Woman』s labour of love to help Hong Kong』s old and ailing dogs

Every week, a hunched figure slowly makes her way to an animalshelter in Yuen Long to visit Chuck Chuck, a mixed breed dog.

The woman is Mrs Tang, who is in her 80s and has reluctantlygiven up her beloved pet dog because of old age and her husband』srecent stroke.

Her weekly trip takes about an hour and includes two bustransfers, but she insists on making it and voluntarily stayslonger at the shelter to help tidy the area, sweeping the floor andtaking out the trash.

「This is the least I can do,」 Tang says, adding that it waslucky Chuck Chuck was accepted by House of Joy and Mercy, whichprovides free shelter for rescued dogs.

The shelter』s owner, Ivy Tse Yuen-yee, says Chuck Chuck suffersfrom a severe ear infection which causes her to tilt her head andshe limps because of old age.

Tse has vowed to take care of any old and ill dogs that come herway, for as long as she can. There are now some 50 other rescueddogs under her care at no cost to the owners. The shelter runssolely on donations although Tse says she is prepared to pitch infrom time to time if there is not enough cash but that has not beennecessary so far.

「Most of these dogs only have two to three more years to live,it』s inhuman to leave them to die. All they need is a chance to bewith their owners during the last few years of their lives,」 Tsesays.

「Their lives are no less valuable than a human』s, however, toooften puppies are spur of the moment purchases and are boughtwithout thinking whether you have the ability to take care of them.I believe what goes around comes around. We need to stop treatingour four-legged furry friends as toys.」

Tse』s dedication to helping ailing animals came after her owndog of eight years, Stick, died from breast cancer in 2015. Afterthe heartbreaking incident, she and her husband established theNGO, providing a loving home for dogs to spend their lastyears.

Some of the animals suffer from serious health issues whileothers have behavioural problems, but Tse treats them all the sameas other pet dogs.

「I really take the time to get to know each of them like they』rechildren of my own, their personalities, characteristics, theirlikings and dislikes.」

The former kindergarten teaching assistant』s usual day starts at9am until 2am the following morning.

While the dogs are still curled up in their kennels, the firstthing Tse does is make breakfast, and then picks up any mess thedogs have made overnight.

Then she refills snacks, and daily essentials, as well as cleanup the more than 15,000 square foot shelter – that alone takes upthe whole morning.

Afternoons are often used to take the dogs on walks, visits tothe vet and other administrative work.

The dogs stand a chance of finding another owner, but anyoneinterested in rehousing one from Tse』s shelter has to undergo avery strict application and screening process.

「If an applicant shows an interest in adopting a dog, we askthat they come and visit the dog once a week for three weeks. Ifthey can』t even bothered to come to Yuen Long then forget aboutowning a dog. Once they』ve passed, we』ll do home visits to makesure there』s enough space and the atmosphere is suitable for thedog.」

The stringent process is to give both the potential owner andthe dog an opportunity to establish a relationship before the petis taken to a home.

Other than rescue work, Tse says the public needs to be bettereducated about responsible pet ownership, to avoid an increase inthe number of abandoned dogs. She suggests that animal welfareshould be taught to children at a young age.

The House of Joy and Mercy has since worked with five secondaryschools, arranged tours for students to better understand theeffort and responsibility needed for owning a pet.