Tribute to the Disturbed Expatriate Women’s Canine-Worship Cult and AFCD

A puppy called Garland, newly adopted from Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR), was lost in April 2010. Its owner was devastated and felt guilty for its loss. The HKDR volunteers and members of DEWCWC (Disturbed Expatriate Women’s Canine-Worship Cult, as a popular gweilo blogger prefers to call them) had been searching for Garland in the Pokfulam area since April. Bad luck. No trace of Garland. Finally, members of DEWCWC had to give up. After all there did not seem to be any real chance for a puppy to survive on its own for so long.

Two days ago, Garland was sighted in the area off Victoria Road near West Island School. In very poor shape though, it was Garland. Its overbite (upper jaw much longer than lower) was unmistakable. It turned out that Garland had been visiting a construction site along Victoria Road, where it could find some construction workers who were kind enough to share their lunch with her. The HKDR volunteers rushed to the site to try to catch her. It wasn't an easy job as you can imagine. The poor dog was so scared that it escaped from its rescuers. In despair, they called the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, which sent out a team as soon as they were called. They set up a trap and wait. Finally, they caught Garland. Hooray. My hat off to HKDR volunteers, members of DEWCWC, the construction workers and AFCD.

(Photo from HKDR's Facebook)

Where have the boys gone?

Was reading the blog of Sally Anderson (founder of Hong Kong Dog Rescue) over the weekend.  1st of May was a big day for Hong Kong Dog Rescue - it was time they had to leave their kennel in Pokfulam and move to their new home in Tai Po.  The big move was filmed and you can watch it on Youtube.  I couldn't help wondering while watching the video:  How come most of the volunteers are girls?  Where have the boy gone?

This book, "Why Boys Fail: "Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That's Leaving Them Behind" got mentioned in the Hong Kong Economic Journal.  Out of curiosity I downloaded a sample from Kindle Store.  Don't like it.  It reads amateurish and contains mostly second-hand information.  Looking for something better to read I found Peg Tyre's "The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators Must do".  There are a few things in the book that are new to me.  For instance, I never realised that it could be a political issue as such - some "pro-boys" measures are simply perceived as "anti-girls" and strongly opposed by the feminist groups and parents of the high achieving girls.  The whole system, as pointed out by the author, does seem unfair to the boys.  When boys are treated as girls at homes and judged as girls at schools, how can boys not be defective girls?  It is a good read and I recommend it to all parents (not just parents of boys).