Rescuing and rehoming abandoned dogs in Hong Kong

I had to go to AFCD today to take a newly surrendered dog for licensing, and while I was there I was told there was a litter of four puppies that were ready to go.  Of course, I agreed to take them, especially as the other litter I was expecting from another AFCD Centre had apparently got suspected parvovirus and would therefore not be approved for rehoming.  The four I took are beautiful and very cute, although they have ringworm (fungal skin infection) so won't be at Whiskers N Paws for a while. 

The little dog I had with me for licensing is a very cute/funny boy which we are guessing is a cross between a pug and a chihuahua.  His name is now Edmund and he is (estimated) only a year old. He's available for adoption now, but although he's a very sweet and easy dog most of the time he did get quite upset when Dr Andy tried to check his ears so we would have to say he's not suitable for a home with young children.  Other than that little meltdown, Edmund was very happy to sit on my lap in the van and to be petted and handled, and he didn't even make a fuss when he was microchipped and rabies vaccinated.

I also took puppies Wigbert and Dylan to Acorn for their due vaccinations, as well as one of my Lamma dogs, Naomi, who had somehow ended up with the entire top of one foot skinned.  It was a horrible mess that I'd managed to bandage myself with my eyes closed (so I wouldn't have to look at the wound), but as I'd hoped would be the case Dr Andy said it would heal by itself (with antibiotics) so there wasn't much I could do other than cleaning.

After dropping the two pups off at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre, big sized brothers Dallas and Cabo were packed up to send to Tai Po to join the only remaining Stanley Barracks puppy, Dougal.

 Edmund is the size of a chihuahua

Wigbert is now fully vaccinated and ready to start walking outside

Lamma dog Naomi

Sweet Dougal is waiting at Tai Po

Just when I was thinking we hadn't seen any dogs leaving Tai Po for a while, two adoptions have been confirmed. Blondie is one of them and Noosa the other, so I'm feeling as relieved as they must be happy.

Murphy went back to Acorn this morning as one of a group of dogs taking part in experimental stem cell treatment, which although not a new concept had previously required the stem cells to be harvested from the dogs themselves before being re-injected into the affected areas.  Arthritic dogs that I have known to have had this done have been given a whole new lease of life, so I'm hoping that Murphy and Lucas (the old golden retriever recently taken from AFCD and with bad hips) will soon be skipping around like youngsters.  This new treatment comes ready-made, and all that was required was for the dogs to be X-rayed to confirm that they were suitable candidates, which obviously they were.  It takes a while for the stem cells to do their work so it's a matter of wait-and-see, and although not a cheap option, for those of you who have dogs struggling with pain and unable to walk it's worth considering.  (We were lucky to be offered the treatment free of charge just in case you're wondering how we could afford it).

We had a new arrival at Ap Lei Chau, and hopefully just a temporary guest as we already have a home lined up for this gorgeous boy.  As I tell everyone who comes looking for a dog and leaves without finding what they wanted, new dogs come in all the time and we really never know what to expect, or when.  So please keep checking because as much as we try to let people know when a suitable match turns up (as in the case of this terrier), sometimes there's just too much going on and we are so busy we don't have time.