Weds 30th Sept: More rain, more puppies

 Luckily I spotted a Facebook post warning of the incoming evening storm so I had all the dogs inside when it broke, but I'm sure there will be many lost pets running around after such intense thunder.  I kept telling my dogs that they had survived many such storms before but it made no difference, and my bed was packed with extra bodies wanting me to keep them safe.  At these times I always think about the dogs at the Tai Po Homing Centre and hope they're OK, or at least not so terrified that they'll hurt themselves in panic. 

Inevitably there were baby puppies found during the heavy rain, six in total but two very sadly didn't survive.  The remaining four will come to us so we need two foster homes please, as they will have to go in pairs.  Please contact Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com if you can help with taking care of very young babies.  Everything will be provided in terms of milk, bottles and whatever else is needed.

I know it's nature and nature is cruel, but there must be many little lives lost during bad weather and heavy rain. We can try to save as many as possible but it's thanks to the volunteers that go out looking for such puppies that any survive at all. 

As an update to yesterday's story about the full-tailed rottweiler, the owner turned up at the Tai Po Homing Centre to claim the dog saying someone had opened a gate and let the rottie out accidentally.  When asked why "Rollo" wasn't microchipped or licensed, his owner said he didn't know anything about that necessity, but at least we had it done so that's something.  The owner also agreed to let us get Rollo desexed so that will be arranged. It's a funny thing that when someone gets a car for the first time they seem to understand that they need a driving license and insurance, but when it comes to buying a dog then ignorance is perfectly acceptable. 

Tues 29th Sept: All dogs deserve a long and natural tail

The rain was so heavy in the morning that it upset my usual routine, even if in the end I took the dogs out anyway.  Once you're wet more rain doesn't make any difference, and I think of it as a group dog wash as the dogs come back nice and clean.  However the lateness of the walk and the subsequent delay in feeding meant I completely forgot to mention that our long-term volunteer and exceptional adopter of seniors, Terry, took another dog home with him on Monday, and this time it was Latte.  Terry's home has been the final retirement destination for so many oldies now, and we're all obviously incredibly grateful that at the end of their lives these lucky dogs are able to experience what a real home and family life is like.  Thank you Terry!

We took in an unexpected new dog at Tai Po today when an unusual rottweiler had been found wandering in Sai Kung and I agreed to keep him at our Homing Centre.  The dog wasn't microchipped so the first thing we did was to drive him to the AFCD Animal Management Centre in Sheung Shui to have him chipped, rabies vaccinated and licensed which means if anyone turns up claiming to be the owner he or she will have to explain why this hadn't already been done.  It's a legal requirement that all puppies must be microchipped and licensed at five months of age, and if AFCD had picked up this rottie there would be a large fine to be paid by anyone wanting to claim the dog back.  

I said this was an unusual rottweiler because he has a full tail, not docked like most rotties' tails are.  Cutting or docking a tail is banned in many other countries, but in Hong Kong we still see poodles, spaniels, rottweilers, boxers and other breeds whose tails have been literally just cut off and there's really no reason why.  Long tails are beautiful and natural, and allow dogs to communicate fully through body language.  Hopefully one day the barbaric practice of tail docking and ear cropping will become illegal in Hong Kong too. 

This particular rottweiler (now Rollo) is young and friendly, and so far nobody has reported him as lost or responded to any "Lost and Found" notices. 

Mon 28th Sept: Sorry no doodle puppies available

 We welcomed new puppies to our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre today, two very cute and fluffy sisters who are now called Patti and Pippa.  They have a vet appointment on Wednesday so are available to meet before then, but not actually take home just yet.  There are, of course, many other puppies that are ready to go immediately, but maybe I need to mention again that they're not small breeds, labradoodles, any other kind of "doodle" or designer crossbreed. As a rescue organisation we don't breed dogs ourselves or deal with breeders, so the puppies that come to us are either found or they come from AFCD, just as the two new arrivals did.  

There are very rare occasions when something happens that means we have such puppies, and I'm thinking of the time when a woman came to Ap Lei Chau with her bichon frise and a just-born surprise litter, but that's never happened before and I'm not expecting it to happen again.  

We have also very occasionally received "airport" puppies, which means those confiscated at the airport for being under the minimum age allowed or without proper documentation. Again this is really very rare, and maybe twice a year someone will surrender a newly-bought puppy, but in general the smaller dogs are adults that have been abandoned. 

This year we've seen even fewer dogs being surrendered as so many people have been working from home and have held onto dogs they might previously have given up, and many more first-time adopters are considering having a dog finding they have more time to devote to a pet.  That in itself is a concern if at any time life goes back to how it previously was, but at this stage that seems to be a far-off likelihood. 

We have a few events lined up for the rest of the year, and this exhibition is already running so please come along to support. 

“𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗯𝘆 𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 · 𝗗𝗢𝗚𝗦 & 𝗜 “

𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗫 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝘆𝗺 @Cuddlescuddle

𝟭𝟵 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁 - 𝟭𝟴 𝗢𝗰𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬
𝗪𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗦𝗮𝗯𝗶 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮
𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗞𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁

Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/632324680758572/

/

原稿畫作與明信片在Wabi Sabi Coffee Kissa展出/ 等待領養。📲 限量複印畫作可以以下網址訂購 : https://hongkongdogrescue.com/side-by-side-dogs-i_art-prin…/

** 全數收益捐給 Hong Kong Dog Rescue ，與狗狗同行☀️🐶

/
Original artwork and postcard with selected style is now showcased and available for charity sale at 侘寂珈琲・喫茶 WabiSabi Coffee Kissa.

📲Limited edition prints available for order here: https://hongkongdogrescue.com/side-by-side-dogs-i_art-prin…/

100% of the proceeds will be going to HKDR. Thank you for your support!

Sun 27th Sept: File closed on the Water Babies

 That's it, all done, the Water Baby litter are adopted with the last one, River, now also having her own family (going home photo to follow). I love to tie up loose ends like this and not have one lone leftover, as it always seems to be so unfair when that happens.  That's why I feel sad about the "Unchosen" at Tai Po, the grown-up puppies that for whatever reason were left behind and had to move to the big Homing Centre, maybe for the rest of their lives.  With hundreds of dogs to choose from, it's easy to get lost in the crowd.

We still have plenty of puppies available, like Derek shown here: https://www.facebook.com/HKDR.DOGGIES/videos/170111294698768 and you can meet them any day at the Homing Centre, but please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

We were very sad to see the return of sweet sisters Willa and Wonton today, and it wasn't anything to do with their own behaviour that was the reason, rather that the resident dog still didn't like having them around.  It seemed at various times that everything had finally settled, but apparently not enough to allow the two girls to stay.  They need to be adopted as a pair as they're closely bonded, so if there's any home that can take  them please get in touch.

Also available at both Homing Centres and online:

The new HKDR X

Happy Woof

“Adoption Saves Two Lives” T-shirts are now available for sale at our Homing Centres!

HKDR Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre 救狗之家鴨脷洲領養中心

G/F, 5, Wai Fung Street, Ap Lei Chau 鴨脷洲惠風街5號地下

HKDR Tai Po Homing Centre 救狗之家大埔領養中心

6, Shek Lin Road, Tai Po 大埔石蓮路6號

We are also reopening online orders for those of you who can’t make it to our Homing Centres to buy them!

Online order form: https://hongkongdogrescue.com/hkdrxhappywoof2020/

100% of the proceeds from these t-shirts will go directly towards HKDR's work in saving and taking care of abandoned dogs. Products will be shipped within 10 business days.

** Navy Blue – XL ; Grey – XS, XL are sold out online. All sizes are available at our Homing Centres for offline shopping during our opening hours (10am to 6pm daily).

Sat 26th Sept: A beautiful day for hiking

 It seems Whiskers N Paws is a lucky place to go to as yet another puppy who had only been staying there a matter of days was adopted, this time Ocean (the poodle will be her friend).  Now only River is remaining from that particular litter and I think she won't have long to wait before going to a home too, maybe even as early as Sunday. 

A previous Whiskers N Paws guest had his adoption confirmed after a short trial too, and now Google is officially the brother of Rain (one more of the Water Babies). 

I know we have a few visitors due to meet the dogs at Tai Po on Sunday, so hopefully I'll have some more good news to share soon. 

It was a beautiful day to be outside today, so for any registered volunteers who'd like to take the dogs out for a hike please fill out the Hiking Request form.  I'm always so happy to see any of the dogs enjoying a day out and having fun. 

Fri 25th Sept: Five new babies today

 

Happily the five new puppies from AFCD Sheung Shui all had foster homes to go to by the time they arrived, and they were a little bit older than we'd been anticipating so they were able to tuck into a big meal by themselves before heading off to their temporary families.  We seem to have a conveyor belt rotating baby pups from their arrival to the time when they're ready to come back to the Homing Centre for potential adopters to meet.  It seems like only the other day that the "Water Babies" were rescued, but now Ocean is even old enough to be one of the two staying at Whiskers N Paws, along with Tickle.  River is the other remaining Water Baby while four have already been adopted. 

There's another up-and-coming litter too, still in their foster homes, doing well and now transitioning from milk to solid baby food, so it won't be too long before they start coming back.  Checking back these eight week-old babies came to us on the second of September so they're a month old now. 

Bichon frise Baguette went to have his really bad teeth sorted out today, and the poor guy had almost all of them removed as they were completely rotten at only seven years of age.  This is invariably the result of a dog being fed only soft food and it hopefully explains why Baguette was head shy as his mouth must have been painful.  In fact the vet at Concordia Pet Care said they were the worst teeth she'd even seen, rotten from the root up.  I asked that the canines (the longer side teeth) be left so that the tongue didn't loll out, and learned that things like chipped enamel can be restored by a dog dentist.  I didn't know this was available in Hong Kong.

Thurs 24th Sept: Keeping it brief

 I'm having problems with my internet connection (again) so this entry will be a short one.  Yesterday's blog actually took hours to post, so I'll just stick to the basics here. 

Today's lucky puppy was Duster, leaving only Derek from that litter of sharpei-cross boys available. We do have younger versions of wrinklies from another family, as well as lots more hopefuls waiting at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre or in foster homes.  If you're interested in meeting any of the dogs or puppies available please do start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

In fact there are five babies, again all boys, being picked up from AFCD on Friday, and they will need to go straight to foster homes as they're still very young.  I don't know if Cindy has got fosters lined up, but in case we still need temporary homes please email foster@hongkongdogrescue.com if you can help. 

Thanks to those of you who offered help to get Tai Po dog Edie to Canada, and we do now have the crate sorted if not an actual flight date yet.  It's always a worry when dogs are being prepared for a long haul flight, but they all seem to manage and arrive safely.   

Weds 23rd Sept: Puppyhood is over in a flash

 It was puppy Dibble's day today, just after he had been sent to Whiskers N Paws to replace Poppy and Google who had themselves found homes shortly after moving in as full-time guests.  We have to keep thinking of who to send next, but at least we're not in danger of running out of candidates yet. There's plenty more puppy "stock" at the Homing Centre if you're looking, thirteen to be precise. 

I have to keep trying to remind myself who's still waiting and which puppies are still to return to Ap Lei Chau from their respective foster homes (and there are many of those).  

This recent group photo is already out of date with two thirds of those shown already adopted.  I think I'm right in saying William (a slightly older boy), Ned, Tickle, Arlo, Tina, River, Derek and Duster are still available. 

Puppies are relatively easy to find homes for because there's always the idea that it's nice to be able to watch a puppy grow and to be part of that process. While that's true in many ways puppies can be hard work, especially if there are human children to take care of as well, and we have so many lovely young adults that are really in need of homes.  Puppyhood passes in a flash and many of our young Tai Po dogs were themselves only puppies very recently, so please don't overlook them if you're considering adoption. 

Tues 22nd Sept: Just a regular day taking care of our many dogs

For everyone who's been waiting to sign up for volunteering (and thank you for your patience) the pre-orientation video has now been completed and a trial run at our Tai Po Homing Centre seemed to go very well.  From now on everyone who applies to volunteer will be sent a link to the video which will introduce HKDR, how the volunteering works and what's involved, as well as basic safety information. There will be a quiz at the physical orientation to check that everyone has watched and paid attention to the video, but this system should prepare all potential volunteers and speed things up considerably.  Thanks to Cactus and Eagle in particular for their work on production, and hopefully we can get through the waiting list for those wanting to get started with walking the dogs and other tasks.

 

The weekdays tend to be quieter than the weekends in terms of adoptions, but every day is busy if you're talking about the work that needs to be done just in daily care of so many dogs.   Although we have far fewer (well, hardly any) new small-to-medium dogs arriving at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre these days we have plenty of puppies, and they take up time in terms of feeding, cleaning up and entertaining. Little Ned has to be carried in a harness for feeding and then twenty minutes afterwards to make sure his food goes down and stays down, and as he gets older and bigger he'll still need to be upright every time he eats. https://www.facebook.com/HKDR.DOGGIES/videos/2246160888863226

Thankfully the dog park is open again and the rain stayed away today, so everyone was able to enjoy a good runaround and playtime.  

One lucky Tai Po dog is going to be flying over to Canada as soon as she's had her paperwork sorted out, and we'll be looking for a flight volunteer very soon.  Watch this space for news of who and when, or keep checking our hkdogrescue Facebook page. 

Mon 21st Sept: Talking of other things

 After so many adoptions to write about yesterday there are none today, although still quite a lot of movement behind the scenes with foster puppies and trial adoptions at Tai Po, including Bruno and Elsa who have gone home with one of the staff, Rebecca.   I remember Bruno and taking him from AFCD years ago because he was licensed as a Jack Russell terrier when in fact he's a mongrel.  I laughed at the time thinking how someone probably paid money for a tricolour puppy after being told it was a small breed, then seeing it grow and grow.  Bruno was an angry boy to start with but I'm told he's mellowed and lots of volunteers love him, so that's lovely to hear. 

After having to put our own fundraising events on hold for this year we're always happy to be nominated as the beneficiary of outside events, and this time it's 膳動衡 FOODSPORT  Urban Adventure Challenge which is taking place on 1 November 2020 at Stanley Plaza!

www.foodsport.com.hk/uac2020

2020年11月1日 (星期日) #赤柱廣場 到時見~

Food Salvager Urban Adventure is not an ordinary orienteering event, it is also an event that could raise food, share our love and care to those in need.

How meaningful this event is when you can have fun while burning and converting calories into food units for donation to two charities

Foodlink Foundation 膳心連基金

and

Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR)

.

Click the below link for more information and sign up now!

www.foodsport.com.hk/uac2020

Also already running is the exhibition and sale of artwork by Carmen Lym at WabiSabi Coffee Kissa.

Thank you Carmen and

侘寂珈琲・喫茶 WabiSabi Coffee Kissa

for your support! 100% of the proceeds from art sale will become life-saving donations for HKDR. The original drawings are available for sale at WabiSabi Coffee Kissa. Art prints will soon be available online.

Sun 20th Sept: Six plus two

 Only happy news today other than one unfortunate return after Samuel was found wandering in Central so is now back at Tai Po with us.  We don't know how it happened but that doesn't matter now as he's thankfully safe, and at least we know that he's a very easy boy and completely toilet trained (according to his ex would-be adopter).  Samuel is young, lovely, good-natured and we want to find him a real forever family as soon as possible.

Now for the many adoptions from our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, which includes a double, that of brothers Otto and Radar, and two more "Water Babies", Lagoon and Water.  We now have just two of that litter needing homes, and once again I want to thank their foster parents for having done such a wonderful job of caring for the babies when they were rescued in early August.   It's incredibly rewarding to see these stories unfold and watching the puppies thrive and grow, and then move on to becoming real family members.  

One more puppy also had her adoption paperwork completed after being chosen the other day, and that lucky girl is Mindy. 

Two more puppies also went for short trials, both to homes where there was already a resident ex-HKDR dog, or in the case of Google, dogs.  Smiffy has gone to live with ex-Tai Po boy Rafferty, so hopefully we can post confirmed adoption photos very soon.

It wasn't all puppies today, as poodle Samson was taken home by his new family.  Samson had been one of those common cases of a poodle that had already been in many unsuitable homes, passed on again and again, so by the time he was brought to us at the age of only two years he was not only very anxious and nervous, but he was also not at all well.  He was taken for fostering until his health was restored and he could be desexed before being ready for adoption, so once again thanks to his foster parents for looking after him during that period.  His new family came twice to make sure Samson was going to be a good match, as we wanted to be sure that this was going to be his final and forever move. 

Sat 19th Sept: Happy news turns into tears

As I wrote yesterday, Poppy's adoption had already been agreed and she was picked up today from Whiskers N Paws.  Poppy's new big brother looks very happy to have a little sister, doesn't he?

At around the same time the first of the Water Babies, rescued in weather pretty similar to what we're currently experiencing, was adopted from our Homing Centre, and Stream now has a wonderful home rather than the stray life she was destined to have if not found with her littermates as a baby.  

Paddling on behind in Stream's pawsteps was little sister Rain, who also went home to join two other ex-HKDR dogs, Plum and Bishi.

 

I wanted this to be a happy post about adoptions, and while some puppies did find homes the day was overshadowed by what at first seemed to be the fantastic news that lost doglet Charlie had been found, but which quickly turned to despair when the message came that he was dead.  After all the searching and so many people in Sai Kung looking out for him, it seems he had never left the area close to where he had been staying but it was all too late.  Obviously we're all heartbroken about the loss, and it seems such a waste of a life that had barely begun.

There are so many photos of Charlie because he was such a gorgeous boy, but I've chosen one of him as a puppy when he came to us in February.  

I don't want any accusations or nasty comments as sometimes things happen which you would never anticipate, in this case Charlie managing to find his way out of a securely fenced garden.  I have seen my Lamma dogs scaling walls and climbing high fences, or finding the most amazing escape routes, so I know that a determined dog will manage somehow.  So this is really just a reminder of that, and how important it is that timid dogs need constant watching and double leashing until you're absolutely certain that they won't run away. Rest in peace Charlie. 

  

Fri 18th Sept: Dodging the rain

 I seem to be spending half my time getting the dogs in from the torrential rain and then letting them out again five minutes later, but I managed to time my short trip to Ap Lei Chau very well and missed getting wet,  even if the boat ride was rocky.  As I'm writing this on Saturday morning the sun is out and I'm hoping that many of the adoption enquiries we received will have positive results over the weekend, and I know that at least two puppies will have their lives changed when their adoption paperwork is completed.  One of those is Mindy, and the other is Poppy (pictured meeting her big brother-to-be) who had only just moved to Whiskers N Paws as a guest.  I feel confident to mention their names even before they've left because Poppy had two offers today so either way she's off the available list, while Mindy's new family have already met her are very excited about welcoming her to their home.  There are others too, but I'm going to wait until they're confirmed before mentioning names. 

Another name I can mention because his foster status has just been changed to adopted, is Jamie the corgi.  As often happens, when a potential adopter was asking to meet Jamie his foster parent couldn't bear the thought of losing him and he's now a forever dog.  He came to us with a host of health issues which have been treated one by one over several months, and now he's going through what I really hope is the last hurdle, heartworm treatment.  Jamie was lucky to have a foster home throughout and now he's staying.

We do have another corgi available, but like so many dogs Bonnie's also one that needs time to warm up and learn to trust, so we wouldn't home her with children.  

Following the very successful recent exhibition and sale of artwork , there will be another one starting on Saturday, so please support our second round of fundraising art exhibition: "HKDR X Carmen Lym - SIDE by SIDE, DOGS & I"

"Graduated with a bachelor of Practice of Art from University of California, Berkeley, Carmen Lym is an illustrator, artist, writer and vegetarian based in Hong Kong. Her creation revolves around the topics of mindfulness, everyday life and nature. As a believer in ‘All creatures are born to be equal’, she developed '

Cuddlescuddle

’, a journal to record fortune and grace in everyday scenes with writings and drawings, rejoicing the connection between self and other beings on Earth.

Thank you Carmen and

侘寂珈琲・喫茶 WabiSabi Coffee Kissa

for their support! 100% of the proceeds from art sale will become life-saving donations for HKDR. The original drawings are available for sale at WabiSabi Coffee Kissa. Art prints will soon be available online" .

Thurs 17th Sept: About fostering

 Although there seems to be a gradual return to offices, for many working from home remains an option so we're still getting offers of temporary foster homes for our dogs and puppies.  There are situations when a foster home is essential, such as when we take in very young puppies, especially those that need bottle feeding or when the pups are still too little to be able to cope with being at the Homing Centre.  When the puppies are of an age when it's important that they start socialising and being seen by potential adopters, it's better for them to come back to "puppy kindergarten" at Ap Lei Chau, and you will have seen the videos showing what fun they have playing with the others and their toys.  There's really no need or benefit to the puppies at that point to be in foster homes, and they also miss out on adoption opportunities by not being physically present. 

Foster homes are also important if a dog or puppy is sick and needs full-time care, like Ned (left), or a dog is recovering from surgery so shouldn't be around others that might lick a wound or chew a cone off. 

Sending a healthy dog to a foster home is tempting, but unless there's a chance that the dog will be adopted if things work out it's very hard on a dog to enjoy the comforts of a real home, of having a family and regular walks, and then to be sent back to the Homing Centre at the end of the foster period. As with the puppies it also means that the dog isn't there to be seen by potential adopters, and might miss the perfect opportunity of a forever home.  

If a dog is struggling with life at the Homing Centre, perhaps being bullied or is otherwise unhappy, then we would ask for a foster home.  Toffee (pictured) was one such dog, a very sweet girl who came with her mate, husky Floyd,  and her two daughters, Willa and Wonton (also half in the photo and now adopted as a pair).  Toffee had mammary tumours that needed surgery so she went to a very nice foster home, but by herself.  She was so miserable that we took her back, and she subsequently went to a new foster home with Floyd where she was - and still is - very happy.  Floyd had his foster status upgraded to adopted the other day, which is obviously very good news, but while Toffee is still with him for the moment we will have to wait to see if she can also stay.  Dogs that have always lived together form a very strong bond and they suffer emotionally if separated, so although we know Toffee could find a new home on her own it would be painful for her to be parted from Floyd.   At the very least she would need to have another dog as company. 

We took in three new puppies today, not that we needed or wanted more but there's a back story to this which I won't go into here. The puppies were dropped off at our Tai Po Homing Centre with the plan they would stay there overnight and then move to Ap Lei Chau, so it was the Tai Po team who discovered the ticks.  In the very early days of HKDR the sight of huge colonies of ticks in the ears wasn't that uncommon, but I haven't seen anything like it for many years.  I think it's safe to assume that these puppies will have tick fever, but had they not come to us and the ticks hadn't been removed, this level of infestation leads to almost certain death from anaemia.  

We also picked up a seven year-old bichon frise from AFCD Pokfulam, and as is usually the case with small-sized adult dogs that end up being abandoned, Baguette (his new name) does have some issues that would make him unsuitable to be in a home with children.  He has a fear of being leashed, so we can assume he's been hit with one previously.  Hopefully that will leave him as he learns that it will never happen again. 

Puppies Google and Poppy moved to Whiskers N Paws today as full time guests, so if you're shopping at the store please stop and say hello.  They're available for adoption of course, so if you'd like to offer them a home remember to complete the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Weds 16th Sept: Where are you Charlie?

 I don't know about other parts of Hong Kong but in my little corner of Lamma I enjoyed a very welcome break from the wet weather today.  I always have lost dog Charlie on my mind and wonder where he can be and how he is, and although to many the thought of him being out in the rain is upsetting I'm sure he's found shelter and at least has water to drink.  I would be even more worried if it was scorching hot and dry, because a dog can survive without food for some time but would quickly perish without water.

  Charlie was always a timid boy, and dogs quickly revert to being wild and living on their primitive instinct when they need to survive, so he will be in hiding and difficult to spot let alone catch.  The only way we will ever get him back is to use a trap, but first we need to know where he's staying.   Dogs that run away or get lost almost always stay in the same area, but if they're scared or chased they'll run further.  That means Charlie could really be anywhere, and the countryside around Sai Kung offers so many options it really is like the proverbial needle in a haystack.  So if you're anywhere in that area please look out for Charlie's very distictive dark brown coat, and call or message if you think you've seen him.  If at all possible get a photo so we can try to positively identify him.  Always remember Aladdin and the many weeks he was on the run, and that nothing is impossible. 

Long-term Ap Lei Chau volunteer Harryn made this very lovely video of the puppies currently staying at the Homing Centre, and we have more up-and-coming babies still in foster homes so there's definitely no shortage. The photos are also by Harryn. https://www.facebook.com/hkdogrescue/videos/330233001373234

You can see more photos of the Ap Lei Chau dogs and puppies here https://www.facebook.com/HKDR.DOGGIES, as well as some of the Tai Po dogs here https://www.facebook.com/HappyWoofHK

As much as we want the puppies to find their forever homes, I have to say it's upsetting to read some of the adoption applications.  We can reject those who clearly have no understanding of dogs and their basic needs, but I'm aware that other groups or shelters may not be as discerning, and pet shops will sell to anyone who hands over the money.   I don't care how long it takes or how many puppies we have at any given time, at HKDR we believe that a bad home is worse than no home, and the dogs and puppies are happy with us until the right family comes along.