Augustine and his wife have two beloved daughters, who have always loved animals since they were small. They have kept several animals including a guinea pig, a rabbit and fish. Not only do they love reading books related to animals, they also watch every single documentary about the animal kingdom on TV. After some persistent pleading, Augustine finally agreed to let them keep a dog under one condition: the dog must be adopted. The family then applied for adoption at the SPCA Kowloon Centre.

A few months later, the SPCA staff informed the family that there were a few dogs who were suitable for novices. As soon as they arrived at the centre, they met an extremely frisky puppy who jumped on Augustine, leaving pawprints all over his trousers. But another dog caught his daughter’s attention – there was a skinny Yorkshire Terrier hiding in the corner and shivering with fear. The staff told them that the Yorkshire Terrier was at least 7 years old at that time, with his ear tipped possibly due to a fight with other dogs when he was living on the street. He was also suffering from dermatitis, especially for the skin at his back, which required medication and ointment. Apart from that, he was a healthy and obedient dog.

After adopting the dog, Augustine’s two daughters had been taking great care of the dog by applying knowledge they acquired from the books and documentaries. Although it was not easy for the girls to take care of a dog, Augustine couldn’t be more grateful to this doggie who taught his daughter a lesson of becoming a responsible owner as he watched them learn and grow during the process. One time, when Augustine was walking the dog, he saw three stray dogs. His dog immediately stood in front of Augustine and started protecting him by barking loudly, despite his small physique. Augustine recalled he was such a loyal and brave dog, who protected and respected him in this way.

The family has adopted four other dogs after that. It saddens them every time when a dog has passed away. But as soon as they have picked up the pieces, they adopt another dog in remembrance of the dogs who brought joy to the family, as well as providing a forever home for the furkids. Now the two daughters have grown up, one is working for an NGO to promote sustainability, another one is working at the SPCA. According to Augustine, the dogs play a vital role in educating his daughters to learn to respect lives, and understand that animals and humans are equal, in order to develop the sense of mission to life in general and contribute to society.