Sat 10th May: We're fully operational at Ap Lei Chau

 Now that we're fully operational at our new Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, we're starting to fill up quickly with new dogs, as well as our previous residents and foster dogs starting to come back from their temporary homes.  Happily not all are returning as some were adopted during their "holiday" (Tinker for example), but obviously not all were so lucky.

The new dogs are lovely, all very sweet and happy characters, but as you will probably have already seen there are two that need surgery on their legs.  One is tiny poodle Gimlet, whose previous injuries are quite severe and will need specialised surgery followed by physiotherapy to get the leg working again.  Thank you to everyone who has donated so far towards the surgery cost, and to Heal (located in Horizon Plaza, next to Whiskers N Paws) for offering to provide the essential physiotherapy afterwards.  We're extremely grateful for the kindness shown when dogs need that extra bit of help.

Noodle the Whippet is the other dog who will be having surgery next week, fortunately less complicated than Gimlet's, but his problem is a result of previous surgery gone wrong.  As I have said before, it's really important that you choose the surgeon carefully if your dog needs bone or joint repair because if not done properly the effects will last a lifetime. 

I went with the new dogs to AFCD on Friday to have them microchipped and licensed, and they were all very sweet and brave.  As usual I feel in love with all of the fuzzy-faced terrier types, and particularly Griff.  It seems that he has been in a home before because he was very relaxed, wanted to sit on my lap, and jumped into the (volunteer's) car as if he was very used to it.  

On Sunday we'll be back at Whiskers N Paws with our lovely puppies, and everyone is welcome to come along to meet them between 2pm and 4pm.  To make things easier, please complete the adoption questionnaire in advance so you won't have to do it there.  It's at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/.

Mon 5th May: Open for business at Ap Lei Chau!

It's taken a long time, including many months of discussion, negotiation and planning,  but we are finally ready to open the doors to our new Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre at 13-15 Wai Fung Street, just a few doors down from our previous location.   

This means that our "renovation foster" dogs will be coming back, at least those that haven't been adopted during their home-stay holiday, and we'll also be taking in new dogs starting on Tuesday when we'll receive two beagles, a corgi and a ten month-old whippet.  On Wednesday there will be more smaller dogs coming, so as always if you're interested please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/.

We still have so many gorgeous puppies available for adoption, and you can see their photos here  Puppy Adoption Day 4th May 2025, taken at Sunday's Puppy Party by Lauren Cheung. 

I'm thrilled to be able to report some happy adoptions from our Tai Po Homing Centre, including Crinkle (who I think I've already mentioned), Ruthie, and soon-to-be-adopted Flippy.  Many of our dogs wait years before being chosen, so it's always a special occasion. 

Since I don't have the time to write a daily blog these days, please keep updated on what's happening by checking our HKDR Facebook page, or Instagram @hkdr_official.   We have all sorts of events taking place regularly, and you won't want to miss out. 

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