Fri 19th Nov: A day at Penfold

Thanks to a gourp of caring volunteers there was a happy reunion at Penfold Park in Shatin of some Ap Lei Chau dogs with ex-Ap Lei Chau friends who moved to Tai Po either recently, or a while ago.  Feta, Oddie and Cora were all shy puppies who grew up at Ap Lei Chau before moving in the hope that the bigger space and greater opportunity to meet a lot of new people would help them, and it really does seem to do that.

Wilfred is a smaller dog who should be in a home, but he came with some behaviour issues that made him unsuitable for most potential families. His day will come, I'm sure of it. He's a favourite with the volunteers, and like all dogs it's a matter of building trust and getting to know each other. All of our "Red Dogs" are the same, they're happy and relaxed with the people that they know, and only mistrust strangers.

"The kids had so much fun!! Oddie and Cora changed a lot!! Less Timid now. Feta is as happy as forever love her"

Team TP: Feta, Oddie, Cora (ex ALCs!)

Team ALC: Carlo, Gumbo, Wilfred, Cookie

Tiffany was today's lucky Ap Lei Chau puppy, while Ted was chosen at Whiskers N Paws where he's currently staying.   We always have three puppies at a time occupying the puppy corner at Whiskers N Paws, so even though we're not able to hold the actual Sunday adoption afternoons at the moment you can still meet puppies any day of the week at the store.  When one is adopted we move a replacement over from the Homing Centre, so it works pretty well. 

Receiving another message about a young puppy having to be returned I'm going to say it again, and especially to families with young children or those thinking about starting a family, ALL PUPPIES BITE.  They're babies, and just the same as human babies they aren't born fully trained and with an understanding of how to behave.  Or rather how many humans would like them to behave, because the fighting and biting is the way a puppy learns, and it's essential to their healthy development.  There's a reason this is on our questionnaire: "If you are adopting a puppy, do you understand that puppies may chew your shoes and furniture, and bite with sharp teeth?" 

 That doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't do anything about teaching a puppy not to bite, or to control how hard their bite is, but it's inevitable that at some time there will be tears when kids and puppies mix.  That's why we suggest an older puppy or even a young adult for families with young children if the biting is going to be seen as a problem.