Weds 20th Jan: Thanks for the foster stories

 Starting with some very sad news today that the young standard poodle girl was euthanised when her condition deteriorated even further overnight and there was no hope that she would ever recover.  The true cause of her kidneys failing will never really be known, and sadly it's often the case that the question of why remains unanswered.   Certainly all breeds carry genetic predispositions to certain health problems, some more than others, although whether this applied in the poodle's case isn't known.

The Frostie Fosters are starting to be returned as the very cold weather is ending, for now anyway, and I have to say it's been lovely to read all of the updates from the foster parents.  The dogs seem to have settled in surprisingly quickly and we're hoping that at least of couple of them will be moving on to forever homes rather than coming back to the Homing Centre.  

Here's senior dog Molly's lovely story: 

"Frostie foster, Molly.  She started her staycation with us a little shy but soon opened up and affectionately comes to us for a "rub"/pet. She enjoys her walks and does not pull on her leash or sway. A neighbour walking his dog (adopted from HKDR) came up to me and praised how calm she is. 

Molly may be an older dog, she's well behaved with a calm demeanor. She was relaxed when we bathed her. We are now teaching the command ‘wait’ when crossing the street as she’s learning it nicely. She knows how to 'handshake', too. Did not chew anything in the house.  

Sweet nature personality and definitely fits well into a family as she makes a wonderful family addition. 

Molly stayed with us for three wonderful weeks, and she will be back to Tai Po this week. I hope she will get a chance into a forever home soon."

This is Saul, who also proved himself to be a lovely and easy boy in his soon-to-be-ending foster home

Saul has the “first sip” of a sweet home after spending 11 years in the shelter - thanks to his temporary Frostie foster! He’s been doing great with the foster, respecting the resident dog which is a small sized poodle, enjoying daily walks and weekend hikes. He bonded quickly with the family members and he’s always good with all the neighbors’ dogs. During the walks he often checks on his human sister and waits for her, (check the video on our HKDR Facebook page).

We can never really know how a dog is going to adapt away from the Homing Centre, the same as I'm never sure how my Lamma dogs are going to behave when they have to see a vet, bearing in mind their very sheltered life away from people and traffic.  I had to send two of my Lamma dogs for an ear check today and both Lorna and Connie behaved impeccably.  I know they're sweet girls at home but being handled by a stranger poking things down your ear must be scary, so I was feeling very proud of them when I heard how cooperative they'd been.