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.