Fri 22nd July: Hoping for a busy weekend

Halo at Kennedy Town 

 Now that we're able to open up again at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre following a temporary semi-closure due to an infectious cough, I can remind everyone that we do have quite a few small dogs staying there,  in addition to those at HKDR@Elgin.  We have had a great response to the lovely photos (taken by volunteer Tap Momentale) of the Elgin Street dogs posted on our social media pages, and we're expecting a lot of visitors over the weekend coming to meet them (and hopefully to take them home), so it's time to give the Kennedy Town dogs some promotion. 

Hollis at Kennedy Town

As always, if you would like to meet any of these dogs with a view to adopting, please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/, and this applies to all dogs and puppies wherever they're located.

Taryn and Tobias at Kennedy Town

New girl at Tai Po, Chelsea

I do also want to give yet another mention to the (so) many dogs at our Tai Po Homing Centre, all of whom are also desperate for a home and family.  I can assume that pretty much all of these dogs were originally taken in as puppies, and subsequently discarded once they grew too big and too time-and-space consuming to be wanted.  

New girl at Tai Po, Chloe

This is why we ask that all potential adopters consider the long-term implications of adopting, especially a puppy, because it's a commitment that can last for fifteen years or so, and even longer for the smaller dogs.  A dog's life should never be thought of as something for now, or something for the children while they're young.  In fact a dog is never a something, a dog is a sentient, intelligent animal with emotions and feelings, and that must never be underestimated.

Thurs 21st July: Very quick catch-up

 It has to be a very short post today as I got sidetracked earlier, so I'll just share the (not great) photos and videos of the two pug puppies we took from AFCD.  There were also a further two mixed breeds that were sent to Tai Po as well as the senior Malamute, who was lucky enough to find a foster home.  

As a reminder there's also a Doberman puppy boy, eight months old, who is looking for a suitable home, so anyone interested in any of these dogs please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/  I should add that we would love the pug boys to be adopted as a pair because they have been together at AFCD during the past few months of quarantine, and they are best friends now.  They're also not small-sized pugs.

The weekend is almost here again so I'll share the updated list of puppies available, whether in foster care or at our Homing Centres.  If you would like to meet any of the foster puppies, please email Cindy at foster.hkdr@gmail.com to arrange, but again we will ask you to complete the adoption questionnaire as a first step. 

HKDR Kennedy Town Homing Centre - Shop 4, G/F, Brilliant Court, Sai Hong Lane, 28 Praya, Kennedy Town

Edgar (M) and Evan (M)

Clio (F) and Cole (M)

Molly (F)

Poppy (F)

Kyle (M), Kai (M) and Kenny (M) 

Dawn (F), Darwin (M), Daphne (F) and Duke (M) 

Alan (M) and Aria (F) 

Indie (F), Inez (F), Ike (M) and Impi (M)

Faye (M)

Whiskers N Paws - 10/F Horizon Plaza, Ap Lei Chau 

Drummond (M) and Drake (M)

Esme (F)

HKDR@Elgin - 22 Elgin Street, Soho, Central

Jeremy (M)

Hong Kong Island

Charlie and Cressie (F) Chung Hom Kok

Roland (M) Pok Fu Lam

James (M) Mid-levels 

Taylor (F) and Tatum (F) @Mid-levels

Odie (F) Siu Sai Wan (Instagram @fosterdiaries101 )

Tatum (F) and Taylor (F) Sheung Wan

Tanya (F) and Tabitha (F) Kennedy Town

Tilly (F) Wan Chai 

Joanna (F) Wan Chai

Felli (F) Wan Chai

Freda (F) Wan Chai

Azaria (F) Happy Valley (Instagram  @zeldainthevalley )

Titan (M) and Tina (F) Happy Valley 

Zippy (M) North Point

Jude (M) Tai Tam

Kowloon and New Territories

Ottilie (F) Tsim Sha Tsui

June (F) and Josh (M)  Ho Man Tin

Joe (M) and Jack (M) Kowloon Tong

Dulcie (F) and Demi (F) Sai Kung (Instagram  @why_i_foster )

Trudy (F) Ma On Shan

Weds 20th July: On the move again

 My day started with another drama as one of my Lamma dogs was clearly unwell and needed to see a vet urgently, and all of this while another one is still recovering from having exploratory surgery to see why she wasn't eating (nothing was found and Doris will still only pick at chicken).  This is the one time when being so isolated is problematic as you really can't rush a sampan, but luckily Imogen made it over to ALCVC and seems to be doing OK.   Being a dog parent can be stressful at times, but having to watch over a whole houseful of seniors takes the stress to a whole new level. 

We have still more dogs arriving from AFCD on Thursday, including the pug puppies I wrote about yesterday, and I'm happy to say that we found a foster home for the discarded Malamute.  

Inez is just one of the KT puppies

With the end of another month in sight, we will soon be moving our office into the new premises in Kennedy Town, about a five minute walk from the Homing Centre in Brilliant Court.  This office space will also have a small quarantine area for new or sick dogs, something that's really needed to try to prevent things like the current infection at the Homing Centre, thankfully now pretty much over.  Puppies like Inez, and many others, are now ready for adoption, as well as the smaller dogs who have been waiting for the Homing Centre to open up again. 

Temporary office and temporary Homing Centre

Our HKDR@Elgin location has been serving as a temporary office, which you will have noticed if you've visited to meet the dogs staying downstairs, or as a volunteer.  I can't imagine how we would have coped without having the luxury of this donated space, even if the temporary usage has meant we can't start all of the training courses we have planned. 

Since I'm talking of the office, I would like to mention again that we will sadly be losing our valued and long-term administration officer, Ka Yan, and we're now actively looking for a replacement.  For anyone interested in this post I can send a full job description, but for now I will just mention that other than all of the many administrative aspects of the job, any applicant will obviously have to be a dog lover, be bi-lingual in both written and spoken Cantonese/English, be mature and self-motivated while being able to work as part of a close-knit team.  Flexibility and the willingness to work extra days (such as events) is also essential, and if all of this sounds like you please send your details to me at sallyandersen.hkdr@gmail.com. 

Tues 19th July: Long-waited news

 I've been waiting a long time for the good news that came today from AFCD, which is the release of some of the smuggled (from China) puppies who were intercepted en route.  There are actually several groups of such puppies (and kittens), so hopefully we'll start to see them all being ready for re-homing over the coming months.  The first few that will come to HKDR are two pug puppies, and a Doberman, all eight months old having had to undergo four months in quarantine.  

I need to mention at this point that all of the puppies that come to us from these cases will not be toilet trained in any way, and having been confined to cages, or kennels, they will have lost their instinctive desire to keep their living space clean. All adopters from HKDR will of course be entitled to the free support of our very experienced trainer, Cactus, and we do strongly request that this exceptional offer is taken advantage of.  

We also have updated photos of the small-medium "J" puppies currently in foster homes, and I'm happy to report that Johnny (not shown) is the second lucky puppy from this group as he will be staying in his foster home forever. 

Also adopted from her foster home, "rooftop" husky Hera will have a wonderful life with her new family, while another one of those huskies, Loki,  was also confirmed as a "Failed Foster".   Now we just have the last of that group left, and her name is Trinity, known as Trinnie.  She's not shown in the group photo because she arrived a few days after the others, having recently given birth and still full of milk.  All of the huskies look completely different to the sad and scruffy dogs that were rescued, and Trinnie too has long put her memories in the past. 

This (shaved) Malamute is 8 years old

If you like these cold-weather dogs, we have an urgent need for a foster, or even better adopter, for a Malamute coming from AFCD.  This poor dog has been thrown out of his home because the now ex-owner is expecting a baby, and the Tai Po Homing Centre is far too hot for his breed.  On top of that he has been shaved (not by us), so he doesn't even have the protection of his coat against the sun's rays.  Please email Cindy at foster.hkdr@gmail.com if you can foster this gentle giant. 

As a reminder, if you're interested in adopting any of our dogs and puppies, please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/, and wait for a reply before visiting any of the locations where the dogs are staying.    

Mon 18th July: Elgin Street, Tai Po and Kennedy Town

Gabriel

 Yet more dogs arrived at Tai Po from AFCD, as always lovely characters but unwanted and cast aside by previous owners regardless.  They are now Layla and Gabriel, and hopefully their stay with us wont be a forever one.  As I keep writing, we have so many dogs at this point and they are all deserving of love and a family of their own.  They're not damaged or broken in any way, they're just victims of circumstance, so please give them a second chance.

Layla

Another one of the HKDR@Elgin small dogs was adopted today, and this time by one of the volunteers who have been coming to help with the cleaning, feeding and just being with the dogs.  Claire was the lucky one who is now starting her life as a family member, and there are still a lot of very sweet and young candidates hoping they'll be next.  I'm also very happy to report that older puppy Zippy was taken back by his previous foster parent, so although he still needs a forever home at least he's happy for now. 

Zippy is back with his previous foster for now

The smaller dogs camping at HKDR@Elgin

I'm also happy because the Kennedy Town Homing Centre dogs and puppies are doing well, eating and playing and having a good time together.  It was necessary to temporarily close the Centre to all new arrivals to keep them safe from the strong strain of respiratory infection that was lurking, which is why we had to send the most recent intakes to Elgin Street. 

Sun 17th July: A long and hot day

 Anticipating the slow Sunday it turned out to be, the number of puppies at Whiskers N Paws was kept to a minimum for the Puppy Adoption Day 17th July 2022.  Drake, brother Drummond, and friend Esme are staying full time at the Horizon Plaza store anyway, so foster puppy Ottilie and new boy Jeremy were the only additions for the small party.  Thanks to photographer Benjamin Po for donating his time and skills despite the heat, and for producing wonderful shots of the puppies which I hope will help find them their forever homes before too long.   

There's so much luck involved when it comes to puppies being adopted, and a lot of that has to do with timing.  Summers are traditionally slow, and many of the now-senior dogs that ended up permanently with me on Lamma were puppies who got left behind because they were born at the wrong time of year.  Drake and Drummond are part of a litter who came to us as day-old babies, and sadly they landed right in the middle of the holiday season when they reached adoption age.  It's really very sad when lovely puppies miss out simply because of timing. 

Happily today wasn't entirely without any good news, as one older puppy who had to be sent to our Tai Po Homing Centre went home for a trial with the resident dog, and one of the new puppy group who arrived on Wednesday was chosen from his foster home.  Jacob was the lucky boy, and I rather suspected that he might be the first to go.  I'm waiting for updated photos of the other puppies from their respective foster parents, as the only ones I have are really not that helpful or appealing. 

Volunteers were also needed at our HKDR@Elgin location, where the smaller dogs are temporarily staying until we can move them to another, more suitable space, or even better, forever homes.  The dogs are getting bored with staying inside, and there were several attempted break-outs from the fenced area I was told.  These are young dogs with lots of energy, and they really need to be getting out for walks and running around, but Soho isn't a great place to do that unfortunately.   Jolene and Julius are probably siblings, and  being terrier types they should really living the kind of life that suits them. 

Sadly there was even an new addition to the group when older puppy Zippy was returned after a short time in his new home, so we really need a foster for this boy as there's currently nowhere suitable for him to stay. (I need to mention that in this case Zippy's return was understandable, so there's no blame attached to the family concerned). 

Sat 16th July: Heading for a hot Sunday

Callie leaving to start her new life 

 There's only one thing better than opening the morning emails and messages and finding great adoption enquiries, and that's actually seeing the dogs and puppies leaving to start their new lives.  Today it was little Callie's turn, and referring to the potential adoptions, I'm happy to mention that another small dog staying at HKDR@Elgin will also be heading off, this time with one of the volunteers who have been such an amazing help over the past week. 

These small adults are only a year old

I'd had an idea that we should send the younger of the new small dogs to Whiskers N Paws on Sunday, as they're only a year old so still almost puppies.  However on thinking about it later, and remembering that it's really too hot for the dogs to be outside for two hours on the terrace, I changed my mind and they will all now stay at 22 Elgin Street for the day, with only older puppy Jeremy making the trip to Horizon Plaza.   

Jeremy will go to WNP on Sunday

I should mention again that while we have a lot of puppies staying at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre, as well as some small adults, we're still treating it as a quarantine area until the current respiratory infection has completely passed.  Thankfully everyone is starting to recover, and even those puppies who needed to spend time in hospital have left to go to foster homes.  Puppies who came to HKDR@Elgin on Wednesday (left) were also sent straight to foster homes, via ALCVC where they were checked and vaccinated, and they are also available for adoption.  Unfortunately I only have the initial identification photos to show, and they're not the best.  All I can say is that most of the puppies will not be large adults, and even small-medium when fully grown.   Some have long bodies with short legs, similar to the adults they came with, so we can assume they're related somehow and will grow to be the same kind of shape and size.

If you want to meet any of these puppies in their foster homes, or indeed any of the older puppies still waiting for their forever home, please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/