Tues 20th Nov: Six new lives need help

6 babies thankfully a little older than 2 weeks

I got an early message from AFCD in Pokfulam letting me know that there were four two week-old baby pups needing help, so rather than wait until the afternoon (when I was in any case tied up in a meeting), our driver Ming went to pick them up.  As it turned out there were six of them and thankfully a little older than just two weeks, but still very young in any case.   Two have already been taken for fostering but we will need foster homes (in pairs) for the remaining four, not to mention what seems like a carpet of little furry bodies now covering the floor of the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre.  Please contact our Foster Coordinator Cindy if you can help with temporarily housing puppies or adults until they find a home. All food and everything else will be provided and all you need to give is love and cuddles.

Turpin-now-Giblets (r) and his two brothers

There have been a few adoptions quietly taking place behind the scenes, such as Boston terrier Turpin who is now called Giblets and golden retriever Lucille who has moved from her foster to a forever home.  Our lovely mixed breed Gelato is about to leave Hong Kong for Germany, making another international ambassador for HKDR (yay!)

Sweet Gelato is going to Germany

Long-term supporter and musciain Jun Kung with his ex-HKDR dog Oliver

📣📣 Due to overwhelming requests, online order of Peak to Fong 2018 T-shirts are re-opened with the purchased T-shirts being picked up by participants at The Peak on the event day. Offers are limited. If you are planning to join and buy your T-shirts, please place your order now so we can make arrangements: https://hongkongdogrescue.com/event/p2f2018/ticket-information/

#PeaktoFong #PeaktoFong2018 #HKDR#Brabaconne #Mickco

Mon 19th Nov: Where to buy your T-shirts before Sunday

It happens every year and 2018 is proving to be no exception, as today was the cut-off date for buying the Peak to Fong ticket/T-shirts online and suddenly we have so many people asking if they can still order.  Allowing for sorting, packing and sending the T-shirts, we wouldn't be able to guarantee delivery in time for Sunday so anyone wanting to buy can do so by visiting any of the outlets shown.  If you can't make it yourself maybe friends can do it for you, and we are also looking at the possibility of pick-up on the Peak on Sunday as long as the T-shirts have already been paid for.  We can't sell on the Peak, we can only hand out those that have been pre-paid.

Sybil and Maud

I took the two Maltese ladies to AFCD for microchipping and rabies vaccinations today, and then on to Acorn for their health checks.  It wasn't a surprise to find that both have heartworm as they have been living outside on a floating raft for their whole lives.  What was a happy discovery though was that these little dogs are incredibly happy and friendly, as well as being closely bonded of course.  I called the ten year-old daughter Sybil and the eleven year-old mother Maud, and other than those horrible worms living in their hearts and rotten teeth (of course), they are remarkably healthy.  We are always in need of foster homes for dogs like these and as I always say, two are easier than one, especially when they are so small. Please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com for information about fostering any of our dogs or puppies.  HKDR provide everything you will need, including food, and all vet costs are covered.

Ruth has the classic facial pattern and eye dots of the black-and-tans

We took in a new puppy today, a young black-and-tan mixed breed and a very pretty girl (with a straight tail) who is now called Ruth.  She is about the same age as the many other youngsters we have at the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre so she fitted right in and started playing immediately. A singleton puppy is always a sad thing, as their need for playmates is so strong.

Apparently too old for toilet training at 5 months

I heard the funniest thing today, although it's also very sad as it reflects the ignorance of so many puppy buyers.  A long-haired chihuahua puppy was surrendered to us, and the reason given for not wanting to keep the newly-bought five month-old was that after two days of trying it had become clear that the puppy was too old and stubborn to be toilet trained, crate trained to be specific.  Iris was informed in all seriousness by the now ex-owner that puppies are born with sensors on their pads so they automatically know when their feet are standing on the bottom of a cage.  In fact the importance of crate training was written on the surrender form, with strict instructions on what to do.

The fact is that small-breed puppies have proportionally tiny bladders and toilet training is more challenging than with a larger-sized type.  Also if the puppy had only just been bought at five months of age from a breeder (and without microchip or license) then we can assume no effort had been made to train the puppy anyway, so there is always going to be a longer-than-usual training period.  However no age is too old to teach a dog, and none of the ex-breeder dogs that come to us know anything about polite toilet habits.  How could they when they have spent their lives in cages being forced to eat, sleep, pee and poo in the same place?   That's one of the reason why we specifically ask that no dogs are kept in crates or cages, because that's exactly what they have escaped from.

Sun 18th Nov: Counting down now

Mimsy or Bimble

To go with the many new puppies we have available, our volunteer photographer's coordinator, Semirah, had invited some potential new regulars to come along to Whiskers N Paws to get a feel of what Sundays are like.  As a result we have four great sets of puppy photos for you to enjoy, with Hallie Tam's being the first Puppy Adoption Day 18 November 2018 - Part 1 

It's going to take me some time to go through and name all of the puppies in the albums so if you're interested in any of them you can either visit our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre to take another look or send me their photos and I'll be happy to let you know who they are.  Here are the other albums, and in no particular order of merit as they are all wonderful, thanks to Cassius Or, Jay Chan and Joyce Yu.

Puppy Adoption Day 18 November 2018 - Part 2 

 Puppy Adoption Day 18 November 2018 - Part 3

 Puppy Adoption Day 18 November 2018 - Part 4

Bendy found his family today

Bendy was one of the four first-timers at Whiskers N Paws, and his beginner's luck meant he won't be coming back again as he was adopted, lucky boy.

Rather than any dogs leaving our own Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre we took in a further two, yet another mother and daughter pair, this time Maltese.  They has been living on a floating fish farm raft for the past ten years so I was happy to agree to accept them when asked.  It's bad enough that the tougher mixed breeds should spend their lives on these wooden platforms in all weathers, but for Maltese it must have been very hard.  They will go to Acorn on Monday for health checks, and like our other small-sized pairs we would love to see them stay together in their new homes.

Mother and daughter Maltese

Peak to Fong takes place on Sunday 25th, so Monday is the cut-off for ordering ticket/T-shirts online.  After that you can still buy them, but only directly from the Homing Centres or other designated outlets.

Gregory shows his support for Peak to Fong 2018

We have a lot of generous sponsors to thank for this year's big event, mainly our Title Sponsor Brabanconne for the T-shirts themselves, with design by Mickco. 

The bag is free and the models are available for adoption!

Free tote goodie bags will be given to all participants at the end of the walk down from the Peak and on arrival at Lan Kwai Fong, and thanks once again to Crown for their very kind sponsorship.

Participants will also be able to buy one of our exclusive Disney T-shirts in advance of their arrival in December, and please remember that due to limited numbers these T-shirts can only be purchased by those who are wearing the Peak to Fong official "ticket", and each participant will be limited to one only.

As a reminder that this is a Sponsored Walk and that participants are encouraged to help raise as much as possible to help support HKDR's important work, we are happy to be giving away these very special Klasse watches to anyone who raises over $600 in sponsorship money.  There are four different dog face designs to choose from, and all watches come in a very lovely gift box reflecting their high quality.

There are also other fantastic gifts for the highest amounts raised, so please keep on asking friends, relatives, work colleagues and neighbours to support.  The sponsorship form is in the packet with the T-shirt and copies can be made if you need more than one page.

Become a Peak to Fong 2018 Sponsored Walker and Win a KLASSE14watch (valued $1687)! ⌚️
參加Peak to Fong 2018狗狗同樂日步行籌款，免費贏取KLASSE14手錶(價值$1687)！⌚️

Peak to Fong 2018 sponsored walkers who raise HK$600 or above will be entitled to redeeming a “KLASSE14 Best Friend
Series Watch”!
Qualified sponsored walkers must collect all sponsorship money and bring it along with this sponsorship form to the event, and redeem their reward in-person at the ‘Sponsored Walker Money Collection’ booth.

「狗狗同樂籌款日2018」參加者籌得HK$600 元以上，可當場換領一隻「KLASSE14 Best Friend 系列腕錶 」(價值$1687)!

籌得上述指定金額的參加者，必須在活動當日親身帶同所有籌得的善款以及本表格，並把它們交給我們在「贊助步行善款收
集處」。

📲Purchase Peak to Fong 2018 T-shirt tickets: https://hongkongdogrescue.com/e…/p2f2018/ticket-information/

Sat 17th Nov: People who don't know their own dogs

Jax now has new friends to play with

It's interesting, or rather sad, how some people never bother to get to know or understand their dogs, something that was clearly demonstrated by the ex-owner of the small-sized husky Jax.  He was surrendered to us with his "friend", the giant-sized pug Roley, after both had been bought as baby puppies from a pet shop.  It took five years for the ex-owner to admit the breeds weren't exactly compatible, and in fact we've separated them now, but one of the other things that he got wrong was in saying that the husky was sensitive and shy, and didn't like playing with the pug or other animals in the home (cats and rabbits). The fact is I doubt that Jax was ever given the opportunity to socialise with dogs that also wanted to run and play, and the video taken at the dog park by one of our volunteers shows exactly that.  Jax is having the best time with the older Ap Lei Chau puppies, Addy, Jack and Dimple, racing around and loving every minute of it.  https://www.facebook.com/hkdogrescue/videos/123391915204667/ I'm so glad that he's with us now.

Ora is such a wonderful dog

Another thing that made me happy today was hearing from our Tai Po Homing Centre that Ora had left for a trial adoption, as this girl has the sweetest and most gentle of characters.  So many mixed breeds are overlooked because they don't have a designer label attached, but there are plenty who have proved to be fantastic family dogs, perfect with children and everything else.  I will stick with my preference for the individuals, with their unique looks and personalities.

Addy is another very gentle older puppy, a mix of things but probably with some sharpei in him judging from his coat.  He is really more than ready for a home and would make the best family dog.  You can meet him at Whiskers N Paws on Sunday afternoons, or any day at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre.

Doglet Dimple is just medium sized

We've got a lot of puppies to choose from at the moment, from very young to doglet age, and if you can't make it to Whiskers N Paws on Sunday you can always drop by to meet them from 10am to 6pm daily.

Peak to Fong is now just a week away and we're expecting a rush of ticket/T-shirt buyers this weekend.  Remember for those of you who have their eyes on one of the Limited Edition Disney T-shirts, they will only be available to Peak to Fong participants who are wearing their T-shirts at Lan Kwai Fong on the day of the event.

Addy in the park today

Fri 16th Nov: Where's Disney?

With Peak to Fong now just a little over one week away, some of you may be wondering where the ever-popular Disney T-shirts are and whether there will be any available this year.  Well the answer to that is yes - and no - as a delay in production mean that the T-shirts won't be ready to take home on Sunday 25th November but there will be an opportunity to order in advance.  As previously, this is a limited edition run so if you want to get your hands on an exclusive Mickey and Pluto T-shirt, make sure you sign up for Peak to Fong 2018 as this offer will only available to participants of the event. 

As a reminder the cut-off time for online orders for Peak to Fong 2018 ticket/T-shirts is Monday 9am, and after that you will need to buy directly from one of the outlets mentioned:

PURCHASE YOUR T-SHIRTS NOW to get ready for the biggest, best and most exciting Peak to Fong ever!

請立即購買Peak to Fong 2018 T-shirt門票，準備與過千隻狗狗一同迎接這萬眾期待的狗狗同樂籌款日!

Brabanconne pet food presents:
HKDR Peak To Fong 2018 x Le Petit Aventurier: T-shirts/ tickets Pre-order are now available online and at the below selling points!

Brabanconne 天然寵物糧 主題贊助呈獻: 救狗之家Peak to Fong狗狗同樂籌款日聯乘Le Petit Aventurier - T恤門券現於以下售賣點發售，同時接受網上訂購!

Event Day: Sunday 25th November 2018, 11am to 4pm
活動日期: 2018年11月25日(星期日)上午11時至下午4時

Peak to Fong is HKDR’s major fundraising event of the year, and combines the fun of a great day out with the very important need to raise money for HKDR and the 600 dogs in our care. This year, we are happy to have Brabanconne as our event Title Sponsor, and with well-known Fashion Illustrator Mickco designing this beautiful set of event T-shirts.

「Peak to Fong狗狗同樂籌款日」是救狗之家一年一度的大型步行籌款活動，活動集歡樂和籌款於一身，籌得的所有善款將用於支持救狗之家照顧六百多隻狗狗！今年得到Brabanconne主題贊助，並邀請著名時尚插畫家Mickco設計出一套充滿個性的活動T-shirt，為活動增添慈善藝術意義。

The programme for the day starts with the Sponsored Walk down from The Peak, and continues with fun and games at Lan Kwai Fong, including a variety of live entertainment, merchandise stalls, food and drink.
活動先由山頂至蘭桂坊的慈善步行籌款揭開序幕，之後會在蘭桂坊舉行一個盛大街頭的派對，各式各樣的餐飲及售賣攤位將放滿蘭桂坊街頭，並會有精彩的表演環節，讓狗狗和人都可盡情歡樂！

We welcome people and dogs of all ages to join the Sponsored Walk down from The Peak to Central, or to just join in the party fun at Lan Kwai Fong!
不論大小老幼的狗狗和人都可以參與慈善步行籌款，你亦可以只參與街頭派對！

***** Sale of T-shirt/Ticket is now available at the following retail points:
T-shirt門票現已可在以下零售地點購買:

🔸HKDR Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre 救狗之家鴨脷洲領養中心
Location 地址:
5 Wai Fung Street, Ap Lei Chau
香港鴨脷洲惠風街5號
Business hours 營業時間: 每日10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Daily

🔸HKDR Tai Po Homing Centre 救狗之家大埔領養中心
Location 地址:
6 Shek Lin Road, Tai Po
新界大埔石蓮路6號
Business hours 營業時間: 每日10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Daily

🔸Whiskers N Paws
Location 地址:
10/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau
香港鴨脷洲利榮街2號新海怡廣場10樓
Business hours 營業時間:
星期一至五10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday to Friday;
星期六及日10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday & Sunday

🔸Dogotel & Spa - Boutique (Happy Valley 跑馬地)
Location 地址:
G/F, 21 Yik Yam Street, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
香港跑馬地奕蔭街21號地下
Business hours 營業時間: 每日10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Daily

🔸Dogotel & Spa - Boutique (Mong Kok 旺角)
Location 地址:
G/F, 122B Argyle Street, Mongkok, Kowloon
九龍旺角亞皆老街122B地下,
Business hours 營業時間: 每日10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Daily

🔹Order online網上購買Peak to Fong 2018 T-shirt: https://hongkongdogrescue.com/ev…/p2f2018/buy-ticket-online/

————
「🚌 99 bus is available! 🚌]
Peak to Fong participants can now sign up for taking 99bus on the event day!
還在考慮Peak to Fong當日的交通安排？一於報名乘搭99bus 狗狗巴士吧！🚌

We are once again collaborating with 99bus Pet Bus to arrange transportation service. 99bus Pet Bus will pick you and your four-legged friend(s) up from the town and bring you to the Peak. After the walk and street party, 99bus Pet Bus will bring you back from Lan Kwai Fong to the town!

今年我們將繼續與 99bus 狗狗巴士合作提供交通安排！99bus 狗狗巴士會從市區接載你和你的狗狗前往山頂參加步行籌款，在完成步行籌款和街頭派對後，99bus 狗狗巴士會在蘭桂坊接送你和你的狗狗回市區!

Please find details here 詳情請看以下網址: www.99bus.org
————
To celebrate Peak to Fong 2018, PetbleCare will donate $50 to HKDR per order, show your support now!
20% off with discount code 'PEAK2018'

為慶祝Peak to Fong狗狗同樂籌款日2018，20/10-30/11期間，凡購買 PetbleCare 寵物保險，輸入優惠碼：PEAK2018，尊享八折優惠，同時PetbleCare將於每份保單捐出$50🎉，支持救狗之家日常救狗行動，照顧會內逾600隻待領養狗狗！🔜立即投保: Petblecare.com

#HKDR #PeaktoFong #PeaktoFong2018 #Brabanconne #PetbleCare#PetInsurance #寵物保險 #寵物智能頸帶 #Mickco

We have a full house of puppies now, as well as lots of lovely small and larger dogs and everything in between.  If you are interested in adoption please complete the Adoption Questionnaire on our website www.hongkongdogrescue.com (under Adopt) as a first step and let us help you find the perfect match for your home and family.

Thurs 15th Nov: Just another crazy day

Not related to the story but I love this photo of the 2 poodle pairs at Ap Lei Chau

I had booked one of my Lamma dogs, Oliver, to see a vet but ended up not taking him as he was doing much better, and instead rushed in another dog who had tried to jump a gate and got one of her back legs caught.  Toyah was dangling from the gate and screaming, and luckily it all happened just as I was leaving home so I was able to take her over with me where an X-ray showed she had dislocated her hip. The poor girl must have been in agony, and she will have surgery on Friday to remove the femoral head (the ball at the top of the thigh bone) which will relieve the pain, after which hopefully Toyah will make a full recovery and be able to walk pretty much normally.  Femoral head excision is commonly carried out on dogs with hip dysplasia, and it's always amazed me how the body heals itself and adjusts.

After dropping Toyah off at Acorn, I headed to my intended destination, AFCD in Pokfulam, where I took out one of three ex-boatyard dogs that had been picked up by the dog catchers.  I wish they would just visit the boatyards and get the dogs licensed on site, as well as giving out free desexing forms to control the unwanted puppies rather than hauling them in to await their fate.  Honestly I don't want to take these dogs, I want them to go back to where they came from, and I have a plan to do just that after desexing if the boatyard owner is agreeable.  The poor dogs are terrified of course, and it's not their fault.

Jax and Roley have lived together since they were baby pups

With the new dog on board, as well as the surrendered pug and husky, I went back to Acorn to see Dr Joe.  Before our consult the new dogs were weighed, and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when the pug showed  seventeen kilos on the scale, and the husky just fourteen.  The poor pug is obese and needs to lose a good few kilos before being anything near his proper bodyweight.  It's not good enough to say he ate all of the husky's food as well as his own, as separate feeding is easy to do. At least both dogs are very friendly, but I opted to delay desexing surgery for the pug until he's shed some of his rolls of fat.  He is now Roley while the husky is Jax.

Charlie is an obvious name for this boy

The other new dogs from AFCD Sheung Shui were also waiting to be taken to our Homing Centre, so they are now available for adoption, at least the shiba inu and King Charles spaniel, as the poodle appears to have an internal infection and will need surgery on Friday.

A popular breed so I expect this shiba boy will soon find a home

The three new puppies joined the youngsters at Ap Lei Chau, and I was laughing at the sight of the other baby pups rolling around on the floor with shiba inu pup Monty.  (You can take a look at the video here: https://www.facebook.com/hkdogrescue/videos/458501688009040/).  Monty is another one of our Special Needs puppies, although like all of the others who arrived in a sad state he's improving all the time.  Certainly playing with the other young ones is really helping with coordination and brain development, and it was lovely to see him having fun rather than just walking in circles as he used to do.

We have quite a collection of young puppies now

Weds 14th Nov: Trainers to avoid like the plague

 

New babies arriving on Thursday

We certainly won't be short of puppies for this coming Sunday's Whiskers N Paws afternoon, and while on the subject  I should mention that we'll be there again on Sunday 25th even though that's also the date of Peak to Fong 2018.  After a short period of not having many new puppies coming in there's going to be plenty to choose from, especially with the arrival of three new babies on Thursday.  They will be part of the small group coming from AFCD Sheung Shui, which will also include a six year-old King Charles spaniel (male) and a six year-old shiba inu, also male. 

Who ate all the pies? 

We also took in another pair of dogs today, five years old, and bought as puppies.  The now ex-owner of these two had actually contacted us a while ago after finally realising that a pug and a husky weren't exactly a good match, despite them being friends, but it took some months before he brought the dogs to us and only then because the roof they had been living on is about to be demolished.  I think the photo will give you a good idea of who was eating all the food for the past five years, and I can only say that I'm very happy these two are now with us. 

The dogs that are surrendered to us, as well as those abandoned at AFCD, are a constant reminder of how little most people understand about these animals.  The way dogs are treated varies from ridiculous pampering to cruel neglect, much of it due to complete ignorance.  Even those who think they are doing the right thing by employing a trainer don't understand that there are still too many using old-fashioned and out-dated methods, such trainers even boasting that they know what they're doing because they've been working with dogs for forty years (or whatever). The truth is that times have changed and we now understand a lot more about dog behaviour, intelligence and how their mind works, so the old dominance theories need to be confined to the history books.  There's one particular trainer on Hong Kong Island that seems to be a favourite with dog owners who have more money than sense, and he's known to all of us as someone to avoid like the plague.  The following is from one of our adopters who's currently working with a proper trainer who uses only Positive methods:

"I have come across another kind of trainer when out walking my dogs one day. H was barking and lunging at his client’s dogs and then he told me he was a trainer and that my dogs should NOT be on a harness and they needed to be “corrected” by a harsh correction with a choke chain and if they still don’t listen pull them up by their cheeks or hang them up in the air with the choke chain! He also used the “flooding” method to de-sensitize dogs. He lectured me for 10 minutes and gave me his number which I promptly erased after he left because I NEVER want to use any of these methods on my dogs - I have read a lot about how these methods are outdated and often result in aggression. I am sure he has had a lot of satisfied customers but for my dogs I want them to obey me out of respect and NOT FEAR".

That's why we ask that any of our adopters who would like to benefit from one-on-one private training ask us to recommend qualified Positive trainers rather than listen to friends who may have no real understanding of who's doing what.  Would you really like to have your dog hanging in the air being throttled by a chain round its neck? 

Last year's Peak to Fong Volunteer Team

With Peak to Fong coming up in just over a week, we are still recruiting volunteers if you would like to lend a hand. 

📣Peak to Fong Volunteers Wanted📣

We need you!! 💪🏻 We need many volunteers to help with different tasks on the event day on 25/11 (Sun). If you have spare time that day and want to help out, please contact Yannie ASAP: yannie@hongkongdogrescue.com

✔Volunteers needed -
•Route & Signage team: 10 (8:45-14:00)
•Peak team: 6 (9:15-12:30)
•Entertainment team: 2 (11:00-16:00)
•Logistic team: 6 (15:45-17:00)
•Booth team: 6 (8:45-13:00/13:00-17:00)

We also need some strong men to help with the logistics team, please spread the news if you and your friends want to help out! Big thanks from the dogs!