Sat 4th Feb: A day late

It was my first Puppy Adoption afternoon at Pacific Pets in Stanley today, and although I was secretly hoping for a packed house and a sell-out, of course few people knew I was there so no puppies actually left with their new families.  It takes time to build a “business” up, so I’ll be back next Saturday, same time, same place.  Of course the Sunday afternoons at Whiskers’n'Paws will continue, 2pm until 5pm at 10/F Horizon  Plaza, Ap Lei Chau.

The puppies that were at Stanley weren’t any that I knew from Lamma; there were two from Tai Po and four Whippeties from foster homes.  These puppies are actually more German pointer than whippets, and it’s just their athletic build and sleek coats that made me first call them Whippeties.  The genes have been diluted over generations and now while some retain the build and  boundless energy of a sporting breed, others are more solid and sedate.  I assume it’s pure coincidence, but the pair that came from their foster home in Discovery Bay played non-stop all afternoon, while the two who are in foster on the Peak were very quiet.  One of them, the only all-black one, refused to stay in the puppy pen at all and climbed out as soon as I put her in.  So for three hours I had to carry her because she can’t be on the floor (only had one vaccination) and I just couldn’t persuade her to play with the others.  They’re all lovely anyway, and one of them looks exactly like recently-adopted Denzil (one of the energetic pair).  As Denzil was always so admired, I hope this puppy won’t be left homeless for long.

George went off to his foster home and was quite nervous about his new surroundings.  Hardly surprising if he’s used to living on a fishing boat, then went through his awful and traumatic experience before finding himself surrounded by other dogs on Lamma and then being sent to be castrated and his mouth injuries repaired at Acorn Vet Hospital.  That meant a night in a cage before he was driven to Tai Po to be collected by his foster and taken to Saikung, and everything would be strange and new to him.  He’s never worn a collar or been on a leash (other than when he was taken from Lamma to Acorn), so I wasn’t surprised to hear that he didn’t want to go for a walk.  It will take time for him to settle and learn that not everyone is mean and cruel.

I was happy (as I always am) to learn that Marcus the rottweiler was adopted from Tai Po today.  His previous adoption was very short-lived, not because of anything that Marcus did but because he was too big for the landlord’s taste.  The adoption process is a team effort and it starts with me responding to enquiries by asking that the adoption questionnaire be completed so I can see if the home is suitable for a dog, and if so which dogs would be the best match.  Some people ask about specific dogs they’ve seen on the website and others just a general type, and then we take it from there.  If there is a named dog and we don’t think it’s a good choice, we’ll recommend others that may be similar in looks but have a more compatible character.  Some dogs get a lot of enquiries and Marcus was one of them.  Others are Clay, the boxer cross, and Mocha, a pointer cross, both of whom have had a lot of interest but for some strange reason nobody actually seems to turn up to see them (or if they do I don’t know about it and they are both still with us).  They are lovely dogs with no behaviour or character faults, it just seems that they are waiting for the Right Home, and until then they will stay where they are.