Sat 27th April: Just a week to go!

 It's been strangely quiet since we moved all of the dogs out of our Kennedy Town (Brilliant Court) Homing Centre, although for the time being we're still occupying our North Street premises.  That's due to come to an end as well in a week's time when we move everything and everyone to Ap Lei Chau, combining both Kennedy Town Centres as well as the office into one space, making life a lot easier for volunteers and adopters too.  We actually take the place over on the 30th April, but will need to prepare everything before the dogs can move in, and that will probably be next weekend. 

Of course the dogs and puppies that had to move into temporary foster homes to allow the fixtures and fittings to be removed from Brilliant Court and transferred to Ap Lei Chau, are still available to meet (and adopt), and Cressie was one of the lovely puppies who met her new family during her foster stay.  While she now won't be at Whiskers N Paws for the Sunday Puppy Party, 2pm to 4pm, the gorgeous four youngsters that have been with me on Lamma will be making their debut this weekend, and I should issue an "too adorable" warning in advance.  It's been a long time since I've been woken early in the morning by the sounds of puppy play, and while it always makes me smile I hope all four will find their forever homes, or if not forever then at least fosters. 

The Samoyed that we were asked to take from AFCD was adopted even in advance of his arrival at Tai Po, and his new family are very experienced with the breed having had several before.  

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

For fostering please complete the form at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/volunteer/fostering/

Mon 21st April: We're still open for business even without a Kennedy Town Homing Centre

 It seems strange not to have a Kennedy Town Homing Centre any more, although the North Street (Kennedy Town) space is still operational until we can finally move all of the dogs to our new Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre on the first of May. I imagine it will take some time for everything and everyone to settle in, but at least we're familiar with the area and the facilities. The new place is just a few shops away from our previous location meaning the dog park and dog-friendly waterfront promenade are almost on the doorstep, which makes things very easy for the dogs and the volunteers.  

Even with all of the upheaval of packing up and getting dogs into foster homes for the ten days when there will be no Homing Centre, we're still carrying on as usual with adoptions and handling enquiries, and one lucky dog was adopted just minutes before doors closed at Brilliant Court for the last time.  This was Soda, and as we had a foster home arranged for him it meant a temporary home for Kingsley instead. 

Of course we hope that some of the dogs going to foster care won't be coming back, although we know that for most it's definitely a temporary situation. Poodle/bichon Bobbin was the first to have his foster status changed to adopted, and adorable little chihuahua-cross Pammy was only fostered for a matter of a day before her forever status was confirmed.  There are a few others who will probably not need to move back to Ap Lei Chau, but I'll wait for confirmation before naming them.  

As you must know by now, the adoptions at our Tai Po Homing Centre are especially happy ones because they don't happen often enough, even though the dogs are lovely and so deserving of a second chance.  Today it was the turn of Crinkle, the sweetest girl, and she has finally found her own family to love her.  

With the Easter holidays finally over (it's always slow during long breaks), I hope that will mean more dogs finding their forever homes.  If nothing else, I want to move the four puppies that are currently staying with me on Lamma, because they're not only incredibly beautiful but also super-friendly and desperate for human attention.  Under normal circumstances these youngsters would have been adopted within minutes, I'm sure, so let's see who the lucky families will be to take one or two of them home. 

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

Fri 18th April: The end of the Kennedy Town era

 Another reminder that this will be our final weekend at our Kennedy Town Brilliant Court Homing Centre, although we will remain at North Street until we can move into the new space in Ap Lei Chau.  Our call for temporary foster homes has resulted in almost all of the dogs having somewhere to stay during the ten days when the fixtures and fittings at Brilliant Court will be dismantled for re-installation at Ap Lei Chau, so a huge thank you to everyone for helping to make this possible.  The few dogs that are still without foster homes will have to be squeezed in at North Street, but hopefully there will be some late offers of foster homes on Sunday.

Obviously we have had to stop taking in any more dogs during this period, but this morning I got a message asking if we could accept five exceptionally gorgeous puppies.  They needed to be moved from wherever they were immediately, and having nowhere else to go I made the decision to say yes, while frantically posting their photos on Facebook in the hope that we could find fosters or adopters before they arrived.

I'd made other plans for the day but then dropped everything to try to arrange some space on Lamma to temporarily park the puppies, with everything being made doubly difficult due to it being a long holiday weekend and with so many people being away.  Thankfully one of our wonderful supporters (and adopter) was available to pick the puppies up from Kennedy Town with his car, and to drop them off on a sampan to send to Lamma.  In the meantime there was one offer of a foster home, so in the end four beautiful babies came to me until a better situation could be found. 

The photos don't really do justice to these adorable babies, and apart from being ridiculously cute they're also super friendly and desperate for attention.  If you're interested in adopting please complete the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/, or even foster homes would be appreciated (the form is at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/volunteer/fostering/.

If you would like to see videos of the puppies, I'll be sharing the on my Instagram @sallythedoglady.

Of course there are other equally gorgeous puppies also waiting for homes, and they will be at our regular Sunday Puppy Parties at Whiskers N Paws, Horizon Plaza, Ap Lei Chau (and you can take another look at last Sunday's photos here Puppy Adoption Day 13th April 2025 ).

There's some very happy news to share, as tiny Pammy's foster home very quickly changed to forever, a wonderful ending to a sad story. 

Also my Lamma dog Irwen, who was already suffering from a very bad heart condition before a freak accident which resulted in him losing an eye, is finally on the mend.  I had even reached the point of booking a vet appointment to have him euthanised when he was so low that the situation seemed hopeless, but the afternoon before the dreaded day arrived Irwen got up from his bed and asked for some chicken.   Of course his heart is never going to get better, but for now the crisis has been resolved, along with the stress that I was experiencing. 

Sun 13th April: One more week at Kennedy Town!

 I just had to share these beautiful photos of today's Puppy Party, even though they're already up on our HKDR Facebook page Puppy Adoption Day 13th April 2025.  We have so many gorgeous youngsters waiting for homes as you can see, so whether you like fluffy, scruffy or flat-coated dogs, we have just the right puppy for you.  

Eric Tang was the photographer today, and if you have been following HKDR for a while you'll probably recognise Eric's amazing talent and style.  Remember, if you're interested in adopting a puppy, or an adult large or small, please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/.

We have just one more week left at our Kennedy Town Brilliant Court Homing Centre before we have to move all of the dogs out prior to the move to a new Homing Centre in Ap Lei Chau.   To save money, we will be dismantling as much as possible from Brilliant Court to use again in the new location, so of course the dogs can't be there during this ten-day period.  Many of the current resident dogs have been offered temporary foster care, which is fantastic, thank you, but we still need more short-term foster homes so we can completely vacate Brilliant Court. 

Gorgeous puppies Cressie and Annie are currently in their lovely foster home, and you can check them out on Instagram @the_little_c_hkdrfoster 

We're also very happy that tiny chihuahua-cross Pammy has been offered a new foster home after previous fosters found her constant little "puddles" too challenging to deal with.  I'm not blaming them, by the way, because I understand why this could be an impossible situation, I'm just thrilled that despite knowing about the issue, one of our wonderful adopters has come forward. 

Of course even while we're trying to move the dogs and puppies out, there are still others in need of rescue, and we've been asked to take in a litter of young puppies from our long-term "rescue auntie".  I've attached a photo in the comments, so please let us know if you can help by taking in a pair.   We will provide everything that is needed in terms of food etc, we just need the home and loving care.  

Please complete the form at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/volunteer/fostering/ if you can help with these babies, or any of the Kennedy Town residents. 

Fri 11th April: Unfortunate accidents

 Two of the dogs that had to go to Acorn Vet Hospital today were there for unusual reasons, not exactly freak accidents but certainly unforeseen.  One of these dogs was Bucket, a Cane Corso who came to us as an older puppy and who is still with us due to his breed, size and strength, making him unsuitable for most homes in Hong Kong.  Being a large dog with tons of energy, it was very noticeable that he had become very quiet and subdued, and we thought he had injured his leg or hip somehow.  However after a thorough examination, including X-rays, Dr Tony diagnosed a snake bite, thankfully not fatal but painful enough to make Bucket feel very pretty bad.  He's getting better now, and looking on the bright side we at least know that all of his legs and hips are in good working order. 

The second dog was my Lamma boy Irwen, already suffering from a very bad heart which has necessitated him going for regular drainage of fluid from his abdomen (ascites).   I have no idea how it happened, but another dog must have accidentally bitten Irwen's eye, rupturing the eyeball. There is nothing that can be done to save the eye as it's already gone, but I have a strong painkiller and antibiotics for Irwen to at least make him as comfortable as possible while the wound heals.  Of all the dogs to have this happen to him, Irwen is the least deserving as he's such a calm and sweet boy, not to mention already very slow because of his heart condition.  However, what's done is done, and I know whoever caused the injury didn't mean to hurt Irwen because all of the dogs get along well. 

With the weekend coming up I hope we'll be seeing more dogs leaving for their new homes, even if there's rain forecast.  While little Barbie (now Oreo) left to start a new family life, we took in three new dogs from AFCD.  All have sad stories (obviously, since they ended up at AFCD), but at least the two smaller ones will have adoption interviews on Saturday.  Now-Milky, a very sweet mixed breed girl, will probably be waiting a lot longer for a new home, even though most of the Tai Po dogs are just as sweet and easy as their Kennedy Town counterparts.  

There was another adoption that I want to give a special mention to because Jinks is a little dog who had a very sad back story.  He has been in a wonderful foster home for a long time, but now he has been made an official member of the family.

"After almost two years, I need to inform you that Jinks’ foster failed.  My family has decided to formally adopt Jinks, we cannot let him leave.

The image of first meeting Jinks back to May 2023 has always been lingering in my mind.  His eyes were full of fear and hopelessness.  Although he was badly injured, got a metal bullet under his ear and looked like handicapped, our family has never had backed down in his foster.  A big credit to my helper to spend huge efforts in taking care of him.  We gained his trust after almost two years, and he now enjoys being hugged by humans.

After a few physiotherapy sessions, daily training and massage at home and a set of proper wheels, we found a miracle is born, Jinks is now a three-leg dog, instead of walking on both wrists.  He has been trying to be normal and working hard to walk by one of his front paws and we can see he is building confidence in front of my other two dogs.

I really hope Jink’s story can deliver a message to everyone that the dogs waiting for adoption may be shy, not friendly, handicapped, sick or under horrible condition just like Jinks, love heals."  (Please see the video of Jinks in the comments below).

I would also like to give a big thank you to the foster parents of newly-arrived Collie, Shanti, as the anal lump that was removed has shown to be a carcinoma (cancer). Although completely excised, the tumour was already very large so will inevitably already have spread, meaning ongoing care will be palliative.  The very kind foster parents have said they will look after Shanti until the end, for which we are really extremely grateful.

Not every home is suitable for keeping a dog, no matter how kind and loving the people are, just because there are certain things a dog needs which love only can't provide.  I found the following video which I thought explained it very well, and might be helpful to those whose applications to adopt were turned down.  It's never a personal judgement, rather part of our mission to educate about dog ownership and to try to prevent the never-ending abandonment situation: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzdjh_dypVU

Sun 6th April: Lucky dogs and lucky families

 We have so many absolutely beautiful (and super cute) puppies available at the moment, and volunteer photographer Laura Nie was at Whiskers N Paws today to show exactly that: Puppy Adoption Day 6th April 2025. I adore them all, and would honestly find it hard to resist if I could squeeze more little bodies into my home, but other lucky families will have to do that instead.  Please complete the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/ if you're looking for a puppy, or an adult dog, small or large. 

There were two such lucky families today, and two equally lucky puppies in Casper and Amos.  We also welcomed Samara and her TwoPresents donation, for which many thanks, and if you would also like to share your birthday or any other celebration with HKDR and our puppies, please check out their website at www.twopresents.com. 

It's not long now before we'll be packing up our Centres in Kennedy Town and making the move back to Ap Lei Chau, and if you haven't already seen the previous messages about short-term foster homes, here's what we need.  I do want to make one special request for all potential fosters, and that is if you offer to bring a dog home for the short period needed, that you don't change your mind later.  Sadly this happens a lot, and in this particular situation we can't risk being left with dogs that have nowhere to go after having been promised temporary care.

SHORT-TERM "RENOVATION" FOSTERS NEEDED FOR SMALLER DOGS!

In case you've missed the news about our upcoming move from Kennedy Town back to Ap Lei Chau, there will be a period of about 10 days when the fixtures and furnishings at our current Kennedy Town Homing Centre will be taken down and re-installed at Ap Lei Chau.

We will need to move all of the dogs out of our Brilliant Court (Kennedy Town) Centre by 20th April for that period, after which they can move full time to Ap Lei Chau.

Normal foster care requirements will still apply, but as it's only for a short time we hope that we can find enough temporary homes for all of the dogs.

If you can help, please complete the form at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/volunteer/fostering/

If you have adopted a dog from us, or have fostered before, please email Cindy direct at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.

Thank you in advance for your help, and we look forward to welcoming you all to our new Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre after the 1st May!

Fri 5th April: A long weekend catch-up

 We took in some new dogs at Kennedy Town today, Sunny, Simon and Skittle, while previously-resident Patch and Paula are now on trial adoptions to see how they get along with the respective family dogs.  Corgi Bella was also on a short trial for the same reason, and her adoption has now been confirmed. 

The first two of the new fluffy pup litter have already been adopted, and happily they have gone to the same home where they can enjoy lots of fun and games as they grow up together.  Of course there are many other gorgeous puppies waiting for homes, and you can see their photos here Puppy Adoption Day 30th March 2025, taken by Carol Chan at last Sunday's Puppy Party at Whiskers N Paws, 10/F Horizon Plaza, Ap Lei Chau.  We're there every Sunday afternoon from 2pm until 4pm, and it's the best place to meet all of the puppies at the same place as many of them are staying in foster homes.  

As I'm sure you know, foster homes play an important - if not vital - part in the successful running of HKDR, and we're always very grateful to those who offer temporary care to the dogs and puppies in need of a place to stay while waiting for adoption.  One particular foster of several of our smaller dogs, now in their own forever homes, arranged a get-together of her previous charges who are all now living close to each other.  In the photo you can see Sally, Umbria, Porter, Toffee and Gabby, and it's also lovely to hear that previously shy and overweight Gabby has undergone a transformation. "Gabby has come a LONG way, no longer obese and actually playing! Approaching new humans and even running! I cannot believe it. Incredible."   

No matter how many times we've seen this happen, seeing timid dogs come out of their shells once they feel secure, it always makes me happy.  Several of the dogs staying at our Kennedy Town North Street Centre came to us as very scared individuals, completely shut down and refusing any human interaction, but over time they have blossomed into sweet, happy and trusting characters.  Some of you will remember Hetty when she first arrived at our then-Elgin Street Centre as being so scared, curling her body up to avoid being noticed or touched,  while now she is the happiest dog in my Lamma-dog family.  All any of these dogs need is a home where they can feel safe, secure and loved, and while it can take time and a lot of patience, seeing the turnaround is worth the wait. 

If you're interested in adopting, please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/, while for fostering the form is at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/volunteer/fostering/. 

We prefer that puppies stay in foster homes until they're adopted, while for the adult dogs it's usually the surgery or special needs cases that benefit most from being in foster care.  These could be the shy ones, or seniors, or those who find it hard to cope with being at the Homing Centres.