Sat 29th June: The results of irresponsible owners

 I was supposed to be taking two more of the very shy and hairy Lamma dogs to Acorn for sedation so they could be shaved, but that had to be put on hold when the clinic had an emergency surgery appointment.  

I was quite relieved because the chihuahuas were coming and I wanted to be able to concentrate on making sure they arrived safely, and that the potential adopters were kept informed.  As they weren't even licensed, let alone vaccinated or desexed, the first thing we had to do was to get them to AFCD for their microchips, rabies shot and license, and as always we suggest this as the fastest and easiest option when it comes to registering a dog under your name.  The cost is only $80 and the paper license is issued on the spot, whereas if you get the rabies vaccination done at any vet clinic it can take months to process.  During the time it takes for AFCD to receive the application form from the vet clinic, and to enter the details into their database and issue the license, the dog is not registered under any name, so if the dog is lost for any reason the microchip will show as not having any named owner. 

Riddle and Roddy 

Rowena 

Back to the chihuahuas, by the time we were able to pick the dogs up from their (not registered) owner, there were only seven rather than ten, the other three having been passed to "friends".  This was a situation I had been trying to avoid, which is why we even agreed to go to Yuen Long to collect the chihuahuas rather than insist they be brought to us.  We knew they weren't desexed and were left alone together to mate freely, and the youngest of them were already old enough to be having their own puppies.  In fact one of the only two females may well be pregnant, which the adopter is aware of.  Four of the chihuahuas have found new homes, so we have three males still available, and they're all young.  They're Raphael, Ricky and Ranger. 

Ruby 

Teds is now Panda 

A very popular older puppy was also adopted today, and Teds is now called Panda and he's already enjoying his new life and the beach he now lives close to.  

There is another thing I found out today regarding the two young boys, Lennox and Lewis, who were adopted together by a totally irresponsible man.  Not only did he suddenly leave Hong Kong after putting the two dogs in the care of a pet sitter and cutting off all contact, but it also turned out that they hadn't been desexed.  Thankfully they aren't females, who would have given birth to puppies by now, but it means HKDR have to arrange for the desexing, as well as heartworm tests because there has been nothing given to prevent this. I'm furious with the adopter of course, but also so upset for the poor dogs.  

Lennox and Lewis just before adoption 

As hard as we try to make sure that our dogs and puppies go to good homes with responsible adopters, there are always going to be those who slip through the net, and it's the innocent dogs who suffer for it.  

If you can offer Lennox and Lewis a new and forever home it would be amazing, and would at least compensate for the sad and shocking story of their lives so far.  They're still young, only medium sized, and they deserve so much better.  

For all adoption enquiries please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/.