outlying Islands, so when I was asked by one of our puppy adopters if I could help share the following petition I was glad to help.  The problem everywhere, and one that we have encountered may times when trying to get planning permission to build a new Homing Centre, is that it takes just one complaint or objection, however valid (or not) to put a stop on the whole project.   This is what happened here:

"I wanted to get in touch to get your thoughts on an issue in Wan Chai that's escalating with the dog owners community here.

Basically, quite a few people moved into Lee Tung Avenue because of the dog-friendly green space on the 5^th floor but because of the complaints from a single tenant, (which has escalated to the police, Lee Tung Avenue Management, SINO Group, and Urban Renewal Authority), the management are shutting the 5^th floor to dogs which is affecting the lifestyle of everyone who moved there for the space, plus the wider Wan Chai community

 

There’s a petition being signed to go to Lee Tung Avenue Management (http://chng.it/wWhPjHdgJs). It's also being covered on FB and picked up by Wan Chai district council member, Pak-kin Leung, who is concerned with the amount of green space for dogs in Wan Chai: https://www.facebook.com/Pakkin.Cousin/posts/1239485903060408"