Weds 23rd Nov: Not all bad news

Trudy should never have been in this situation

 It wasn't a happy day today as something happened that made me so angry, and as I said to the family who adopted and then returned Trudy, I can tolerate many things but not ruining a puppy's life.  Trudy is  six months old and a very sweet girl, but is now at our Tai Po Homing Centre rather than in a home.  She's apparently nervous about going out because she was very rarely given that opportunity, so at the very least we can start the process of socialisation and confidence building, although that should have been done from the time she was a young puppy.   More than anything though, Trudy needs a new home, one where she can have everything that any dog deserves, and that includes fun and play and proper exercise.  At least at the Homing Centre she'll have lots of playmates, so that side of things is easy to fix.

Thankfully it's never all bad news, and although this took place the other day I would like to thank Beauskin for their very generous donation to HKDR, which was presented in the form of a token giant cheque by #BEAUSKIN #UniLOVE Foundation Founder and President Ms. Jathy.

The full post on our Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR) page was in Chinese, along with a very amusing English Google translation which stated that we recruit mature dog prostitutes, among other things.  I can categorically deny that this is true, but thanks for the laugh!

Rambo

Other than Trudy needing a new home (and many other puppies both at Kennedy Town and Tai Po), we're hoping that Rambo can be given somewhere to stay.  He went for a heart scan at Acorn today, and while the good news is that it's not his heart that's causing his weakness, he probably has a  horrible disease called Degenerative Myelopathy (DM).  Having had a dog with this condition I know that watching the slow progression is heart breaking, but at the stage that Rambo is now he can still enjoy some quality of life in having good food, a soft bed and companionship, something has has been missing for a long time. "Canine degenerative myelopathy (DM) is an adult-onset fatal neurodegenerative disease that occurs in many breeds."

For all adoption enquiries please start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/, and for fostering email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com.

Tues 22nd Nov: Never too old to start a new life

 New boy Rambo went to Acorn today to be fully checked over, and surprisingly at least the blood test came back showing nothing to worry about.  However there seems to be a serious heart problem which will mean him having to go back on Wednesday to have a proper heart scan, not something I want to put poor Rambo through but it has to be done.  I'm sure he's already quite traumatised by what is happening to him, and what has happened over the past who-knows-how-many years.  There's weakness in the back legs, and that's quite possibly due to lack of muscle use if he's been caged for a long time. I feel incredibly sorry for this dog, as we all do, and if anything can be done to help him both physically and emotionally, we'll do it. 

Adorable senior Bailey has her own home now

Most of all I'm hoping that someone will step forward to offer Rambo a home, even a foster situation so we can properly assess him and any potential recovery, and today's adoption shows that no dog is too old to be able to start a new life.  Senior poodle Bailey left our small Ap Lei Chau Centre today to join two other ex-Red Dog Centre residents, Bell and Joseph, although total sweetheart Bailey is as far from being a "Red" dog as you can get.  At fourteen, Bailey is two years older than Rambo if the assessment of him being twelve is accurate, so there's still time for a recovery and adoption. 

Smithy is total gold

Another very sweet small-medium boy is waiting for his own home, and that's Smithy.  He may not be the sleekest or most handsome guy on the block, but he has the biggest smile and heart of gold.  Isn't this the most important factor if there are children in the home?  

To meet any of our wonderful dogs, old, young, and everything in between, please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/.  

Mon 21st Nov: Fighting for Rambo

Rambo, man of mystery

 We take in dogs from a variety of sources, and of all ages, shapes size and colour.  The one thing they all have in common is that they're homeless and in need of help.  The reasons for their situation may differ, but ultimately the result is the same.  Today's new dog was the saddest of cases, and I'd tell you something about him if I could, but the fact is that nobody knows anything.  It was a social worker that contacted us because the owner of the dog had died at least a year ago, and following his demise the dog was left alone in the home, being fed occasionally by the son, who himself had mental illness issues.  Nobody knows the age of the dog (there's no microchip), or even his name, so I have called him Rambo.  It's an inappropriate name for a dog that can't even stand or sit because he seems to be locked in a crouched position, and maybe he has been in a small cage for so long this is all he could manage.  We can only guess, but I want him to have a strong name so he can fight to achieve some semblance of a normal life, if that's possible at this point.  He'll be seeing a vet on Tuesday, but in the meantime Iris clipped his very long and curled nails.  Maybe there's someone who will offer Rambo a home for the remainder of his life, so he can experience the love and comfort that has been missing for so long, and maybe always. 

Baby Oliver

There was a switch of foster homes for some of our young puppies, with three moving to the home of another three who had only just left to start their new lives in forever homes (Camille, Collette and Celeste).  There's a saying that a vacuum is quickly filled, so we jumped at the chance of getting Oliver, Odile and Okra into the suddenly empty space, and once again you can follow their news and progress on Instagram @why_i_foster.  It's part of my daily routine to check the photos because they're always guaranteed to make me smile.

I happened to drop by HKDR@Elgin today, or rather I asked to go there because I wanted to see the "F" puppies who are currently staying there.  They really are gorgeous, and the "F" could very well stand for fluffy because that's what they are.  The only exception is Freya, who is also the friendliest and really ready for adoption.  She's already exceptionally pretty, and she's going to be a beautiful adult, and sweet natured I'm sure.  The others are slowly coming round to having human company, and they're quite happy to take treats which is a good start.  We do need more volunteers to help with the socialisation (and cleaning), especially over the weekends when staff member Cam is off.  If you can help for a couple of hours, please email elgin@hongkongdogrescue.com. 

Sun 20th Nov: Another surprise arrival

 

The new "S" litter

Another day, another new litter of puppies, this time with the small-sized mother, but only just.  I'd been asked in the morning if we could accept a mother dog and her six babies, and as they were smaller sized we said yes.  

The four-legged family were due to arrive in the early afternoon, but then came the news that the mother had escaped from the van and had disappeared in the Tung Chung area somewhere.  Luckily the pups are old enough to eat by themselves so they came anyway, and it was only just before seven o'clock in the evening that the message came that the mother had been found, and was on her way.  I checked with the Sunday team at Kennedy Town to see if they were OK to wait, and they agreed (of course).  I'm sure we all wanted to see the reunion of the mother and her youngsters, even if I suspect she's getting tired of them by now.   It was the puppies who were ecstatic to have their mother back, as you can see from the video.  

Stella and her happy pups

From the looks of the puppies their father is a regular mixed breed, probably not particularly small, so we can't be sure of their final adult size.  The mother, now Stella, is obviously small and seems to be very young,  so some of the pups will be her size while others may well be considerably larger.  

As always, if you're interested in adopting please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Polina Levin was the volunteer photographer at Whiskers N Paws for the regular Puppy Party, and you can see how much fun everyone had Puppy Adoption Day 20th Nov 2022.  Whatever happens on Sundays one thing is always guaranteed, and that's endless games of chase and wrestling, with very tired but happy puppies at the end of the two hours. 

In friendly play there's always one "victim" 

Sat 20th Nov: Adoptions plus this and that

Gorgeous little Caro

Caro, my favourite puppy of the moment, was adopted today so I will have to choose another one to take her place.  There are so many it's really impossible to pick just one, but I have my eyes on the totally gorgeous youngsters currently staying at our HKDR@Elgin location.  Cam and the volunteers have been helping to socialise them as all but one (Freya, the tri-coloured one) were very timid on arrival, and you can see in the video below that there's definite progress.  As for Freya, she's ready to go to a home any time, and she's a real stunner, and very sweet too. 

Caro's sister Carrie was picked up today too

Maddie was quickly chosen

Maddie the Maltese was adopted first thing in the morning, not a surprise as she's young and very sweet.

Scout was so happy to be going home!

Also leaving after a slightly longer stay was Scout the terrier type, and he was so happy to be chosen.  The smile on his face says it all! 

 

Larissa and Jared are fantastic dogs

I missed mentioning an event that took place today “Giving Thanks Fun-draising” at K11 Musea,  organised by Whiskers N Paws  in support of HKDR. The  event was attended by two of our wonderful Tai Po residents, Larissa and Jared.  They're such easy dogs, happy to attend each and every gathering, as they love the adventure and meeting lots of people.  They should really be in homes by now, and if anyone is looking for the perfect family dog, please do consider one (both?) of this genuinely lovely pair.

I should also have included this month's fantastic food donation from Buddy Bites at our Tai Po Homing Centre. These donations make a huge difference to our massive food costs, with around six hundred hungry mouths to feed.  The kibble comes in a variety of flavours, so there's something for all tastes and dietary needs.  As a reminder every purchase of Buddy Bites, which is delivered directly to your door, means a donation to our HKDR dogs too, so I should also thank all of the Buddy Bites customers for adding to our food store!

Sunday means the Whiskers N Paws Puppy Party, 2pm to 4pm as always, but remember that every day is an adoption day at HKDR.  Our Homing Centres are open every single day from 10am to 6pm so you don't have to wait for a special event or a weekend to roll round if you want to meet any puppies or adult dogs.  Please just remember to start by completing the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/ so we can point you in the right direction to find what you're looking for. 

Fri 18th Nov: Adoptions, and those still waiting

Starting with happy adoption news, one of the "C"  puppies staying at Kennedy Town was adopted, the first of her litter to be chosen.  Callie was the lucky one, but I'm sure the others won't have to wait too long, as they're all gorgeous, happy and friendly girls and one boy.

Two more puppies will graduate from the foster home of many previous lucky pups, and this time it's Collette (Col) and Camille (Cam) who will be leaving together.   You can take a look at their daily photo updates on Instagram @why_i_foster, and you'll see what I mean about the importance of early care in a puppy's life.  This isn't only adequate good food, but also socialisation, play and training. The proof of the difference this makes is clear to see in the happy characters that develop while staying in foster homes like this one, and I'm always incredibly grateful for every one of them.

Clara is a happy girl

It's not only puppies who can benefit from foster care, and today there were two more adoptions from foster, one being rottweiler Clara (you may have seen her very sweet videos on YouTube and Instagram), and Gordon, who's actually staying in his foster home forever. 

Gordon's living the good life now

Yesterday I wrote about the huge number of "top" dogs at our Tai Po Homing Centre waiting to be chosen, and you can see just some of them on this Facebook post:   https://www.facebook.com/hkdogrescue/photos/pcb.6021336941212321/6021309437881738

Drake is also still a puppy

Liam is still a puppy

Quite a few of these dogs are still puppies, like Drake, who came to us as part of a just-born litter, and Liam, who was from AFCD.  Even Jared is only a year old and a really lovely boy, as I showed in the video of him and German shepherd Amber.   

Jared is a great all-round family dog

We have all ages and sizes from medium up (smaller dogs stay at our Kennedy Town Centres), and you are welcome to meet them any day.  Here's the Google maps link to our Hong Kong Dog Rescue Tai Po Homing Centre

2508 1853

https://maps.app.goo.gl/zsxPvJBrdtrmbc2f6

Thurs 18th Nov: There are so many "top" dogs at Tai Po now

Why are you homeless Congee?

 The two new dogs arrived from AFCD Sheung Shui, and while I know the (young) Maltese, now called Maddie, will find a home very quickly, it's Congee the mixed breed that I want to talk about.  She's six years old and we don't know her story, but she's a very lovely and sweet-natured dog that should be in a home.  She was dropped off at our Tai Po Homing Centre where she's joined the many other equally lovely dogs still waiting for adoption, and it's heart breaking that they are without families to love them. Of course the staff and volunteers give all of the dogs as much time as they can spare, but it's never going to be the same as having a real home. 

Maddie

There are now so many "top" dogs at Tai Po that I've lost count.  These are the dogs that have no health or behaviour issues, and are ready to go straight to their new families.  Look at this sweet video of German shepherd Amber meeting young Jared while out for a walk.  Amber is recovering from a large wound on her underside, which is healing well, but she also has heartworm which needs to be treated before she can be desexed.  We would love this gorgeous girl to at least be in a foster home where she can have everything done to restore her to full health, and if you can offer her space please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com. 

I suppose you would have to say that Amber isn't one of the "top" dogs due to her current health condition, but Jared certainly is.  He's young, healthy and very sweet. 

The weekend is coming up again, the weather is incredible, so the timing is perfect to make a visit to Tai Po and our Homing Centre at 6 Shek Lin Road.  Just complete the questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/  and let us tell you about the dogs that we feel will be the best match for you and your family.