Mon 27th Sept: The one special home that's just right

Ollie (l) and Lacey at WNP on Sunday

 There always seems to be a dog or puppy of the day, the one that everyone suddenly wants, and today it was puppy Ollie and Frenchie Squash.  Ollie is undoubtedly extremely cute, but he was at the Whiskers N Paws event on Sunday yet nobody took him home, and Squash has also been with us since the 18th of the month, again with no particular interest.  

I know both were posted on Facebook and that obviously attracts attention, but it seems to be that when it's the right time the dog will find the right home.  I have to add that we're not in a rush to get anyone out of the door, and some of the questionnaires I receive would mean a very sad life for any dog, and the worst thing of all is that many already have a dog in the home.  It really upsets me to know how many dogs are living tragically sad and lonely lives, and staying at the Homing Centre is a far better option in these cases. 

Referring to the above and the fact that we prefer to wait rather than let a dog go to a home that's not exactly right, I was very happy to receive enquiries today that sounded perfect for several dogs, Squash included. I really hope these materialise into actual adoptions, and you will read about it here if they do of course.   

Cricket is going to be a small-medium adult

As always almost all potential adopters ask about a puppy's adult size, and although we can see from the body shape of some that they will be small, or small-medium (those with short legs and long bodies), for very young pups like Ollie it's really impossible to know.  W can make a guess, but that could end up being completely wrong as we've found from previous experience.  Some end up much smaller and others much bigger, but in the end it's the personality than counts. 

Please don't forget the many lovely dogs we have at our Tai Po Homing Centre, as lots of them were themselves puppies not that long ago.  Too many of them also ended up in the sort of homes we don't want our puppies to go to, where the realisation that puppies grow very quickly into large dogs means them being ejected at the "teenage" stage.  An adult dog is easier in so many ways because what you see is what you get, meaning you know the full-grown size, look, energy level and temperament.  It takes the guesswork out of having a dog, and you miss all of the hard training work without missing more than a few months of a dog's life.  I think about all of the chewed furniture and multiple mobile phones and remote controls that I lost during the days when I had puppies on Lamma, and am happy that I can get my puppy fix at the Homing Centre without having the destruction at home any more.