Sat 8th Oct: Do you want to be a Lifesaver?

Lucky Ireland left Tai Po today for the last time

Ireland was the lucky Tai Po dog today.  She left to join ex-Norway in her new home, which got me thinking that either this adopter is drawn to country names or it’s a funny coincidence, but either way we should make sure we have a Denmark ready in case there’s room for a third.

Melba’s (the ex-breeder corgi) adopter asked me today why he had been given that name, and I replied that it was – like almost all names – just a random choice.  Sometimes a dog or puppy is given a name because they have something about them which suggests a particular theme, like the ridgeback puppies who had names like Squaw and Pocohontas (because the ridges were like Mohawks), but more often than not when I’m standing in the consult room with a new litter or dog and the vet assistant asks “Name?”, I’m completely stuck.    For puppies the hope is that the name is just temporary anyway, but sometimes they get stuck with it.  I have a Stardust on Lamma who came from AFCD as a tiny bundle of black and white fluff, so cute and pretty that  she looked fairy-like, but now she’s an adult (border collie) with a silly name.  She should have been adopted as a baby but she had such a bad case of tick fever that she wasn’t expected to survive and the treatment lasted months, by which time she was well past her sell-by date (and is now a Lifesaver Club dog).

Stardust is 4 years old now

I spent today writing updates on the Lifesaver Club dogs, having finally managed to get photos taken of the Lamma members.  These are long-term dogs that are sponsored on a monthly basis (either $500 or $1000) to help cover their costs, including food and monthly Heartgard and Frontline, and vet bills as and when necessary.  We do have quite a few dogs that will realistically never find homes, many of them being the small “delinquents” with behaviour issues, but that doesn’t mean that they’re all no-hopers.  Happily quite a few of our Lifesaver dogs have been adopted, and then we simply find a replacement for the sponsor.  If you would like to join and help a specific dog, please email lifesaver@hongkongdogrescue.com, or just contact me and I will forward your message.

Sparkle needs a Lifesaver sponsor. I can't see her going anywhere else.