Weds 3rd Aug: We need cleaning staff at Tai Po

Although officially a day off,  I spent the afternoon at the warehouse going through various items of donated furniture looking for the metal-framed bed that I’d been told had arrived.  My current bed’s wooden frame is being gradually gnawed away by puppies, and I’m sure one night the whole thing is going to collapse under me.  Well, OK, that may be a bit of an exaggeraion at this point, but there have been many sets of teeth at work on the headboard, and every leg and corner have been well chewed.  And it’s not only the bed that has been the source of fun for the puppies.  I got home late in the evening (from a Peak for Fong meeting) to find the arms of my sofa had been reduced to little bits of foam and fabric, mixed in with an entire roll of poo bags, the plastic equivalent of a toilet roll in terms of un-rolling fun.

It’s not just my house that suffers from teething issues, and bit by bit every piece of wooden furniture at Tai Po is being exchanged for metal alternatives.  Today’s sort-out was also to earmark the replacement tables, shelves, cabinets and so on that will be sent up, hopefully the last time we’ll need to do it, at least for some time.

The dormitories need a good clean every day

We get all sorts of donations in kind offered, and they are all most welcome and gratefully received.  It’s always amazing how our supporters respond if we are in need of anything specific, and now I have another request, this time not for anything of a material nature but for something that we desperately need more of at Tai Po: cleaning staff.  There must be dog lovers out there somewhere who prefer outdoor work to pushing a mop around a fast-food restaurant, or standing uselessly outside a building as a guard.  It’s hard work to be sure, but rewarding.  If you know of anyone, or can recommend how we can find such people, please let me know (sally@hongkongdogrescue.com).  We love our dogs and taking care of them as well as we can is very important to us, so please ask around if you can.

I was just looking for photos of the Tai Po site to post, and browsing through the selection I came across this photo of the area behind the main house.  How many of you remember this?  It was taken at the time we moved in from Pokfulam, and the whole area was totally overgrown.  It took months of really heavy work to finally clear all the terraces of the unwanted greenery, and seeing it now you would never believe what it looked like at that time.

Who remembers this?

This year’s Peak to Fong (27th November) is coming together very nicely, and in a very short time I’ll be able to tell you who our very famous major sponsor will be.  What I can say is that I recommend you don’t wait to buy your tickets when the announcement is made that they are available, because we are anticipating an early sell-out.  If you’re new to Hong Kong or the dog “scene”, Peak to Fong is the best dog event of the year, and one that’s not to be missed (or your dog will never forgive you).

All this talk of end-of-the-year events reminds me that we’re coming up to autumn, and hopefully the end of the summer adoption drought.  It’s also that time when we start to put together items like the 2012 Calendar, and due to the huge popularity of the day-by-day ‘cube’ we’re doing the same for next year.  Any day now we’ll be accepting applications for entry, so if you want your dog to feature on his/her own page, start looking for your favourite photo now.