Thinking of getting a furry, feathered or exotic pet as a new member of the family? Across Hong Kong, hundreds of adorable and loving animals are waiting for adoption.
'If someone is considering getting a pet, they should ask themselves if they can spend time with the animal. Do they work 12 to 16 hours a day - that will affect the kind of animal they choose,' says Faye Wong, welfare operations manager at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Hong Kong.
Dogs need owners to have energy and the time to walk them every day, while a cat doesn't call for as much attention. Potential owners with limited space and time could consider a hamster or chinchilla instead.
Another factor is lifespan. Wong says hamsters have a short, two-year life expectancy; rabbits will keep thumping for about nine years; dogs can wag their tails for about 15 years; cats might purr for up to 20 years; parrots can keep singing for 80 years; and terrapin turtles have the longest lifespan, rounding out at a century.
With five adoption centres (Wan Chai, Kowloon Centre on Princess Margaret Road, Mong Kok and two centres in Sai Kung), the SPCA has approximately 100 to 120 animals waiting for homes.
It costs HK$400 to adopt a domestic short-hair cat, HK$550 for a pedigree or long-hair cat, while mixed-breed dogs are HK$600, and pure-breed dogs will set owners back about HK$1,000, depending on the breed.