Thurs 20th Oct: Scamp and Samuel's turn

Scamp's goodbye photo

 It was Scamp's turn today to leave HKDR@Elgin with his new family, and that leaves Skittle as the last remaining puppy there.  She does have Smithy and Sparky to play with at Elgin Street, but we might move her back to the Kennedy Town Centre so she has other puppies around, like adorable little Aaron.  Of course she may be adopted before any move is necessary, as she's a very lovely - and lively - girl. 

Little Aaron gets more gorgeous every day

Samuel the poodle also had his adoption confirmed after a very short time in his post-surgery foster home.  He and the resident poodle are getting along fine, and that was the main consideration, as it usually is for a second dog. 

Samuel is staying in his foster home for ever

As I mentioned yesterday we took in two new puppies from AFCD today, now called Quince and Quentin, while the adult went to Tai Po.  So far he hasn't got a name because it was already quite late when he got to the Homing Centre, so I'll share his photo and details tomorrow.

Moose is ready for Halloween

I can't believe it's almost the weekend again, not to mention the fact that we're coming up to the end of the month. It will be Christmas before you know it, and no doubt the supermarkets will have the decorations up as soon as Halloween is over.  Anyway, for us the weekend means Whiskers N Paws and the Sunday Puppy Party that takes place without fail from 2pm to 4pm, and apart from it being a time when the puppies can run around on the terrace until they collapse in an exhausted heap, it also give the Kennedy Town staff and volunteers a couple of hours to concentrate on the older dogs, as well as the newcomers like Quince and Quentin.   

Weds 19th Oct: Shannon's day

Shannon was adopted today

It was little Shannon's turn to leave the HKDR@Elgin Centre today, and I'm sure she's going to enjoy having so much attention in her new home.  Remember you can buy everything you need at the Elgin Street store when you adopt from there, so you don't have to worry about not having a bed, bowl, toys and all the rest.  There are still puppies Scamp and Skittle staying at HKDR@Elgin, and two adults, Smithy and Sparky. 

As dogs and puppies leave to start their new lives, of course others arrive, with two puppies and an adult coming from AFCD Pokfulam on Thursday.  As always I find it hard to understand how any person can be so callous as to abandon a pet at AFCD, this time apparently due to a new baby being allergic.  There's a list of standard excuses used, and while they may sometimes be true, in many cases they're not.  Regardless, what will be true in every case is that the dog will feel fear, confusion and stress, and that's not fair or right.  Of course the same applies to any newcomer at our Tai Po Homing Centre, but hopefully that initial response will fade, once the dog is settled and has made some friends. 

We also took back two young puppies from their foster home, so now Connor and Cooper at also staying at our North Street Centre and having lots of fun playing.  I know it's confusing having three different locations on Hong Kong Island, but at least the two in Kennedy Town are only a short walk from each other. 

 Thank you to everyone who sent such kind messages following my post yesterday, and I was genuinely touched by all of them. 

Thank you to Margaret Chan

Maybe this is a good reminder about the importance of writing a Will, especially when the service offered at 

遺善最樂 ForeverGift.hk is totally free as long as you leave a legacy to charity, and hopefully HKDR.   You can also choose whether or not to allow your photo to be used to promote this wonderful idea of leaving an everlasting memory, just like Margaret Chan who chose to leave a legacy to HKDR and the dogs. 

Tues 18th Oct: A personal note

Soko is 10 months old

The shiba inu I wrote about yesterday arrived first thing in the morning, and we're going to allocate him the age as ten months, as assessed by the vet who checked him over.  His name is now Soko, and he's available for adoption as soon as we get him microchipped and licensed.

I was going to mention a surrender request for another popular small breed, but it seems the owner has changed his mind, as often happens. One who did arrive as arranged was Wally the poodle, and he had to go straight to hospital to be treated for tick fever, which had got to a life-threatening stage.  I'm happy to say that Wally's condition improved day by day, and he was picked up from Concordia Pet Care today by his potential adopter.

Sweet Sandy has a home

 

Following what has been a very dry adoption spell for our larger adult dogs, it's always good to be able to write about some of them finding homes.  Sandy is one of the lucky dogs who has found her forever home, and malamute Big Al (also known as Roody) is the other. Both have been in foster homes, so they move in with their new families with known behaviour and habits, just one of the reason why fosters are so important. 

Big Al, or Roody, with his adopter

I rarely write about my personal life, and I stopped using Facebook a long time ago for anything other than HKDR-related stuff, but there are times when something big happens and I can't just pretend that everything is OK.  I posted my blog as usual yesterday but I had just learned that my sister had died, and I have to admit I was still in shock at the suddenness of the news, coming only a few hours after I had been chatting to her on the phone.  My other sister also died earlier this year so this loss has been hard, and I was grateful for the bad weather that prevented me anyway from having to go over to Hong Kong as I has been planning to do. 

I'm writing about this now because I think it's important to remind everyone that all of us who work in dog rescue are also humans with lives and families outside of the dog world, even if for me my circumstances might give the impression that there's nothing but dogs, dogs and more dogs.  For the most part people are understanding, but there are those who are incredibly demanding and rude, even abusive, and I know this affects not only me, but all of us who are just doing our best.  This work is challenging and emotional, and even if I'm not actually friends with everyone running dog rescue charities, and the many volunteers, I can at least acknowledge that we all face the same frustrations, highs and lows, and sometimes utter despair.  

Mon 17th Oct: Leaving and arriving

Speedy leaving HKDR@Elgin

 I'd mentioned Speedy's adoption yesterday but he actually left HKDR@Elgin today, so I can share his going home photo now.  With only two adult dogs from that particular intake left, we moved the small puppies who also came as part of the same group from Kennedy Town over to Elgin Street, so you can meet them there now. 

I heard from Cam, who's running the show over at HKDR@Elgin, that the puppies have already been busy trying to dig an escape tunnel through the walls, which actually made me laugh because I can just imagine them plotting and planning.  In fact the walls downstairs at Elgin Street are quite soft so it's not as though the puppies were drilling through solid cement, but it's always good to remind everyone who doesn't understand about puppies that there's no such thing as a quiet, independent and laid-back one.  They're all dependent on their carers and friends, whether or not they're actually siblings, and keeping a young puppy alone and without companionship is very damaging to their healthy development.  Their "bad" behaviour is not done out of spite or malice, it's simply natural curiosity and play.  To punish a puppy for anything innocently done is wrong, and it's up to the humans in the home to make sure that anything valuable or chewable is put out of reach.  Wood and soft furnishings are very attractive to a young puppy, as they're not able to tell the difference between a stuffed

These 3 puppies have moved to Elgin Street

toy and a sofa cushion.  Don't blame the puppy if your shoes are chewed when it's you that hasn't put them safely away.

This little poodle lady came today

As always there are surrendered dogs to write about, and today's new arrival was a fourteen year-old poodle whose old lady owner had moved into a nursing home. We obviously need a foster or adopter who can give this poor tiny girl a new home, as the Homing Centre will be completely overwhelming.  Please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com, or complete the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/.  At least with a dog of this age you can be sure that she won't chew any of your things, or demand anything more than your care and companionship.

This shiba boy is due on Tuesday

Another dog is due to come to us on Tuesday morning, a young shiba inu that was found wandering but without an identifying microchip.  This boy is estimated to be a year old, but of course we know nothing about him other than his finder/temporary carer told us the dog had no behaviour issues.  I will say that as a shiba we wouldn't recommend him to any inexperienced adopter. 

The poodle and shiba are both coming to us for understandable reasons, however there are two cases of dogs adopted from HKDR that we were asked to take back as if we had just lent them out temporarily. One of those dogs was adopted by a very wealthy man who instructed his staff to deal with getting rid of the dog while he was out of the country.  Despite this man's huge wealth, he refused to make a donation to HKDR if we took the dog back, and in this case - very luckily - an individual who heard about the situation took the dog in.  The other case involves a dog who was again promised a home for life, and we're waiting to find out if this particular owner is going to be willing to provide for the dog's care if we agree to accept him back. 

When you adopt a dog, you do so with the promise of a home for life. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, that means exactly what it says.  If you think that adopting from an animal rescue organisation means that you can just send the dog back when it's no longer convenient, think again, or be prepared to pay a meaningful amount that will cover the cost of the dog's care in the future. 

Sun 16th Oct: Happy day!

 What a day!  Not only were there adoptions from our Kennedy Town Centre, but also Elgin Street and, best of all, three dogs from Tai Po!

Fritter is now Truffle

I don't know if my mention of Fritter on yesterday's post had anything to do with it, but she has a lovely home now, as well as a new name - Truffle.  

Shorty has his new family

Shorty and Scramble left their temporary accommodation at HKDR@Elgin, with Speedy also being adopted and leaving on Monday. 

Drogo and Cova went home together

The lucky Tai Po dogs were Beau, Cova and Drogo, with the latter two being adopted by the same family.  They have been staying together at the Homing Centre so are already friends, and now they're siblings.

Beau will be moving to Portugal next year

Last but not least, there was a new member of the Failed Foster Club when poodle Grace's residency status was upgraded to forever. 

You can see Aaron's short legs here

The puppies had a great time at Whiskers N Paws of course, and thanks to Polina Levin for being the volunteer photographer for the afternoon.  Please take a look at the lovely photos here Puppy Adoption Day 16th Oct 2022.   You can meet most of the puppies shown either at Whiskers N Paws any day of the week, or at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre.  Some lucky pups are in foster homes and our Foster Coordinator can arrange a meeting for you when convenient.  Whichever puppy you're interested in, please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

As a quick update on poodle Wally, he's eating well and his condition is stable although being closely monitored (at Concordia) to check that his red cell count doesn't drop to the point when he needs another blood transfusion.  I really hope that won't be necessary because we still haven't identified a suitable blood donor yet, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that Wally can do this himself. 

Sat 15th Oct: Today was Alex's big day

Alex has a lovely home

Alex is just one of quite a few small-sized puppies we have waiting for homes at the moment, and it surprised me that he had to wait as long as he did to be chosen.  Anyway he's found a wonderful home so it's all good, and now we'll have to make sure the others are equally lucky.  

I was on the edge of my seat (well, not literally) when Turpin was taken to the Kennedy Town dog park today for a getting-to-know-you runaround with the dog of potential adopters, because the two were having such a great time and I was sure this was going to be a match. In the end the couple wanted to meet some more dogs, but at least I could see how happy and relaxed Turpin was with another dog that he didn't know.   

Now that the weather's cooler and the temperature's due to drop further next week, taking the dogs from the Kennedy Town Centres to the waterfront and dog park is not only possible, but it's a pleasant walk for everyone. During the very hot summer it was too much for the dogs, as there's really almost no shade and the heat from the concrete becomes like an oven.  I'm really happy that the dogs can enjoy proper walks now. 

Fritter as she is now

I want to share an updated photo of shiba inu Fritter out on a walk, because she looks so completely different from the sad ex-breeder dog that arrived in a very poor condition. It just goes to show once again that just because a dog might look shabby and dirty on the outside, inside there's a brand new look just waiting to be able to shine. You can meet Fritter at our Kennedy Town Homing Centre. 

Fritter when she arrived

Four of our top Tai Po dogs were at Woof Magic WM in Sai Kung today, and although they all ended up going back to the Homing Centre we had quite a few interested visitors.  You can see all of the photos on the Woof Magic Facebook page, as well as our own Hong Kong Dog Rescue page.  Thanks to the volunteers who accompanied the dogs for their day out, and hopefully we'll be back for other day out in Sai Kung very soon.

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Small puppy Aaron is timid so he needs a dog friend

Fri 14th Oct: Triple luck

I was just checking and correcting some minor errors in today's post when I must have accidentally hit a delete key and the whole lot disappeared.  

These 3 very lucky pups were adopted together

So, starting again, we had a better-than-double adoption at Kennedy Town when three sibling puppies who had just been returned from their foster home were chosen to go home together.  Talk about lucky, it doesn't get better than that.  Of course the home has lots of space, as well as a garden for the puppies to run around in, and I'm sure they're going to have a great life.

Wally

We were asked to accept a four year-old poodle who was very ill with tick fever and in need of a blood transfusion.  Luckily Concordia Pet Care agreed to accept Wally as an emergency case, but although we sent a dog from Tai Po as a blood donor, his blood type wasn't a match.  We then checked another dog's blood to see if he would be a suitable donor, but again the blood type wasn't right, so instead Wally was given a transfusion of Packed Red Blood Cells to stabilise his weak condition.   We're still in need of a donor with DEA1.1 Negative blood, just in case anyone reading this blog has a dog with this blood type and wouldn't mind donating a small amount of blood for Wally.  Please let us know by emailing kt@hongkongdogrescue.com, and thank you.

I should mention to anyone interested in adopting Wally when he's recovered from tick fever that we haven't had anything else checked, so he may also have wobbly knees that will need surgery.  This is such a common condition in small dogs, especially those that have come from breeders who use the same dogs with genetic conditions to breed from.  Another one of our poodles, one year-old Samuel, has been waiting to have surgery on his knees and has only just found a foster home where he can recover.  The other poodle, Frodo, was luckier in finding a foster home and his surgery has already been carried out.  Poodles are always a popular breed, but they often suffer from patella luxation (if you missed my previous post detailing the condition it's Sunday 2nd October). 

Another reminder that we'll be at Sai Kung on Saturday afternoon with some of our Tai Po dogs, hoping to introduce them to potential adopters.  

𝗛𝗞𝗗𝗥 𝘅 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰

𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆 @ 𝗦𝗮𝗶 𝗞𝘂𝗻𝗴

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏𝟓 𝐎𝐜𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 (𝐒𝐚𝐭)

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 𝟐𝐩𝐦 - 𝟒𝐩𝐦

𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: 𝐖𝐌 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐋𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐂𝟐𝐁, 𝐒𝐚𝐢 𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐠

Come meet our available medium to large sized dogs at Woof Magic WM this Saturday!

For each successful adoption at the event, Woof Magic will sponsor a free grooming session for the newly adopted dog!