Walking the Dog (How it could be)

I love animals and I love helping people out when they are going away on holidays by giving their pets a great time. Louise and I have helped many friends of ours by offering house sitting and pet minding services. Yes we look after dogs and cats (and plants). It is while taking dogs for walks around Hong Kong that I really got frustrated at the type of walk that most dogs get.

For those of you not from Hong Kong picture this. The dog spends most of its day in an apartment, which if the dog is lucky has a balcony to get out on. The exercise for the dog will probably consist of being lead down the road by the domestic helper until the dog goes to the toilet and then home again. This may happen 3 or more times per day though very rarely do the dogs get the chance to go for a run. I thought this was sad until…

One day when walking a friend’s dog up the trail to The Peak we passed a couple pushing a pram/pushchair/buggy. Once in front, I turned to look at the child which turned out to be an overweight dog! Yes this dog did not even have to walk during its exercise outings. Then I noticed its paws, well actually I could not see them, as it had shoes on!!! So even when little precious was let out of the pram it was not even going to get the joy of feeling the earth below its paws. At that point I realised that a real dog days out (like running along a path, jumping in some water or rolling in the mud) was so foreign to many dogs in Hong Kong. When I think of what our farms dogs got up to then I can now appreciate why so many dogs here in Hong Kong are so snappy – they are very frustrated.

I love seeing dogs exploring and playing along with getting dirty. For the few minutes it takes to clean the dog down once you get back from a walk it makes for a very happy dog (the wash is another way to have fun and play with the dog).

If you want to see what some of the dogs get up to when we go to the beach then check out Lulu, a 1 year old Labrador we looked after for 4 months while her owners we back in Japan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo3cfjpI1Sc)




So if you know of anyone looking for someone to take a dog for a walk, a run or even a swim then get let them know their dogs will have superb day out with Louise and I.

Grow well
Dr Merrin

P.S. There is a whole different story to be told about cats though in short if you need someone to entertain your cat then lets meet!

Tiger Year Wish List

I discovered this great little item in the newsletter from
Hong Kong Social Entrepreneurship Forum (HKSEF) http://www.hksef.org/
It certainly applies to all businesses not just those in Hong Kong!

Learning from social enterprises from all over the world,
what HK business can do
Tiger Year Wish List

• Profit making is a legitimate goal for all business enterprises; maximizing profit is not.
• Fulfilling Corporate Social Responsibility is not an option; it is a must.
• Every business should have a social mission; otherwise it does not deserve to exist.
• Every business should have a policy of buying from social enterprises -- as long as their products and services are competitive in quality and price.
• Every business should ‘adopt’ a social enterprise and do whatever it takes to enhance its social impact.
• Every business should start a business unit addressing a major social issue.
• Every business should make its employees proud of its contribution in making the world a better place to live.

Grow well
Dr Merrin