Fri 15th Oct: Leaving a legacy

As more of the Typhoon Foster dogs are returning to the Tai Po Homing Centre there are so many heartwarming messages about how well they did and how lovely they are, like this one about Maya:

Beautiful Maya

"We’d like to share our experience in fostering Maya for the past few days. She’s really stolen our hearts and we would have loved to keep her if we had more space or ready access to a park, but it just wouldn’t be fair to her to stay in the busy streets of Wan Chai. 

We took in Maya as a typhoon foster and were sorely tempted to keep her for longer. She is a wonderful dog; she is calm, sweet, very smart, and has a cheeky side as well! She's also a beautiful dog who deserves a good home.

We have a resident dog to begin with, who is also a rescue and on the anxious side. He isn't good with other dogs at all and we were worried about how the two would get along. But Maya is clearly a seasoned, experienced older dog and respected his space. She knew when to leave him alone, and when to slowly approach for a gentle sniff. In short - we've never seen him as comfortable and relaxed with another dog as Maya. That's not to say that she loves other dogs, but she clearly has good interaction skills.

With us, she was reserved at first but we realized that butt scritches were the way to her heart! She opens up quickly when you treat her with kindness and lots of rubs. We've been cornered a number of times on the sofa by Maya presenting her rear end for a good scratch! She's also got a mischievous, playful side and enjoys attention. She will follow you from room to room just to stay with you.

Maya is also clearly a very smart dog; in the space of two days, she's already learned how to open door latches by placing her paws on top of them. She's also clearly spent time observing us, as she's learned which doors are meant to be pushed and which ones are meant to be pulled open with a sneaky paw!

If you give her a chance, Maya will quickly find her way to your heart. She's a loyal soul, responsive, and learns quickly. She hasn't quite figured out yet how to navigate the busy city streets comfortably, but she listens when we ask her to slow down and knows when to sit and take a minute. It would be best if the potential adopter lives close to a park or an open space as she really enjoys being on grass.

She's also the best bathroom guard you could have; she will accompany you on every trip!"

Who wouldn't love a dog like Maya?

Shep is a great family dog

Another lovely dog who's currently in foster care, and not just for the typhoon, is the border collie Shep. He was found wandering near our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, and although at first we were told there was no registered owner it turned out there was someone, but that person had long since passed Shep on to someone else, and who knows how many times that's happened. The good thing is that we now have a confirmed age of nine years, so Dr Tony's estimate of eight was pretty close, and the original owner has agreed to officially surrender Shep so he can be re-licensed under a new name.  Shep is an incredibly sweet dog, very gentle and easy to have in the home, so if anyone can offer him a place in your family please complete the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/ 

We received an email from a legacy donation platform ForeverGift  遺善最樂 (forevergift.hk) saying "I am delighted to inform you that we are making a Will for a supporter of yours, who approached us through our free will-writing campaign."    Writing a Will is maybe not something you want to think about but it's important, and it seems like a perfect opportunity to do just that.  Leaving even a small legacy to HKDR is something that's so easy to do, so please take a look the links shown and see if that's something you would like to do.