Interview: Bambi, Snoopy, and Hana

Pets, they’re your best friend and confidant. Big or small, fluffy or a bit scruffy, it doesn’t matter, we love them all. They’re there for you unconditionally and the feeling is mutual. Our interview series celebrates this special bond between animals and hoomans. Let the awws begin.

Hooman: Joyce Lam, Elementary School Teacher

Doggos: Bambi (10 years old), Snoopy (6 years old), and Hana ( ~ 8 years old)

Home: Hong Kong

Bambi (Sheltie, blue merle) came to us in 2009, as I was about to graduate high school and leave for college. He was essentially replacing me! As for Snoopy (Mini Poodle, chocolate and cream), he came to us in 2014, when I came back from college and we felt like Bambi could use another furry friend. My family and I had bought both of them from pet shops. Unfortunately at that time we were unaware of the poor conditions that breeder dogs are kept in to produce cute puppies that you see in the windows of pet shops.

Hana (Mini Poodle, grey) came to us in the summer of 2019 when I saw an Instagram post from one of the animal rescue organisations I follow. At that time she was currently in foster and I forwarded the post to my family members, expecting nothing to come out of it except “aww, so lovely but we can’t have another dog.” To my surprise my mom was very keen on seeing Hana and she was the one who ended up filling out an adoption form! We visited Hana along with Bambi and Snoopy to see how they got along. It went well and that was that, Hana came home with us on that day.

When it came to names, we picked based on their personalities. Bambi was a delicate and awkward puppy who didn’t have very good coordination. He reminded me of the scene in the Disney movie Bambi when Bambi the deer was learning to walk for the first time. Snoopy was the most curious dog and he liked to “snoop” around. Till this day, he is the noisiest dog out of the bunch. Hana is such a wee thing, I wanted a feminine name for her and I researched Japanese names that were easy to pronounce. Hana means flower in Japanese.

They’re all so different when it comes to personality. Bambi is loyal, protective and extremely food-driven, he’s like a vacuum cleaner who will eat anything. Snoopy is playful and definitely has a cheeky side to him. He loves stealing socks and slippers and playing with all sorts of dog toys. Hana is a bit of diva and likes her own space, despite her small size and being a former breeder dog churning out babies in a puppy mill (resulting in the loss of use in one eye), she’s not afraid to stand up for herself. She also appreciates really soft and fluffy blankets.

They have the best lives: sleep, eat, humans take them for a walk and pick up their poop, play, repeat.

There’s never a dull moment with these three, but we always laugh whenever Snoopy sits himself at the dinner table, demanding for food. I have no doubt that he truly believes that he’s human like us.

Because they’re so food driven,I get really worried whenever they eat something they’re not supposed to eat! Bambi especially, he can sneakily tear open packets of food without us knowing so now we have to strategically place our human snacks in places he can’t have access to. Since having these three in my life, life can be a little more noisy and messier, but it’s filled with so much love (kisses and licks!) with them in it. I especially love how they’re always so happy to see me when I come home from work!

One thing I want to add, adopt, don’t shop!

Looking to adopt, not shop? For rescues in Hong Kong, check here, here, here, and here.