Thurs 10th June: Bits and pieces of a busy day (as always)

 As always there's lots of things going on daily, whether or not they're particularly newsworthy or of interest to those outside HKDR, so here's a sample of today's bits and pieces.

Dainty not looking happy in the crate

Iris came over to Lamma again, in part to help take Dainty over to Acorn to get her ears checked but also to see the small dogs and possibly take poodle Kobe back to Ap Lei Chau with her.  That didn't happen because American cocker Leo and little mixed breed Piper decided they wanted Iris's attention, making Kobe stay away.

American cocker Leo

It's never our intention to hold onto dogs for their whole lives, and as we've seen with the "Red Dogs" at Ap Lei Chau, over time many dogs change their behaviour and are ready to move on.  When Leo first came to us as an older puppy he had some issues for sure, and it really didn't work out for him staying at the Homing Centre as he howled constantly.   Since moving to the Home for Small Delinquents on Lamma he's settled and matured, in both age and his behaviour, and we think he's ready for the right home now.   He's still only eight years old even though his white muzzle makes him appear a bit older, and he loves toys, walks and swimming as well as attention having someone around.  I'm often asked if we have any spaniels, not a popular breed in Hong Kong these days, and Leo isn't a dog that can comfortably be around children but who knows.  He used to hate other dogs but he sleeps and plays with the others in his home, so maybe that's all in the past. 

Iris brought toys for Piper

Piper was another angry boy when he first came to us and again he didn't fit in at the Homing Centre, and even on Lamma it took a while for him to relax and drop the behaviour issues.  Admittedly he's doubled in size (width) so that might be part of it, but he's also become very happy and playful, and he really loves his toys. Piper's ten years old now, still young enough to enjoy life and all it has to offer, and a home without other dogs and no children would be perfect for him.

Kitty thinks she's a cat

There's also another small dog who definitely doesn't have any behaviour problems, but it's her bad heart that means her foster parents can't risk taking her back to their native Australia when the time comes.  Kitty is five years old according to her ex-owner, although to be honest she could be a year or so older, but she's an incredibly sweet dog who loves being part of the family and behaves more like a cat (according to her current foster home).  It's quite appropriate that I gave her the name of Kitty when she was surrendered to us!

That's a lot of food for our HKDR dogs!

Over at Tai Po we accepted yet another older puppy, and there was a bit of a drama getting him from where he came from over to the Homing Centre, so although I'm told he's a sweet boy he was too scared for photos today.

More happenings at Tai Po as we had a fantastic donation of 600kg of Buddy Bites delivered by Chris and Ryan as part of their shelter support programme.  This means that for every bag of Buddy Bites sold HKDR get some too, so thank you to all HKDR supporters and adopters who are finding out that having a regular delivery made directly to your home (and you don't even have to remember to order it) of food the dogs really love means helping our dogs too.  If you're feeding kibble as part of your dog's diet please give Buddy Bites a try, and I'm sure if you ask you'll be given a free trial bag. Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/buddybiteshk

Finally I want to say a big thank you to Charlene for this very lovely video presentation she made as part of Project GenE storytelling competition on women's empowerment, hosted by the Hong Kong Association of Business and Professional Women.  I'm honoured to be chosen by Charlene.  Charlene's tribute https://www.dropbox.com/s/jc2clegs0pq3btg/IMG_4277.MOV?dl=0