Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR) has appealed to its supporters for help after the landlord of its Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre doubled the rent, a week after the launch of the new South Island MTR line. It is now seeking a suitable new place to relocate its dog homing centre.

“We knew that with the arrival of the MTR in Ap Lei Chau the rents would increase, that was inevitable. What we hadn’t anticipated was that the new asking price for our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre would be almost double the current rental,” a post on the NGO’s Facebook page said.

Sally Andersen at HKDR’s Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre. Photo: Gene Lin/HKFP.

HKDR said that the landlord “waited until the last minute” to inform them about the proposed increase in rent, and that they had until the end of March to find somewhere new.

See also: Interview: Sally Andersen – The Hong Kong Dog Rescue founder who lives with 100 rescue dogs on Lamma

“I would normally say that would be impossible, but we have a lot of connected supporters who may be able to come up with something. We certainly hope so for the sake of the dogs,” HKDR said, urging supporters who have ideas for a suitable place to email them. The post has already been shared over 200 times on social media two hours after being published.

The new South Island MTR line connects Admiralty to South Horizons through Ocean Park, Wong Chuk Hang and Lei Tung. It came into operation last Wednesday.