Weds 30th June: Halfway through the year

 Nothing is ever as straightforward it seems, and the owners of the Japanese spitz we thought couldn't be traced was actually contactable so can claim the dog back.  However since the license expired many years ago and there could be a prosecution case against the owner resulting in a hefty fine, it's quite possible the dog will end up being surrendered instead.  We'll wait to see the outcome, but of course will be happy to find a new home if needed. 

I mentioned a while ago that we were expecting four poodles and they arrived today, a male and female both twelve years, their daughter (nine years), and another female who's seven years.  She's the daughter of the daughter and the father, so keeping it all in the family.  It's not healthy in humans and the same applies to dogs, but that's what breeders do and why so many breeder and pet shops dogs have terrible health conditions.  It's called inbreeding, and it's quite possibly why the youngest of this group has a serious heart murmur. I decided to make this the Apple Family (for no reason at all), so they're Cobbler, Strudel, Crumble and Dumpling. 

3 year-old male due to arrive on Thursday

We're expecting another throwaway dog to arrive on Thursday, 1st July, and from the photo it looks as though it might be a Boston terrier but it's hard to be sure at this point.  He's three years old and we won't be accepting any adoption applications until we can assess his behaviour, as this breed and similar types are often not good with other dogs. 

The smaller dogs aren't too difficult to find homes for, but the larger ones that stay at Tai Po are a different matter.  It's very sad to see the numbers that are staying there and who may never be chosen to become family members, even the ones who are very sweet and gentle dogs.   There's still a breed obsession which means that challenging dogs with a designer label will get adoption applications over those easy characters whose breed heritage is unknown.   If we judged people in the same way it would be called racism. 

Happily not everyone has the same viewpoint and here are the thirty nine lucky dogs and puppies that were adopted in June:

Tai Po Homing Centre:

Tanner (Staffie cross)

Sophie (Multibreed)

Byron (Golden Retriever puppy)

Ramen (Multibreed puppy)

Kettle (Multibreed)

Loopy (Multibreed puppy)

Lexi (Multibreed puppy)

Yuzu (Multibreed puppy)

Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre:

Berry (Multibreed puppy)

Bumpy (Shiba Inu)

Telia (Multibreed puppy)

Bessie (Maltese)

Binky (Poodle)

Toggle (Multibreed puppy)

Johnnie (Terrier cross)

Kitty (Poodle)

Zippy (Shiba Inu)

Quartz (Multibreed puppy)

Whiskers N Paws:

Pasta (Multibreed puppy)

Minto (Multibreed puppy)

Sandy (Multibreed puppy)

Penny (Multibreed puppy)

Pickle (Multibreed puppy)

Pebble (Multibreed puppy)

Xena (Multibreed puppy)

Marco (Multibreed puppy)

Foster Home:

Pringle (Multibreed puppy)

Piers (Multibreed puppy)

Dune (Multibreed puppy)

Sooty (Multibreed puppy)

Shadow (Multibreed puppy)

Coral (Multibreed puppy)

Frito (Shetland Sheepdog)

Holly (Poodle)

Salty (Multibreed puppy)

Button (Pomeranian)

Bonnie (Corgi)

Jilly (Mixed breed)

Billy Bob (Multibreed puppy)

Tues 29th June: Five new lives

Puppies currently at Ap Lei Chau

 People keep asking if we'll be open on the first of July, a Public Holiday of course, and the answer is always the same.  Yes, we will be open and we're open every other day of the year without exception.  The dogs need to be fed and walked and the Homing Centres cleaned, so there is never a day when that won't happen.  I also need to remind all potential adopters that the same applies if you have a dog at home, that there's never a day when you don't need to take your dog out, feed it or anything else, so please bear that in mind, especially if you're a single person who has to be responsible for everything yourself.

Is this anyone's dog?

We took in a small dog that was found wandering, and it's registered as a Japanese spitz, ten years old.  However the license expired a long time ago and seems to be under the name of the breeder, so it's as good as useless when trying to trace any owner.  The finder of the dog kept him for two weeks while posting notices in the area in case there was someone desperately looking, but since nobody claimed him we'll get everything updated and if there's still no claimant he'll be put up for adoption. 

Lexi found her forever family today

Lexi was the lucky dog at Tai Po today, and I'm hoping that there'll be further happy adoption news in the coming days as German shepherd Moose has quite a lot of interest after his photo was posted on Facebook. 

Five new lives arrived today

However the biggest news of the day, or rather night, from Tai Po was that Lorna finally gave birth to her puppies, thankfully only five of them and all strong and healthy.  We'd been expecting this to happen much sooner, and while the arrival of yet more babies isn't really cause for celebration, at least mother and pups are safe and well.  It's not often that we know the mother of newborns or that they're lucky enough to be able to suckle rather than drink their milk from a bottle.   It's also lucky for Lorna that she was caught and brought to us after she lost her home, because at least she had lots of food during the last couple of weeks, and a dry and safe place to give birth.

Tues 29th June: Monday wipeout

Billy Bob being inspected by his foster brother

 All Hong Kong residents will know what happened today, and the Black Rain meant all plans and vet appointments had to be cancelled, including two Lamma dogs that were supposed to be going over.  Thankfully the skies cleared quite quickly, but whenever there is heavy rain like this I can't help but think of all those puppies born on the hillsides and how many were drowned or washed away.  Nature is very cruel, and in realistic terms you could see this as natural population control, but so many of our beautiful puppies were rescued after such an event, including the pair Bessie and Beryl currently in foster, and sole survivor of a previous storm, Billy Bob.  In fact there was very happy news about him today as he has a home waiting when he's old enough, and a very nice one too. 

Quartz has settled incredibly well

I assume the humidity was affecting my phone as I wasn't able to share the adoption photo for Quartz, or the one of shiba puppy Donny being invited to play. 

Piggy's play invitation to Donny

 With things back to normal I'll do that now, as well as showing the two "Litttle Blacks" Tarmac and Nero who returned from foster care to the Homing Centre.  At first they were very scared, but suddenly today in what seemed like a coordinated plan, they both started to play and behave like normal happy puppies. 

Tarmac

For anyone interested in adoption, I need to remind you to start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Nero

Sun 27th June: Quality over quantity

For anyone looking for the perfect family dog and who ignored everything I'd written about older puppy Quartz, you missed taking home a genuine "Little Gem", the last of his litter to be adopted.  "Thank you so much for your suggestion that Quartz would be perfect for my 5 year old son, Sally. They are a match made in heaven! He wouldn't even consider checking out the other puppies, despite seeing the little ones on arrival.  My dog Jack has growled a couple of times but seems pretty tolerant and Quartz is so sweet natured, playful but also calm. He's a dream!"  (Unfortunately the Black Rain seems to be affecting my phone so I can't share the actual adoption photo just yet). 

Gorgeous sisters Ursula and Giovanna

As Quartz left in the morning he didn't join the small group of puppies at Whiskers N Paws Puppy Adoption Day 27th June 2021, and although Ursula and Giovanna came over from Tai Po they went straight to a foster home.  If you're interested in meeting either, or both, of these beautiful sisters they're ready to be adopted together or individually, so please complete the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Thank you Gustaf for sharing your birthday with the puppies

Thanks to Elena Mathew for the fantastic shots of the puppies, and even though there weren't any actual adoptions to record Chimney and Xanthe stayed behind at Whiskers N Paws to replace Marco and Xena who were taken home together on Saturday.   We did however have a very welcome TwoPresents donation with the Giant Cheque presentation, and for those of you who don't know about this easy gift sharing scheme please visit www.twopresents.com for information.  It's a lovely way for both children and adults to donate and share their special days, whatever they are. 

Beautiful Yolanda

The two displaced dogs from the North West New Territories development arrived at Tai Po and are now Yolanda and Bianca. 

Smiley Bianca

Over at Ap Lei Chau long-tailed corgi Jimmy was finally adopted, not that he didn't have a lot of enquiries but we had to find a suitable hime for him.  Also recently-surrendered shiba inu puppy Donny has been put upstairs with the "Shy Squad" to learn how to be a normal puppy and to be able to socialise and play, and the other dogs were willing teachers.  

Sat 26th June: Nice surprise ending

Bee is 13 years old

 The 13 year-old golden retriever Bee came to us in the morning and quickly left again to go to his new foster home, although not surprisingly he needs to see a vet due to urinary problems and hopefully he can get an appointment for Sunday.

Kitty is like a cat in behaviour

We knew that sweet poodle Kitty was going to move to her new forever home from foster care today, and we also knew that Zippy the shiba inu would be leaving the Homing Centre, so neither of those adoptions were surprises although both happy events of course.  

Zippy

The lovely surprise happened at the end of the day when both of the puppies staying at Whiskers N Paws as resident guests were chosen to go home together, so Xena and Marco are now family members, joining four other dogs in the (large) home. 

Lucky pair Marco and Xena!

Xena's sisters Xyla and Xanthe will be at Whiskers N Paws on Sunday, along with Percy, Teezil, Tucker, Marsh, Mello and Chimney.  Joining the party from Tai Po will be beautiful sisters Ursula and Giovanna, so there's a big choice of size, age and looks.   I haven't mentioned Quartz because he has a morning adoption interview, but if he's not going to be going home then he'll be in charge at Whiskers N Paws as the oldest of the group.  

Marsh and Mello

Xyla

I do need to mention something about volunteer applications because I get a lot of emails every day asking me the same questions.  The first is about the minimum age of eighteen for all volunteers, and while I do know and appreciate that many younger teenagers are responsible and mature, if we make an exception for one we have to make an exception for all, and that's not possible. 

Due to the period when we weren't able to hold orientation sessions there was a backlog of applications to deal with, and unfortunately emailing me directly to jump the queue and get allocated a space doesn't really work.   I need to remind everyone that our Volunteer Coordinators for both Homing Centres are themselves volunteers, so they're not working full time for HKDR.  Also the people who hold the orientation sessions are also usually volunteers, and they can only do that when they have the time.  We also can't accept short-term volunteer applications, because it takes times to get to know the routine and the dogs, and having more experienced volunteers who don't need to be supervised is the ultimate aim. 

If you plan to become a regular and long-term weekday volunteer you can jump the queue for orientations,  as we really do need additional help at Tai Po in particular from Monday to Friday. 

Fri 25th June: Ned's special surprise

Bye funny Loopy!

 I'm going to start with an adoption today, and this time it's puppy Loopy who left the Tai Po Homing Centre.  She began HKDR life in a foster home before moving to Whiskers N Paws as a full-time guest, but once she grew big enough to jump out of the puppy enclosure to take herself shopping, we had to send her up to Tai Po. Now she's made her final move to a forever home by a beach, so she can enjoy lots of running and playing and all of those good family times. 

This is a beautiful dog

The first of the dogs that lost their homes with the big redevelopment project in the North Eastern New Territories will be arriving on Sunday.  One of them is particularly lovely although we're told she's quite timid, but I expect being in a big space with other dogs will be more like the life she grew up with and will help her adjust.  

The second of the displaced dogs

One of the four (actually five if we include Gumbo) shiba inu at Ap Lei Chau will be leaving on Saturday to go to his new home.  That's Zippy, one of the two ex-breeder dogs who came to us not too long ago.  The other one, Stella, has also had a lot of interest so we expect her to be following Zippy before too long, while the other two, Shiro and new puppy Donny, can move up in the ranking.   Donny does need more time to settle though, so we won't be promoting him just yet. 

Shiro has lived in a home and is ready to go

Our overgrown puppy Ned, still at the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre because of his eating (swallowing) difficulties, had a lovely surprise gift from Vicki Cheng of Biscuit House today.  Ned was getting a bit big for the special Bailey Chair he has to use to keep him sitting upright at mealtimes, so Vicki custom-made him a booster table to make things easier. "We specialise in made to order pet beds, stairs, slopes, etc Everything customise to your dimensions and choice of fabric."  Check out biscuithousemade on Facebook and Instagram for anything you want customised for your pet. 

Ned needed a booster table to eat from 

Thurs 24th June: Happy and sad endings

 The three baby foundlings washed out of their nest by the heavy rain were brought to our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre to be picked up by their wonderful foster parent today. I think many of you are now following their story on Instagram @ why_i_foster so will know that Badger, the only boy, spent just a couple of hours in his new home before losing his fight to survive, meaning there are just the two girls Beryl and Bessie left from this litter.  They're both drinking their milk like champions, so they should be fine and will grow up to be strong and healthy.

Lorna was looking very full on Sunday

Continuing the natural cycle of life, which sadly includes death of course, it seems that pregnant Lorna, who recently arrived at our Tai Po Homing Centre, is about to give birth as she's looking for a nesting spot.  We'd found a home willing to take Lorna for the event and for the first few weeks of the pups' life, but I'm not sure we can move her at this stage.  Having a dog giving birth at Tai Po isn't what we want, nor is having yet another litter of puppies, but thanks to the irresponsibility of her previous owners, not to mention their heartlessness in leaving Lorna behind when they moved, we just have to accept what is. 

Jilly back home and looking relieved

On a happier note, after runaway Jilly returned to her foster home and was reunited with her corgi friend Bonnie, the foster made an instant decision to formally adopt both of them.  This is a wonderful way to end this particular story, especially as Bonnie had been one of our "Red" dogs, specifically chosen to go to this foster home for rehabilitation.  Jilly joined her because she had needed surgery on her leg to repair an old break, taking the just-vacated place of Wilfred, another "Red" dog who had successfully found a forever family thanks to his foster care. 

Little poodle Kitty has also found her forever home after her current foster parents decided not to adopt due to Kitty's heart murmur meaning she might not be able to fly with them when they return to Australia. 

We have a couple of events coming up, the big one being our Flag Day in July, and you can support without having to go out on the day to find a Flag Seller. For every donation of $380, you will be entitled to a set of gold flag and a “Adoption Saves Lives” metal pin.

For more information, please visit:

https://bit.ly/3fdAT9w

HKDR Flag Day 2021

https://hongkongdogrescue.com/flagday2021/

Date: 24th July (Sat)

Place: HK Island

Time: 7am to 12pm

For any enquiries regarding the Flag Day, please email to flagday@hongkongdogrescue.com

Weds 23rd June: Jilly is back!!

Three beautiful lives saved

 There's a lot to talk about today, but let me start with three babies who were washed down a hill by the very heavy rain today.  This happens every time there are storms, and unfortunately the mother dogs never seem to understand that fact.  I'd put out an urgent call for a foster home but have just heard from Cindy that one of our regular and amazing foster parents will take the triplets, and you'll be able to follow their progress on Instagram @ why_i_foster

I also need to give a shoutout to the rescuers of such puppies, as they are the unsung heroes as far as I'm concerned.  The videos I've seen of these people going out in the dead of night and in all weathers, such as this current heavy rain, make me want to give them all medals.  

I'm also going to jump ahead a day with the amazing news that runaway dog Jilly has been found, or rather she went back home!  Can you believe it, after all this time.  There's a wonderful video of the foster parent out with corgi Bonnie (also being fostered) and meeting Jilly in the street, and at first I thought this was the moment she had been caught but apparently not.  We're eager to hear all the details but for now it's just a huge relief for everyone. 

The shiba puppy is 7 months old

The shiba inu puppy turned up today, and as suspected the poor dog had been seriously underfed since he was a baby pupppy, resulting in his food guarding behaviour. How can anyone think that sending a starving dog away for training is going to change his obsession with food when it has been so scarce all his life?  Pet shops are known to recommend counting out every piece of kibble for puppies, meaning food becomes so precious they will fight for it to survive.  At HKDR we feed our puppies as much as they want so they never worry about food, or know what hunger feels like, and hopefully it's not to late to teach this new shiba puppy that he can happily share with everyone else.  We were told he's friendly with people and other dogs as long as there's no food around, so at least he can have fun playing while he's at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre. 

As you all know, anyone interested in adoption should start the process by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Not all applications to adopt are approved and there are different reasons for rejecting someone, but although we've often been accused of favouring the rich who live in big homes, in fact that's not true. There's a case that was shared on one of the Facebook groups about a labrador owned by a very wealthy family with a huge house in Repulse Bay, but while the family enjoyed the luxury of such a home the poor dog was kept outside at the back in a small walled area, open to all weathers, hot, cold and pouring rain, chained to a kennel.  The SPCA Inspectors were called because of the heavy rain but there was either no one at home or they didn't come to the door, but you have to wonder why such people have a dog at all.  Is it status, or what? I seriously hope the dog is taken away from them and they're prosecuted for cruelty, but with the laws as they stand I very much doubt it.  However these are the kind of homes we would never send a dog to, and since this case has been widely shared maybe the owners will be shamed into letting the labrador go to a new home where it will have the love and care every dog deserves. 

Tues 22nd June: When do you say no?

 I tend to lose track of where we are in terms of dogs coming in, or potentially arriving, as the surrender requests are endless.  Some of the dogs don't ever materialise, such as the shiba puppy that was due to be dropped off today but wasn't, but these are almost always the purebreeds that get passed from one home to another, along with their behaviour issues which worsen with each upheaval.  We may have a foster home for the old golden retriever boy I posted on our HKDR Facebook page, although that still needs to be confirmed, and there are also potentially four older poodles (from the same home) that could be coming.  

No names yet and quite timid

The only time we really know for sure that dogs and puppies will turn up is when they're from AFCD, and today there were two new puppies that needed taking from the Pokfulam Animal Management Centre, both girls. 

The big question is really when do you stop and say no, but that's very hard when you're dealing with lives and when the dogs are simply victims of circumstance, such as a further two from the North East New Territories development area.  There are probably hundreds of such dogs that have lost their homes and families, thanks to the Hong Kong SAR Government's heartless no-dogs policy in Public Housing.  Many, if not most, of these dogs won't pass the AFCD's assessment process and will be killed, so we can only do what we can for those lucky enough to be given the OK for re-homing.  

We have so many lovely dogs at our Tai Po Homing Centre, and every day I hope there will be news of a home for one or more of them.  At least they're safe, well fed and cared for, and maybe that's enough for a lot of them, but there are many who desperately want to be in a family home, to be loved and spoiled and treated like kings and queens.   Remember for constantly updated photos and videos you can always go to Eagle's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HKDR.DOGGIES, or https://www.facebook.com/HappyWoofHK

Mon 21st June: What not to do

We're hoping Johnnie won't be coming back

Quite a few people asked about terrier-type Johnnie, so I'm happy to report that he left today for a trial to see how he gets on with the other dogs in the home.  I hope it works out as it looks like the perfect environment for a lively and energetic young dog.

 While shibas Zippy and Stella are heading off to Acorn on Tuesday, another surrender request came in for a shiba inu puppy boy, just seven months old and already having been sent away for "training".  I use "training" in inverted commas because it's not what we would teach at our Positive Partners courses, or what we ask adopters to do, and certainly no puppy (or adult) benefits in any way by being sent off to live in a kennel and to be bullied and broken into submission.  There's a saying you get what you pay for, and in these cases what you get for your money is a dog that doesn't trust people, and is afraid of what's going to happen to them at any moment.  The irony is, of course, that after coming back from his month of "training", the owners of this puppy now want to surrender him because it didn't work.  The issue is food guarding, so common with this breed, and there's a reason for it to develop (inadequate food) and a relatively easy solution even if it's not an immediate cure.  Of course no dog or puppy with food guarding behaviour can be in a home with children. 

Puppies don't understand the concept of bad behaviour, so punishment for anything we see as being undesirable is pointless, and worse than that it's damaging.  The bond between a dog and the human family is based on trust, and how can a puppy trust someone who is going to hit them, jerk on their collar or yell at them for something they simply don't understand.  Puppies don't do things out of spite or malice, as that concept is totally alien to them.  They do things we don't care for because they don't know any better, so as their human guardians it's our job to communicate to them what it is we want.  The way to do that is to reward for good or desirable behaviour, either with a treat or simply praise, and to ignore the rest, or distract with something better.  

Damson came to us with the same food guarding

How many times have I written about shiba inus and their characteristic behaviour, their obstinacy mixed with high intelligence.  They can be fantastic little dogs if they have the right training and environment, and if their humans work with them together to achieve a great relationship.  Let's hope it's not too late for this young boy.  He's not with us yet so I will hold back on sharing photos or a name, but I just wanted to say something about the concept of sending your self-created problems to someone else to fix. 

The new puppies that arrived on Sunday are now the "E" litter, and they will be ready for adoption in a couple of weeks assuming they're fit and healthy. 

Sun 20th June: Urgent maternity foster home needed

Six new arrivals

 While Toggle was meeting his new big four-legged brother at Whiskers N Paws, six new youngsters arrived at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre and were immediately whisked off to their respective foster homes in pairs, via the ALCVC vet so they could have their first vaccination.  They were older than we expected them to be so their stay in foster will be short, but at least they will have two weeks of home care and observation before coming back to us.  Ideally they can be adopted directly, so as always if interested please complete the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Toggle and his new family

Teezil and Toggle 

Jimmy Tsang was our volunteer photographer for the Whiskers N Paws puppy session and there are some great shots here  Puppy Adoption Day 20th June 2021, particularly of little Teezil, the smallest of our current puppies.  I've mentioned before that he's a very bold and active little guy and you can see him flying around the terrace having the best time.   Just because a dog is small  doesn't mean it won't need good exercise, and Teezil is a puppy that will grow into an adult that will love hiking and swimming and all of that good fun stuff.

Johnnie loves going out and has lots of energy

Teezil and Quartz

The same applies to terrier-type Johnnie, for whom there have been many adoption applications but none so far that take into account the fact that Johnnie is a high energy dog who plays like a puppy and needs as much exercise as any large dog. 

Lorna was thrown out when her family left their home

 

There was one large adult at Whiskers N Paws and that was Lorna, sent to ALCVC because she appeared to be heavily pregnant after being left behind when her family moved out.  She is indeed, and about to give birth any day, probably to six or more puppies.  Having a dog giving birth at all, and especially at our Homing Centre, is not what we want and certainly far from ideal for Lorna, so if there's a foster home with space to keep a large dog and her newborn puppies, at least until the pups are a few weeks old, please let Cindy know as a matter of urgency.   Her email is foster@hongkongdogrescue.com. 

Sat 19th June: Huge relief as Jilly is spotted

 I'm getting ahead of myself now but I'm so happy to know that runaway dog Jilly has been spotted (by one of our foster parents), so now we know the location to start feeding and setting a trap.  It's such a relief to know that she's alive and that there's now hope of a safe capture.

Shiro is 5 years old

The shiba inu we were expecting turned up today, and she seems to be friendly but has been fed cheap and inappropriate food so has some hair loss and bald patches.  It's honestly common sense that what you feed a dog is going to impact their condition and health in the same way that living off instant noodles your entire life would do to you, and we always recommend that fresh meat and vegetables are added to whatever kibble you use.  There are some really awful pet foods being sold in supermarkets and pet shops, and for a start if it's multicoloured stay well away. I'm not against good quality kibble, but adding fresh food on top gives taste and variety.  The same applies to the really nasty treats that are available, and those that smell strongly of fruit or bacon or anything that has obviously been added, just avoid.   For the new shiba girl Shiro, we'll change her to a fish-based food and see how she does on that. 

There has been a lot of interest in the other two shibas, Stella and Zippy, but we want to wait until we see if they need surgery to fix Stella's leg and Zippy's jaw.

Tucker is corgi-shaped

Sunday is of course Whiskers N Paws puppy afternoon, 2pm to 4pm, and you can also meet the Homing Centre puppies any day of the week.  We have a very large selection of colours, shapes and sizes, from little Teezil and short-legged Tucker, to adorable "Little Whites" Percy and Quartz, and everything in between. 

"Little Whites" Percy and Quartz