Weds 11th Aug: One out and one in

Louie waited a long time for this day to come

 More than anything else I love hearing that one of our Tai Po dogs has been adopted, even if today's going-home was more of an older puppy than a mature adult.  Louie was always a beautiful puppy and he's grown into a handsome young dog, and as often happens I think the wait was worth it as he has a wonderful new home now. 

Poor Jolie is still full of milk

Of course we took in another dog to balance out the numbers, and we were told today's arrival is the mother of a litter that came to us on Sunday.  The poor mother is still full of milk and I was thinking we could have used her as a foster parent for newborns if we'd had any, but things never seem to work out so conveniently. 

Jolie is apparently the mother of these puppies

We get a lot of enquiries for dogs like shiba inu Donny, who's still a puppy and a purebreed so he attracts attention. 

Like so many shibas Donny has some behaviour issues

 However so far none of the potential homes have been suitable, and I have to explain that Donny can't be with children and must go to experienced adopters who can follow the guidance of our trainer Cactus to continue the behaviour modification that's ongoing at the Homing Centre.  One of the most important roles of our Homing Centre staff is to help with recommending the most suitable match for any potential adopters, and in many cases that means something completely different from the original choice.  For example a young adult if often a better option for a family with children because a puppy is like having a new baby in the home, requiring time, attention and training.  Also with an adult dog you can see exactly what size and temperament the dog has, so there's no guesswork involved.  A lot of people say they want their child or children to grow up with a puppy, but there's really only a few months separating a puppy from a young adult. 

Things we would consider when recommending a particular dog would be the size and location of any potential home, the number and age of the humans in the home as well as any other pets, the work situation of the adopters and how long a dog would be left alone, the exercise a dog would be given and whether the new family had any experience of taking care of a dog before.  There are many variables and points to consider, and because all of our Homing Centre staff have been working with HKDR for a long time they understand what works and what doesn't.  The adoption questionnaire is just a starting point to help us with the process, and the more information that's included on the form the better.  We want both sides to be happy and for the result to be a long and fulfilling relationship: www/hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/