
Name: Fleur
Breed: Multibreed
Although we now live in the US, we had previously lived in Hong Kong, and had 'resuced' three wonderful 'village dogs' whilst there. They have been such delightful personalities, and when we lost one last year to cancer, we naturally thought about adopting from HK again.
So, the process began by 'selecting' from the huge range of photos and references on the HKDR website, and we chose a couple of likely candidates based on these - our experiences with our current/previous HK dogs had been that they were all very loving with their family, whilst being reserved with strangers and also exhibiting some nervous issues, so we were quite prepared to take on a dog that was listed as 'shy'.
Fleur fell into this category! My husband met her and commented how like the dog we had recently lost she was, in both character and appearance. Having read that she had spent practically all of her 3+ years at the kennels, we also felt she deserved a big chance. When she arrived, she was certainly a little bundle of nerves, finding the wide open spaces of our property and surrounding areas rather daunting. Although calm with our other dogs, she wasn't able to interact instantly because of her fears of an unknown situation.
Now, after several weeks, she is really coming out of her shell and exhibits her cheeky, playful side every day - it is truly a joy to see the butterfly emerge! She walks 'tall' with the other dogs, and is confident enough to let her guard down completely with both them and us, wagging her tail so often and wearing a huge grin whilst skipping around the house or chasing me up the stairs to my home office. (She can also be found planted in one of 'her' armchairs in the living room, where she is perfectly located to hear the door of the pantry opening!!). She does still have some anxieties (and maybe always will), but we are confident we can help her overcome these with our love and support. Seeing her blossom is a constant affirmation that we made the right choice! She truly is a little sweetheart.