Sun 17th July: Two non-surprises

The adoption photo of Penny isn't available yet

I'm still waiting for photos of the puppies at Whiskers N Paws and there may be some delay as we had a new volunteer photographer (thanks Karina) while Semirah is away on holiday, although will still be editing and posting the album as usual.  There were two adoptions, neither of which were a surprise as one was Penny's, already arranged and agreed, and the other was a failed volunteer foster.  This is the third such "failed foster" adoption for Becky and her husband Ted, the other two being Malamute Tofu and mixed breed Lily, who started life as newborn Emerald.  They already had two adopted samoyeds, so I know this is now it, full house and no more.  However for one last time, thanks and congratulations for giving Lulu a loving and forever home.

Lulu was always a mummy's girl

There were two newcomers on the terrace today, although they weren't new to me because they came from AFCD a couple of weeks ago with demodex (skin mites) and looked too shabby to be showcased for adoption.  Now they are almost better and they had the best time running around like lunatics and playing with almost-grown-up Dexter, who liked them as much as they liked him.  These two sharpei-cross puppies are lots of fun, so look out for photos of Jenna and Sidney when they are posted.

Our first ever Flag Day is coming up very soon and although it seems strange, it's very important that we raise a minimum amount to be able to apply for another future Flag Day.   You don't have to be out on the streets to donate as you can do so from the comfort of your own home through this link  http://hongkongdogrescue.com/event/flagday2016/buy-a-flag/

Please support, as every dollar we bring in goes towards rescuing more dogs and being able to take care of the six hundred we already have.

Sat 16th July: Penny and Chance

Penny and Domino have been together since they were very young

I think I prefer the rain to dripping with my own sweat as the puny air conditioner fights a losing battle against the intense heat.  No doubt I will have my wish for some relief granted before too long and regret it, but for now I'm happy that I can get my Lamma puppies over to Whiskers N Paws on Sunday without battling the elements.  One puppy won't have to make the boat trip again, as Penny was sent to Ap Lei Chau today for an adoption interview which she happily passed, so she will be picked up on Sunday after spending the night at the Homing Centre.  Penny's best friend Domino will miss her playmate, and it would be lovely to see both girls leaving at the same time to start their new lives.

Chance has been with us since April when he came from AFCD

There is also light at the end of the tunnel for another Ap Lei Chau dog who was never meant to be staying for so long anyway.  Chance is the three-legged dog who was offered a home in Canada, but we have been waiting to arrange everything for his long-haul flight, including treating his heartworm infection (now all cleared). I posted on Facebook that we needed someone to take Chance to Vancouver as excess baggage, and thank you to everyone who offered to help.  It turned out that Air Canada won't accept dogs on flights until September when it's cooler, so that automatically disqualified quite of few of the offers and now it looks as though it will be our ex-General Manager, Linda, who will be the one to accompany Chance on the flight at the beginning of August.   I really appreciate that so many people responded to my request, so thanks again.

Snow and our HKDR umbrella

I'm sure husky Snow was very relieved to be leaving Tai Po today for her trial adoption.  I can't imagine what it's like for these thick-coated breeds that have to live outside,  and it's frustrating and upsetting that people continue to buy Siberian huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Tibetan mastiffs and so on.  The clue is in the name, and these dogs should be living in cold climates not the tropics, but if they have to be here then the very least they should have is air conditioning (that works, unlike mine!)

See you at Whiskers N Paws if you're looking for a puppy

Fri 15th July: A day at Tai Po

Target was today's lucky Ap Lei Chau dog

Another lucky small dog left Ap Lei Chau today, so it's been a good week so far for the little ones. Target was yet another unknown in terms of age or history, having come to us from AFCD after he was picked up as a stray without a microchip giving any information about age or owner.  The AFCD vet estimated he was around two years old so that is now the official age recorded on his license, not that it matters that much now because he has found his forever home.

I spent the afternoon at the Tai Po Homing Centre, which as I mentioned makes me feel very sad for all of the lovely dogs that have been waiting so long for homes which have yet to materialise.  "My" girls Alison and Jersey greeted me with the same enthusiasm that they always have, despite the fact that it's been years since they were puppies at my house on Lamma.   In the end it was their brother Jinx's good luck that he had a broken leg as a baby, because he ended up staying with me as a result and is one of the group that joins the daily hike and sleeps inside on a soft bed.  I wish I could offer his sisters the same comforts and luxury.

Gypsy is another dog who always pulls at my heartstrings, and I can't forget her as a puppy and the surgeries she needed on her front legs to enable her to walk.  Until she was old enough to have remedial surgery she used to walk upright on her back legs which was very cute, although of course not desirable in the long term.   Gypsy has a few things that are "different", rather like my "wobbly dogs" on Lamma, but I love her all the more for her little wonky face and big lop-sided smile.

Gypsy will always be special to me

Domino will miss her friend Penny if she leaves on Saturday

The weekend is upon us again and Sunday means Whiskers N Paws, just as it has done for the past six years or so.  Since last Sunday we have said goodbye to three lucky pups who were there last Sunday but have since been adopted: Suzie, Fanta and Oscar, and on Saturday sweet Penny is going over to Ap Lei Chau to meet her potential family.  Even if she ends up being taken to her new home and not coming back to Lamma we still have plenty of others hoping to be as lucky.  There are the four gorgeous brothers: Tim, Jonny, Wiggle and Jonas, as well as Oscar's identical sister Mole, siblings Creamy and Goldie, Penny's best friend Domino and her sister Cherry,  and

Jonny is also in foster

two first-timers.

Jonas has been in a foster home with Wiggle

Thurs 14th July: Three more lucky dogs

Suzie and Pops adopted together

Starting with more good news today, another puppy was adopted from our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre along with Pops, a very sweet little guy who I'd posted on Facebook in the hope it would find him a home, and it did.  So Suzie and Pops are now residents of Repulse Bay, a far cry from AFCD and their former lives.

In the same Facebook post as Pops I'd also profiled Yorkshire terrier Mona, the last of the group of breeder dogs that came from AFCD together.  She'd almost had a home last week but when that didn't happen I thought I'd better give her a boost, and as a result she too is now in a home.

Mona has also gone to a new home

I only stopped briefly at AFCD in Pokfulam today as I needed to get ownership of a surrendered American cocker spaniel changed, and I also wanted to say goodbye and thank you to the person who's been handling the re-homing for the past couple of years.  Ken Kwan is moving on to another department within AFCD, and when I asked him if he was happy about that he said yes, agreeing that his soon-to-be-vacant job was probably the worst.  I don't think anyone likes having to deal with killing dogs, at least I hope not, and I know the staff are always happy when I take any out.

There were new dogs that had been brought in by the dog catchers, from Lamma and from Lantau, but sadly not any I would consider to be homeable so they will meet their maker very soon. I try not to dwell on it knowing there's nothing I can do to save their lives, but for that moment when I see them and have to choose life or death it's really very hard.

I did say yes to yet another turtle although I still have a few from last year, so if anyone can adopt one or more red-eared sliders please please let me know.  They range from medium to large sized, and I can't keep them all.

The real purpose of my outing today was to take Hilton to see a vet, and I'm happy I did because I was wrong in thinking he had a dislocated hip because what he actually has is a fibrocartilaginous embolism (FCE) which is something like a stroke in the spinal column which leads to (hopefully temporary) loss of blood supply to the affected limb(s).  I suppose Hilton is lucky that it's only the one leg that's affected so he can still get around, albeit dragging his "dead" leg along.  I'll have to get a sock or a boot to protect his toes from being rubbed raw, which is already starting to happen, but other than that it's  case of wait-and-see (and hope).

Weds 13th July: Chewy needs help

Good or bad news for Hilton?

As I thought would happen, Hilton made a valiant attempt at following me and the dogs as we left for our morning walk, but I couldn't let him come.  At least it allowed me to better assess the situation and change my mind about what was wrong with him, and now rather than his lameness being due to failing health it looks more like a dislocated hip.  He had very bad hip dysplasia as a puppy, but as he grew older and started exercising he coped very well and it never stopped him from walking for miles and running just like the other dogs.  However, as I know from others who have hip dysplasia,  it's quite easy for the "ball" to come right out the socket as a result of any accident, and maybe Hilton slipped on wet mud or something as simple as that.  It's good news and bad, because although surgery to cut away the femoral head is relatively simple and very effective, Hilton is an old dog and any surgical procedure is a risk. I'll know more after seeing the vet on Thursday.

Chewy is beautiful and very sweet but she can't stay at Tai Po

We have another difficult case at Tai Po, and one that has perplexed the vets as much as all of us.  This involves a lovely dog called Chewy, a German shepherd cross who had lived on a fishing boat her entire life before being surrendered to AFCD.  Shortly after she arrived at the Homing Centre she started sneezing and blowing large amounts of mucous from her nose.  She has had all sorts of tests to find out what the problem is and the results have come back negative for anything identifiable.  I even asked AFCD to contact the ex-owner to find out if Chewy had any previous history of a snotty nose, which they very kindly did, and the answer was no, she was always very healthy (as she had been when I first took her out).  Now we are left with what seems to be an allergy to the Tai Po Homing Centre itself, or rather the environment, so the only thing left is for us to move Chewy out and into a home.   If anyone can offer a foster space for her, please let me know.  Chewy is a very sweet girl with no behaviour issues, but we can't keep her at Tai Po when she is sneezing and losing weight as a result.  Please email me at sally@hongkongdogrescue.com if you can help Chewy.

Alison and Jersey (right ) on a recent day out

I'll be at Tai Po myself on Friday for what are becoming increasingly rare visits due to heavy work commitments elsewhere, and it's always a bitter-sweet time for me as I get to see my ex-Lamma puppies again.  Of course they are all grown up now and many are middle-aged, but some remember me as much as I do them, and greet me as though I was there only yesterday.  It's very hard for me to know that despite our best efforts in finding them homes they are still there, year after year, waiting and hoping.  Probably that hope is from our own human perspective, but still I know that they would love to be in a real home and have a soft bed and cuddles on demand.  Sisters Alison and Jersey, as well as their brother Felix, are three such dogs, and I can't wait for the day when I can post their adoption photo.

Alison and Felix at Whiskers N Paws as puppies

Felix as a baby

Tues 12th July: Good news for two lucky pups

Two very lucky puppies, Fanta and Oscar

There was cause for celebration today as two puppies left for their forever home together.  One of them was Fanta, a beautiful girl who has been waiting too long since being returned from a trial adoption with best friend Trixie, who was subsequently chosen and left the Homing Centre.  Of course Fanta had other puppies to play with but we all wanted her to have a real home of her own again, and today was the day.

Fanta and Trixie had been best friends

Another puppy who had been picked for the shortlist from photos of Sunday's puppy afternoon was Oscar, a new boy whose lookalike sister wasn't at Whiskers N Paws last week because of kennel cough.  Both had previously been in homes so are well socialised and very affectionate, but living on Lamma.  It was Oscar's luck that I succeeded in finding a sampan to take him over to Ap Lei Chau as it took a while, but I managed to get him on one that was delivering the regular Tuesday dog food supply and had no reason to say no to taking a little passenger back.  That was Oscar's first and last solo boat trip as he is now Fanta's "brother" and has a wonderful life ahead of him.

Oscar at his first and last Whiskers N Paws

My happiness at the double adoption was rather muted due to the fact that one of my older dogs suddenly became very weak on his back legs, and was really struggling on the morning walk. Hilton had had a lump removed from his skin about a year ago, maybe even more than a year, and at the time it was diagnosed as an aggressive cancer and I was warned it could be a secondary growth.  However the wound healed and Hilton was absolutely fine and showed no signs whatsoever of being ill.  Just recently I noticed that in the evening when all of the dogs were inside and lying down to sleep, Hilton was coughing.  It wasn't bad and he didn't seem to be distressed, but it crossed my mind at that point that there could be a problem with his lungs, and maybe serious.

Hilton

Hilton had been totally fine on the walks up until today when his legs were buckling underneath him and he was even having trouble lifting his back paws off the ground.  I will have to get him to a vet for confirmation, but I can see it's not tick fever that's causing the weakness, nor any injury.  I have no idea how long Hilton has been hiding his ill health from me, just the same as all of the other dogs who literally died on the walking trail. Such is a dog's inherent loyalty and strength of character, and I see it every day too in Bali, whose back legs are also gradually losing all mobility, and Cindy, who is still going for walks long after she should have retired.

I've thought about whether I should be making these dogs stay behind when I leave the house for the long morning trek, and I even tried with Ginny when she was very weak with tick fever, but they are all so determined that they will never give up until the day they die. Maybe now in Hilton's case he will have no choice as his legs will no longer carry him, and if that's the case then I know the end is near.

With so many dogs that I have had with me since the very start of HKDR (2003) it's inevitable that one by one they are starting to die.  For some it has been sudden and unexpected, while with others it's a slow decline.  This is by far the hardest part of loving dogs, and I can only thank them for their years of devotion and hope that at the end there is no suffering.

Mon 11th July: Tony on the mend

It was more a question of looking ahead than back today, as following Sunday's lack of adoptions we have a few potential homes for dogs and puppies.   As always I will say no more until the ink is dry on the adoption forms and we have waved goodbye to the lucky candidates.

I hope Suzie will be in a home soon

Hopefully one of those will be little Suzie, and if she goes that will leave only the Tai Po Suzie Wong because the third Susie will be staying in her current foster home (with my neighbours).  That news made me very happy because I could see for myself how Susie had settled in so quickly, in fact it is as if she was always meant to be there.  She has a "brother" to play with, which I'm told they do non-stop, and lots of dog friends around, although Susie is more of a homebody than her brother.

This lucky Susie is staying in her foster home

Will Suzie Wong be lucky too?

Puppy Tony has quite a following now, and his foster told me that when she took him to Acorn today for his blood test he disappeared into the back for staff selfies and was gone a good ten minutes while everyone had their photo taken.  Dr Tony sent me his "grumpy faced" shot, which is very funny.  Apart from the fact that (puppy) Tony is on the mend and his red cell count is going up, the next best thing is that he now has a few offers of a forever home so I don't think he'll be back at Whiskers N Paws again, or if he is it will be for the adoption papers to be signed and for some celebrity souvenir shots with his many admirers.

Tony and Tony