For the second day in a row I had an early start so I could get my Lamma dog Irwen to Acorn, once for X-rays and then again for a heart scan (sadly he's not well). Having to leave home in the morning means I can't do much else, and certainly don't have time to write a blog post, although I try to cover as much as possible by getting up an hour or so earlier. I'd planned to write something when I got home, but then there was so much else to do that the blog got pushed to one side.
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| Samoyed puppy was in-and-out |
In addition to the vet visit, the dogs that I wrote about in last Friday's post arrived today; three small and one medium-sized Samoyed puppy. He was in-and-out, as we had a waiting list for this breed from a previous Samoyed that had passed through our doors. You can refer back to that post for information and photos, because today I wanted to write about HKDR's financial situation. You may have seen the post on Instagram and Facebook, and I want to thank all of those who have already responded by donating.
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| Gorgeous little Tessie is 5 months old |
It's very difficult to have to ask for money, but I'm sure everyone knows that there's been a financial downturn since Covid make an unwelcome appearance. So much changed during those years, and we lost everything we'd worked so hard to build as we had no opportunity to fundraise, and adoptions were so slow. Our long-term supporters are still leaving Hong Kong in a steady flow, even if not in the large numbers of previous years, and building up a new loyalty base is tough.
There's always been an unfortunate myth that HKDR is a rich charity with lots of money to spare, but that's never been true and certainly isn't now. Apart from anything else, we have more dogs than anyone else so our costs are high, even if we try as hard as we can to budget. We're extremely grateful for the regular food donations from Buddy Bites, but we still have to buy extra, and all treats are either donated or bought by volunteers as can't afford luxuries such as these. We rely on donations for everything that isn't absolutely essential, from toys to beds, pee pads and grooming tools, bowls and bedding.
While we have been scouting around for new premises, there's again the issue of cost and whether we can even afford to move. We want to find somewhere better and cheaper, not to mention bigger, but the renovation costs are always an issue, and right now we don't have the funds to cover anything.
In fact, the truth of it is that unless we can manage to bring in a significant amount, and very quickly, we have exactly two months to go before the bank account is completely drained. Don't ask me what will happen then, because I don't have an answer to that question.
What is do know is that it's time for the HK Government to step up and offer real support to the Animal Welfare Organisations that shoulder the burden of dog (and other pets) overload. We take the dogs from AFCD but are offered nothing in return, having to cover all vet and (usually long-term) care costs. We receive no government funding other than a tiny annual subvention, nowhere near enough to cover our monthly expenses of $1,000,000+. The Animal NGOs are the ones who are inundated with unwanted and abandoned pets due to the lax, if any, punishments for irresponsible ownership and illegal breeding. We're asked to accept the unwanted puppies that are born by the thousand every year, but which few people want to adopt because they're mongrels. Every day we receive multiple surrender requests from people who either no longer want their dogs, or who say they can't care for them any longer.
How long can this situation continue for, when everyone is running out of money and having to beg for donations just to be able to survive. Something has to change, and quickly.
https://hongkongdogrescue.com/donate/sponsor-a-dog-life-saver-club/
One-off donation is of course also very welcome 
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