Saving dogs and puppies
Mission
Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR) was founded in 2003 by Sally Andersen for the specific purpose of saving dogs and puppies from the Hong Kong Government’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) Animal Management Centres, where thousands of homeless and unwanted dogs and puppies are destroyed every year.
Although almost all HKDR dogs and puppies are still rescued from AFCD, these days many of our dogs are also ex-breeding dogs, those that are no longer useful for producing puppies for the pet trade. These dogs are inevitably in poor health and condition due to their previous hard lives, and they need extensive veterinary treatment.
Alongside the rescue and re-homing efforts, education is also an important part of HKDR’s mission, and as part of that, the Education & Training Centre was opened in July 2013 and is used for workshops and classes, all of which are designed to help improve dog-human understanding and so reduce the number of pets being abandoned.
Why it matters
As a dog lover, LEWIS employee Natalie Tang was deeply moved by the news of abandoned dogs during the pandemic. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of these dogs and puppies are lucky enough to be rescued by organisations from the Hong Kong Government’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) Animal Management Centres, which cull thousands of dogs and puppies every year. Because of their vulnerability and the fact that they do not have a voice of their own, Natalie has chosen to stand in solidarity with HKDR to bring the worthy cause to the attention of the Hong Kong public.
“I think it’s time for us to change the futures of these dogs and puppies – it’s a job for everyone and not just the staff and volunteers of HKDR. More people should care about animal rights and we need to shake the perception that abandoned dogs are less valuable than others,”