Sun 10th June: Pug puppy and Panda

The water buckets put down for the puppies and doglets at Whiskers’n'Paws today provided some welcome relief from the sticky heat, especially for the two water babies, Amber and Cumin.  I already knew that Amber, seven months old but still quite a small-sized girl, loved the water because she often lounges in the dogs’ splash pool in the garden.  Not just an in-and-out or a play, but a good long wallow.  It always makes me laugh seeing her because it’s not usual for a dog to just lie in water like that.  She couldn’t get into the bucket this afternoon so instead she stuck her head under the water and came up dripping.

I hadn’t seen Cumin play like she did today though, and she had the best time with Constance’s three remaining puppies (the others have been adopted).  Cumin was one of the litter than I got from AFCD at only two weeks of age, and they were fostered (and bottle fed) before coming back to me on Lamma.  She’s not the prettiest puppy in the world but she is so full of (sweet) character and fun and she has also remained quite small, certainly in comparison to her siblings.

It was finally Panda’s big day today as he was adopted.  He’ll be brother to another ex-HKDR dog, one of the Fungus Litter for those of you who have been reading my blog for a while.  I’m always happy for puppies to be adopted, but doubly so when I know there is another dog for them to have as a brother or sister.  However much dogs adore their human family, having one of their own kind as a companion is always a huge bonus.

Another one of Whitney’s puppies was also adopted today, a very good-looking boy called Bagheera.  Whitney was one of the three mothers-with-newborns that I got from AFCD in quick succession, and she was lucky enough to find a fantastic foster home with her babies.  Now she’s back at Tai Po and there’s only one puppy (Rambo) left waiting.  As his name implies, he’s a fearless warrior who refuses to hang out with the other “kids” and takes himself off for adventures whenever he’s at Whiskers’n'Paws. (You can see lots of great photos by Kat and Semirah on the Hong Kong Dog Rescue Facebook page).

I got a surrender request early in the afternoon, one of many that I receive on a regular basis but this one was a bit different in that it was for a pug puppy.

The pug baby	“one family member doesn’t like the puppy at home at all. and No time to take care of and train the puppy.
	this puppy only lived in my home 1 day. I bought it from Mr. 施. because his family is going to have a new baby, that’s why he gave away the puppy. I am sorry to let this puppy go.please love and take great care of the dog.

I read the form while I was on the sampan heading for Whiskers’n'Paws so I sent a message to Iris at our own Homing Centre asking her to get the puppy as soon as possible.  Often in these cases the puppy will have been handed on to a friend, or just anyone, before we can get it ourselves and ensure that it finds a proper home.  Knowing that the current owner had had the puppy for just one day before tiring of it, the case was an urgent one.  Luckily we managed to get through to the owner and the baby puglet arrived mid-afternoon.  If there’s any one case that really shows how little thought goes into the purchase of a pet shop puppy it’s this one.  At less than three months of age this baby pug was already in its second home, and being thrown out of that one too.  Is it any wonder so many small dogs arrive at HKDR with nervous behaviour issues?

When I first posted Windy’s details on Facebook and my blog I was inundated with adoption enquiries for her.  As a young Tibetan terrier her appeal was obvious, but then we found that she had double hip dysplasia and also a typical terrier-like character and interest in her dwindled rapidly.  Today she was given the chance of a new life as she left Ap Lei Chau to see how she could get along with two resident golden retrievers.  She’s a bit of a bully with smaller dogs but hopefully she’ll get along with larger ones without any problems.

It was finally time to close the file on the case of the three puppy sisters that came to HKDR while we were still at Pokfulam.  I had taken these gorgeous girls from a shelter in the New Territories, choosing the smallest three from a litter of six (I don’t know what happened to those I wasn’t able to take).  Two of the sisters were adopted while still young, but for some reason Lottie was never chosen despite being just as sweet and friendly as the others.  Today one of our long-term volunteers, Linda Tso, took Lottie home to join another recently-adopted dog, Clooney, and we know for sure it will be a happy-ever-after story.

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