Fri 20th April: Full house

My morning walks have become more of an obstacle course during these rainy days, with the woodland tracks having turned to mud and every step needing to be planned so I can hang onto a tree to stop me slithering down the hillside (not always successfully).  The good part is that the overhanging branches act like a natural umbrella so I don’t feel the worst of the downpours, but I managed to get the timing completely wrong this morning, leaving home at the precise time that the thunder and lightning started.  Still, the dogs need a walk and getting wet isn’t the worst thing that can happen.

I had planned to get the bull terrier out of the AFCD kennels but decided to put that off until next week when I realised how many new dogs we had arriving today.  Three had been collected from the Sheung Shui AFCD, two poodles and a schnauzer (of course!), and there were two abandoned dogs from Lantau (Paulie and Windy).  Added to that, without a foster home having been found for new pug Burger, who has just undergone knee surgery, he also had to come to Ap Lei Chau, a situation far from ideal given his condition.

Windy at my feet in the van

As it happened I did end up going to the Pokfulam Animal Management Centre after all, but only to get Windy microchipped and licensed (which includes a rabies vaccination).  When I saw her for the first time at the Homing Centre she was much bigger than I had realised, and is a medium-sized dog rather than small.  She also looked to me like a Tibetan terrier (I don’t even know how I know what a Tibetan terrier looks like), so on the way to AFCD with her in the van I did an internet search for the breed and yes, I’m pretty sure everything matches.  So Windy is now officially registered as a Tibetan terrier for what it’s worth (quite a lot in terms of homing sadly).

Windy is now officially a Tibetan terrier

Paulie, the shih tzu boy who had been living in a cage, had arrived with a haircut from hell, closely resembling the sort of scissor job that I used to give before the days of electric clippers (and a bit of practise).  Still, he’s a cute little thing and happy, I’m sure, to be out of the rain and with good food to fill his tummy.

I just couldn't think of a name for this lovely little boy!

The two new poodles seem to be very sweet, and I walked the larger of the pair to the nearby dog park with Windy so they could have a runaround, and also to see how they were off leash and with other dogs.  The park has been a great addition to the area and a huge bonus for the dogs and the volunteer walkers,  allowing groups of (small) dogs to be exercised at the same time.  I decided, while watching the poodle christen each tree, that his name would be Coconut and I hope the potential adopter lined up to meet him on Saturday likes him enough to take him home.  He seems to be a very easygoing kind of boy.

The new schnauzer is now called Wedgie, and I have yet to think of a name for the smaller poodle but somehow I think it won’t really matter because he’ll probably be adopted before I can even come up with something suitable.

According to the weather forecast it will be sunny for Sunday’s Whiskers’n'Paws puppy afternoon, and also for the Wine Walk on Saturday 28th in Stanley.  A lot of tickets have already been sold so there’ll be a good crowd guaranteed, and we are in need of volunteers to help (over 18′s please as there’s alcohol involved).  Please email Kat Plews at volunteers@hongkongdogrescue.com if you would like to sign up and haven’t already done so.  If you just want to buy a ticket and join the fun that’s fine too, as HKDR is the sole beneficiary this year and the more tickets sold, the merrier (as I expect all will be by the end of the afternoon!)