Tues 7th Aug: A poke in the eye with a bristly stick

Griffin's latest photo (by Kat Kuok)

I’ve got a very sore eye this morning thanks to a collision during the night with the end of Griffin’s tail.  It was just like being poked in the eye with a bristly stick, not something I can recommend if you’re ever tempted to give it a try. Thankfully I have a day at home today, but typing with only one working eye is making things a little difficult so bear with me.

There are just so many things going on at the moment, many of which I can leave to Linda (our General Manager) to handle, but still we usually work together on most tasks.  I’m not sure if all the Lamma dogs are the icing on the cake, or they are the cake and the other work the icing, but somehow there has to be time in the day allocated to each.  Add to that the AFCD and vet visits, Ap Lei Chau and – remotely – Tai Po, and it doesn’t leave much time for anything else. Sundays are reserved for Whiskers’n'Paws of course.  Having staff that I can rely on to do their job without needing too much involvement from me is paramount, and I feel incredibly lucky  to have such people at HKDR: May, Eva, Kathy, Iris, Cactus, Silvena and Linda, all supported in turn by great volunteers including those off-site like Maria (handling fosters) and our volunteer trainers, Foster and Eddie.  It’s a small group and everyone plays an important part as well as working hard.  From time to time that means dealing with difficult situations and people, like today’s stunner delivered by someone who had come to Ap Lei Chau, “I don’t want to talk to an Asian (Iris) because they don’t know anything about dogs”.  There are no words.

I stopped off at AFCD again today as I missed yesterday’s intake check, and found two very friendly puppies, one of which was a very unusual colour.  She’s brown and black, but blended in together and looking like a Siamese or Burmese cat.  I’ll try for a photo today, never easy with wriggly pups and without a proper camera.  Her sister is the reverse colouring, black with brown flecks on the legs. I love the various styles and colour combinations dogs come in.

Blanco has a new home

Blanco the poodle was adopted from Ap Lei Chau today.  He’s a lovely little dog but was the noisiest in the shop, the only reason why he didn’t leave as soon as he arrived.  Barking is a big no-no in most homes, unless you live in a remote area and want a burglar deterrent, so I hope Blanco won’t feel the need to shout so loudly once he’s in a home of his own.