School dog safe after hate-mail blast

The Standard，2012/5/31

A school was bombarded with hate mail and calls after it was reported the school's sniffer dog had been put down.

But it turned out to be a misunderstanding as the 3-year-old Labrador Retriever is still alive.
Officials of the Lingnan Secondary School in Heng Fa Chuen came under heavy criticism after media reports claimed the dog, Honey, was put down after its role in scaring youngsters off drugs and cigarettes was terminated.

It was reported that the dog's owner and a moral education teacher at the school, John Chong Hung- ming, last Saturday arranged for the dog to be ``humanely put down'' by a friend as he was unable to afford the cost of taking care of the animal and nobody was interested in adoption.

But Chong's friend, a passionate dog-lover, admitted yesterday he lied about the death as he feared former policeman Chong would find other ways to put it down. Chong has now agreed to let his friend keep Honey.

``We're all very relieved that Honey is still alive as it was never our intention to put it down in the first place,'' school principal Law Chan-fai said.

Law said school officials were not informed of the decision to euthanize the dog and he was ``stunned and disturbed'' when he received the news of its alleged death on Tuesday.
``It's the school's creed to teach students about the value of life and we have and will always stick by it,'' he said.

Law received several dozen calls and more than 500 e-mails from Hongkongers shocked that school officials would put down the working dog who was well-liked by students in its three years there.
The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said a healthy dog should not be put down because there are many avenues for adoption.

At least six Facebook groups emerged online yesterday, with angry comments by netizens. Law's picture was widely circulated and some netizens were planning a protest outside the school today.

One of these groups was set up by Samantha Ho, a veterinary officer and volunteer at the Companion Animals Federation.

``It is totally unacceptable to even consider putting to death a working dog like Honey,'' Ho said.

``But the huge public outcry is a good indication that Hongkongers still care for animals and will stand up for what is right.''