Sun 18th Sept: In-and-out puppies

Gorgeous little Jude is staying at WNP

 Polina Levin was today's new photographer at the Whiskers N Paws puppy party, so many thanks to her for donating her time and photography skills.  As I've said many times before, capturing the puppies on camera is a lot harder than it looks!  If you're interested in meeting any of the lovely girls and boys shown here Puppy Adoption Day 18th Sept 2022 please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Maltese puppy Milly left first

It was at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre that the puppy adoptions took place today, and as I had already hinted at, these were the three smuggling case rescues from AFCD.  There is still a waiting list for others that we assume will be coming over the next weeks, but we really never know when that will be.  

Poodle pup Mandy 

Poodle puppy Max 

Dogs and puppies come from various sources, including direct surrenders such as French bulldog Nancy, who went immediately to a home, with the latest being a shiba inu puppy who was given as a gift to someone who really didn't want or need a puppy.  Of course we have a home waiting for this puppy, and I won't share the details until he's actually arrived, and left, but really, giving a live animal as a gift must be the worst idea ever.  I'm sure if anyone wanted a puppy they would already have one. 

Happily not everyone wants a puppy, and one of the adult shibas was chosen today, this one being Foxy, who was a direct surrender from a breeder (via a go-between). 

Foxy looks so much better now

Sat 17th Sept: What makes a "Red" dog

Kyle has a lovely home now

 Starting today with my favourite subject, I can share the adoption photo of older puppy Kyle leaving our North Street Centre after he was chosen yesterday.  Young Tiffany was also adopted directly from her foster home, so she will never need to experience life at any Homing Centre after coming to us not that long ago as a foundling with her brother Tommy, also adopted. 

Such a lucky pair, Tiffany and Tommy

Tiffany in her new home

I haven't shared any photos of the three small-sized puppies that came to us the other day from AFCD, because we had so many enquiries on standby that I didn't want to mislead anyone by saying they were still available for adoption.  The only photos will be when they're leaving the Homing Centre with their new families, but I hope and expect that there will be many more to come as they're gradually released for re-homing.

Happy small dogs on Lamma (shiba Donny has been adopted)

There are almost always adopters waiting for the smaller sized dogs, and it's only the very timid or those with behaviour issues that end up having to move to the Lamma Home for Small Dogs.  We also still have a collection of mostly poodles staying at our Red Dog Centre in Ap Lei Chau, and always in the hope that one day they will find that perfect person who understands them.  With personal experience of the "problem" dogs on Lamma who actually have no problems at all when there are no expectations for them to be or behave in any particular way, I can say that all "bad" behaviour is a result of how a dog is treated, especially in the formative puppy months.

One of the adoption enquiries I received today demonstrates exactly how these puppies end up being "Red" dogs, as even the note at the end of the questionnaire acknowledges that this is a really bad situation for a dog, and especially a puppy.  I feel so sorry in advance for the poor puppy that ends up living a miserable life in this home: "I know it’s a bit tight for me to qualify for dog adoption, yet it worth a try before buying one."   

This exactly is why the illegal breeders exist, and why the smugglers are bringing puppies over from China by the boatload.   

Fri 16th Sept: The frustrations of blog writing

 You may think that my blog takes as long to write as it does to read, just a few minutes, but in fact it can take hours every morning to choose the subject, write the first draft, find the photos, upload, edit, delete some paragraphs, and so on.  Added to that is the fact that the internet signal where I live is very weak so the connection is off-and-on all the time, which is why if you have ever heard me do a radio interview I'm always being suddenly cut off.  The first attempt at today's post disappeared, which is incredibly frustrating, but I'll try again.  This time I will have to keep it short as I have impatient dogs waiting to eat and to be taken out. 

Sakura

I don't want to focus on the new small dogs, because we already have several potential homes and there are so many others also waiting.   There are now four adult shiba inu at the Kennedy Town Homing Centre, plus puppy Aimi, the one with the end of one leg missing.  For her the first step will be to have the leg X-rayed to see if a prosthetic foot will be a possibility, so that's going to be done very soon.  Aimi is available for adoption if there's someone who is willing to take her as she is, bearing in mind that amputating the leg may also be the best option in the end.  At least that way the problem literally disappears, and Aimi will cope very well with three legs. 

Ichika

We also have two Kennedy Town Centres that are full of dogs and puppies, as well as many puppies in foster homes.  Here's the updated list of available puppies, which doesn't include the very young or those like Hudson who are in the middle of their rehabilitation.

There's another name that's included but which should be off the available list by the time many of you read this, as after meetings at both Kennedy Town and Tai Po, older puppy Kyle was chosen.  He should be leaving on Saturday. 

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

Clio (F), Molly (F), Mascot (M)  Ike (M) and Ottilie (F)

Mambo (M), and Moose (M)

Yvonne (F), Yvette (F), Yuri (M) and Yasmin (F)

HKDR Headquarters - Shop 4, G/F, Cheong Yue Mansion, 13-19 North Street, Kennedy Town

Edgar (M) and Evan (M)

Alan (M) and Kyle (M)

Dawn (F), Darwin (M), Duke (M), Drummond (M) and Drake (M)

Aaron (M), Amelia (F), Austin (M), Ava (F) and Alex (M) 

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

Jude (M) 

Muppet (M) and Mojo (M)

Foster homes@Hong Kong Island

Charlie (M) and Cressie (F) @Chung Hom Kok

Roland (M) @Pok Fu Lam

Tanya (F) and Tabitha (F) @Kennedy Town

Felli (F) @Wan Chai

Azaria (F) @Happy Valley (Instagram Page @zeldainthevalley )

Zippy (M) @North Point

Foster homes@Kowloon and New Territories

Josh (M)  @Ho Man Tin

Thurs 15th Sept: Be careful with newly adopted dogs

Tabitha at last Sunday's WNP session

 Suddenly it's the end of the week again, and time to start thinking about the weekend's Puppy Party and other potential meetings and (hopefully) adoptions. Just as a reminder, here are the photos from last Sunday's play session at Whiskers N Paws Puppy Adoption Day 11th Sept 2022, which is the perfect venue to spend time watching and playing with the puppies.  We're there every Sunday from 2pm to 4pm, and there are always two or three full-time store resident puppies staying if you want to meet them during the week.  

It was generally a quiet day today, which was just as well because newly-adopted Alexi was spooked by a passing bus while out on a walk, and slipped out of her harness.  Luckily she didn't go too far and had been found by the afternoon, but this is yet another reminder that ALL new dogs, no matter how confident and friendly they are, have to wear the safety collar-and-harness combination when outside, until they have fully settled and know the environment and their way home. 

The collar must be a non-slip one, meaning one that tightens when pulled, but never a full choke chain.  A regular collar is too easy to slip over a dog's head, and although you might think it's not possible, it is.  The harness we recommend is an EasyWalk, with the clip at the front, but it should be at least one that can't be pulled off.  The step-in harnesses are so dangerous, and they should really be called step-out harnesses because it's so easy for a dog to do that.  The secure harness and the collar should both be used at the same time, so if one fails the other is still in place. 

Please read the adoption booklet

All HKDR adopters are given a free booklet which explains all of this, as well as recommendations for feeding and everything else you need to know, especially the first-time dog families.  We encourage everyone to take the time to read the information provided, which was written based on all of the questions that were most frequently asked after adoption. 

The most important and almost-inevitable questions involve the settling-in period for practically every dog.  It's very common for new dogs not to eat, even drink, pee or poo during their first days in a new home.  They're confused, feeling lost and uncertain, so it's understandable that they don't have an appetite.  This is the time when a dog is most likely to try to run away, so you need to be really careful when out walking. The chart shown is a general guide to the time it normally takes for a dog to fully settle,  while of course there are exceptions as always.   It's always better to be safe than sorry, and not to assume that this won't happen to you.

On a more personal note, I realised it was a week ago that I had written about my Lamma dog Oliver, and my dilemma about whether or not to have a feeding tube put in. After deciding to go it alone at home, I'm happy to report that Oliver is still with me, and although not eating on his own I'm managing to get a small amount of mashed-up food down his throat by using a spoon.  It's a twice-a-day struggle but I can see that there's a spark of life coming back, and the next step is to find something that tempts Oliver to eat by himself. 

Weds 14th Sept: The Big Smoke

 Going out into Central these days is like wading through mud due to the air pollution, and it's one of the reasons I try to avoid leaving Lamma as much as possible.  However there are times when a trip to the Big Smoke is unavoidable, and today was one of those days, but at least it gave me the opportunity to get together with our ex-General Manager, Linda, to talk about the upcoming 20th Anniversary Book which she has kindly offered to help with (as she did with the 10th Anniversary Book).  I received quite a few emails yesterday from adopters wanting their dogs to be included, and they're all safely filed for when we have some more concrete plans, dates and locations.  If you have an HKDR dog and would like to have him or her (or them) feature in the book, please email me at sallyandersen@hongkongdogrescue.com (there will obviously be a donation required).

One of the ideas we have is that we can use the HKDR@Elgin location as a photo studio, so all photos will be of the same look and quality.  In the meantime, the shop at Elgin Street is fully operational, and the lower floor is where we hold our training classes and workshops.  Cam Ng is the manager, and she's there every weekday.

I know many readers of my blog are here to find out about new arrivals, especially the smaller-sized dogs and puppies.  I've mentioned before that there must be a backlog of many puppies that were intercepted as they were being smuggled in from China, and have been held in quarantine and, for some, awaiting court cases.  The earliest arrests and confiscations took place a long time ago, and recent pugs Snuffle and Snoopy, and Doberman Dylan, were the first to be released to us for re-homing.  They've since been adopted, but what we saw in all of them was that having missed out on normal puppy development for the months of their quarantine confinement, they behaved like young puppies even at eight or nine months of age.   With the pugs it was funny because they were like two crazy kids having fun, but it's been more challenging with Dylan as a large dog who still acts like a baby. 

Now there are more such puppies coming to us on Friday, this time two white poodles, a girl and boy, eight months old, and a seven month-old Maltese.  I know we'll receive a lot of adoption applications for these puppies, so based on our experiences with the previous three we will choose the homes that we think will be best suited to handle the training and play biting, and if at all possible we would like to see the poodles adopted as a pair.   

If you are interested in adopting any of our dogs and puppies, please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Tues 13th Sept: Thinking ahead to our 20th Anniversary

 After the craziness of the weekend today was a relatively quiet day, and as I have to be out for an early afternoon meeting on Wednesday I'll keep this post short.  It might seem that rushing for an afternoon appointment is a bit strange, but I have many dog-related duties to see to in the morning, especially now that I have one particular dog who needs special time-consuming care and attention. Despite all expectations my big boy Oliver is still holding on, and his determination and strength of character are what's keeping him going (plus what has now become force-feeding and sub-cutaneous fluids).  Although it must take every ounce of his strength, he still comes to the front gate when I leave for the morning walk, even though he can no longer go any further. 

Alexi at Elgin Street

I'm very happy to be able to say that terrier-type Alexi has had her adoption confirmed after she was taken for fostering when we were in dire need of a place for her to stay.  She joins Abby, as well as the two large resident dogs in the home, and we just needed to know that they would all get along, which they do. 

Alexi is part of this family now

There's been some positive activity at Tai Po with the dogs waiting there for homes, but I don't want to name names until there's confirmation of adoption.  There's nothing worse than announcing that a certain dog has left, only to have to later say that he or she was returned. 

Sakura and Aimi

With our driver Ming still off we have to use van to get the dogs and puppies to the various vets, and today it was the turn of the two new adult shibas.  They seem to be in relatively good condition other than minor skin problems, so they should be available for adoption.  I was wondering about a prosthetic for the puppy rather than having the whole leg amputated, so we're waiting to hear if that's a possibility.  Either way, the puppy is also available for adoption, on the understanding that the bottom of one leg is missing and something will have to be done, one way or another. 

Fritter looks so much better now

Foxy 

The two female shibas that we previously took in from the breeder are looking so much better now that they have been treated for whatever their problems were (mainly skin and eyes), so they too are ready to move on to their new life. 

With the days flying by we really need to get started on our planned 20th Anniversary Book, so we need two things to start with.  One, and very importantly, we need to ask if there is anyone with typesetting and book production experience who's willing to help us? 

Secondly, we will be inviting HKDR adopters to be part of the book, with the donation requested for inclusion going towards the production and printing costs.  We haven't finalised a figure yet, but if you are interested in your dog(s) being included, please email me at sallyandersen@hongkongdogrescue.com. 

Mon 12th Sept: Continuing yesterday's stories

 Today's stories are a continuation of yesterday's, starting with the giant Alaskan Malamute I'd been asked to help.  While there were three offers of foster homes, at the last minute I was told that the dog's owners had decided to have him euthanised anyway, with the time set for twelve thirty.  At twelve twenty some neighbours went to talk directly to the owners, and with the clock ticking it was eventually agreed that the Malamute could move to the most suitable of the temporary homes, meaning with plenty of space and the promise of continuing veterinary care, as well as physiotherapy.   So for now the dog is safe, but we will have to wait and see how well he does in terms of recovery before looking for a forever home.  Bearing in mind that this is really a huge dog at seventy-plus kilos, we will need to be sure that any adopter really does have the capability of accommodating such a hairy giant. 

I had misunderstood the situation with the mother and three puppies that AFCD had asked us to take on Sunday evening (at the same time that the Malamute request came), because it turned out that the mother had actually died and the pups were lying beside her body.  In fact it was the bad smell that caused someone to find the mother and the starving pups, and it also explained why the pups had wounds on them. Warning: Don't read the following paragraph if you are sensitive to the horrible realities of nature at its most cruel.

AFCD had told us that one of the pups had a wound, but from the photo it didn't look too bad.  However the foster home that kindly accepted the pups had said that the wounds were serious and that they didn't feel they could cope with taking care of the puppies in such a condition, so we asked them to bring the pups to Kennedy Town in the morning.  Checking them for ourselves we could also see that the wounds were indeed quite nasty, and the pups were sent straight to Acorn where they had to have stitches.  I was wondering how the pups came to have such injuries when it dawned on me that they must have been caused by the maggots that would have been on the mother, and would have also started to literally eat the puppies alive.  These maggots are from flies that lay eggs in open wounds, and the eggs hatch in a matter of hours to become flesh-eating monsters, relentless in their appetite.  This is how many stray dogs die, being eaten alive by what are known as screw worms, and the smell of an infected animal is really strong and immediately recognisable.  This is almost certainly what happened to the mother of the three puppies, and the knowledge of this is really incredibly upsetting. 

Drink up Peter!

Amazingly the puppies are fine apart from the wounds, which will quickly heal now.  They are drinking their milk well, and were picked up by their new foster parent directly from Acorn so they have a place to stay for the time being.  They should all be called Lucky, but instead they're Peter, Penny and Paula.

Sakura and daughter Aimi

The three shibas also arrived, two adults and a puppy, and as we'd been told, the puppy is missing the end of one leg. She's now Aimi, and she is the daughter of  Sakura. The other adult female is Ichika.  Aimi is four months old and will need to have the affected leg amputated, unless someone is able to create a leg-end for her (I know the 3-D printing can make anything now). 

Ichika 

Lucky Joe was chosen today

The only new news for today is that puppy Joe was adopted, and I'm obviously very happy for him.   We still have so many lovely girls and boys waiting for their forever families, and I'll be sharing an updated list tomorrow.

Frankie, Ferris and Fiona

The other three young puppies that came to us on Friday are also doing well in their foster home, but I always have the knowledge at the back of my mind that in a few short weeks these babies will also be in need of homes.