Tues 31st Jan: More dogs and their stories

Bubba is his previous home. Little did he know what lay in store for him

I don’t know if I’ve gained a dog’s sixth sense over the years of living with so many, but something about one of the surrendered (mongrel) dogs at the AFCD kennels made me ask if the owner was a Westerner, and the answer was yes.  I’d already said I would take him as he’s a friendly boy, but I was also determined to find out who had done that to his own dog.  I say “his” because I was fairly sure it was someone who had previously contacted me about surrendering and although HKDR couldn’t accept the dog, I  knew that another dog rescuer had agreed to take him in.  I couldn’t be certain it was that person and the same dog though, but when I checked in at Acorn Vet Hospital it turned out that Bubba was already registered there.  So now there’s no hiding, and certainly no excuses because there was absolutely no need to hand Bubba over to AFCD.   This is what the ex-owner said about his dog: “Bubba is very calm, almost never barks. Probably wouldn’t make a very good guard dog, but he’s very friendly. He’s well-trained, obeys well, is housetrained, and is up to date on all of his shots (actually not, but they were done at Acorn). He can be quite energetic at parks and when hiking, but is very calm in the house.”    Who would like to give Bubba a home for ever?

Husky Simon looks older than his stated 8 years

Of the other Chinese New Year surrenders, I took out an older husky who stank to high heaven, poor boy.  His teeth were rotten and his ears so full of dark brown wax – and very painful too – but he was still so sweet and friendly.  He’s now Simon.

Beagle-dachshund = Beashund

Two strange-looking dogs had been dumped together, and although they are licensed as dachshunds and may well have some sausage dog blood in them, I’d say that beagle cross was a more appropriate description.  I was warned that they weren’t too friendly, but could tell after a minute or so that the male was protecting the female, and decided that taking them individually was the best thing to do.  It’s sad to separate dogs like this, but it gives them a better chance.  And I can honestly say that no other AFCD Centre would have let them go for re-homing, so they are already lucky. Once out of the kennel and away from her mate, the female (Queenie) did relax as expected, and although she was very scared it was possible to get her microchipped and rabies vaccinated before bundling her into a crate.

This was the best photo I could get of Sprint

The last dog of the day was a very pretty black cocker spaniel mix who looked like a miniature Afghan hound with his long feathered tail and elegant build.  Again I was warned that he wasn’t too friendly but then ascertained that it was the brushes and other things used for cleaning that he hated, not people.  In fact he was extremely friendly once he was out of his kennel, and was obviously keen to go for a very long run to stretch his legs.  He was jumping about so much that it was really difficult to get a photo of him and the attached is the best I could do.  I decided that Lamma was the only place for him until he finds a home, because he really needs to have a garden to race around in.

A great photo can mean getting noticed and adopted

Moxi  the chow chow was adopted from Tai Po today and I think it was thanks to the great photo taken by one of our Photography Club members.  I posted it on Facebook and it worked!  Now Moxi has gone to live with one of the bulldog girls that came from us too, and we all wish her the best.  If you think you can help by taking photos that will mean our dogs getting noticed, please come and join the team.