On July 20, 2018 the (Yat Yuen) Canidrome greyhound race track closed down for good after 63 years of operation leaving 533 greyhounds to be adopted into loving homes around the world, locally and in Hong Kong.
Sadly, in the years since many have died of old age, cancers or did not make it after operations to be desexed or teeth extractions because of the awful state their teeth were in. One Fancy Fay even died at the airport on arrival in the US.
Over the years this reporter has been in constant contact with many adopters in Australia, Italy, the UK and the US, and knows how happy the greyhounds are or had been in their new homes.
This is the final part of my series of articles about the lives of the greyhounds since they were adopted around the world. Below are the stories of two of the 18 hounds adopted locally. Sadly, many have since died but NaNa and Rife are still with us.
Local adopter Chong Meng, living in San Kio district, adopted NaNa in October 2018 after falling in love with her while she was volunteering with Anima at the Canidrome.
On Messenger last week, Chong told the Post, “NaNa is a 13-year-old greyhound who joined our family in 2018 and has since become my most loyal companion. She loves two things most: snacks and sleep. Whenever she hears the crinkle of a snack bag, no matter how deeply she’s napping, she’ll immediately opens her big round eyes and trots over, wagging her tail for a treat.
“NaNa also adores being petted, especially when I gently scratch behind her ears-she’ll squint her eyes in pure bliss. Though she’s getting older, she still has plenty of energy and enjoys short, happy trots during her daily walks.
“I hope NaNa stays healthy and by my side for many more years, continuing to savour her snacks, naps, and endless cuddles. She’s not just a pet but my most treasured family member”.
On Tuesday the Post spoke to Mariana Sá, who lives in Napa, about 12-year-old Rife, named after Royal Raymond Rife, an American inventor and early exponent of high-magnification time-lapse cine-micrography*, who she adopted on April, 7 2019.
Sá and her partner had decided to adopt a greyhound as during the worldwide campaign to get the Canidrome closed down Sá had organised a demonstration in support of a campaign to get the Canidrome closed and, as her mother had died around that time, her partner thought it would be nice to adopt a greyhound, their first ever dog!
Sá said that actually getting to adopt Rife was quite a story. She said, “My partner and I went to ANIMA to pick a greyhound, we chose one and as we were leaving with it, one of the staff came running out and said sorry but this particular greyhound had already been adopted and so we went to look at another, the same thing happened and the one we chose was due to fly to Australia to its new home.”
As Sá had volunteered at many rescues, including ANIMA, she rang the then ANIMA president Albano Martins to see if he could help, but, unfortunately, he couldn’t. “We were heartbroken,” Sá said.
Sá said that they spent the rest of the day going around all the rescues in Macau looking for a greyhound.
Eventually at 9:40 p.m. Sá and her partner found a rescue with two greyhounds. When the door to Rife’s [not his name then] opened, “He came straight up to me and laid he head on my leg, that was it, he was mine”, Sá said, and at 10 p.m. Rife had a furever** home.
At first, Sá said, “He didn’t know how to play or what toys were, now he loves his toys but is not as playful as before as he is getting older and slowing down; he can’t get up on our bed anymore and has difficulty climbing the stairs as his back legs are not so good.”
She added, “He rarely did any zoomies***, he is less active now, rarely barks or makes any noise, he is so laid back and calm. He is not interested in other dogs and like most greyhounds is not good around cats”.
Sá laughed and said, “We took him to the beach in Coloane and he hated it, he is very emotive. I take him to work every day, he loves hanging out with us and he has a great relationship with my domestic helper. He is not naughty at all, which sometimes I wish he was, he is just so calm,”
“We try to give him the best life we can, he gets the best food and is very well fed”, she said.
Apart from his weak back legs, Rife had to have teeth removed, like most of the Macau greyhounds, and he is suffering from pancreatitis, a disease that many Macau greyhounds also have.
Sá said, “Everybody loves him and it is great to see kids come up and hug him when we are on walks”.
This will surely be the last story I shall write about Macau greyhounds and their lives as pampered pets.
While I was preparing to write these four articles sadly quite a few of the greyhounds passed away, so RIP Imogen in Canada, Monty in the UK, Chowder, Cleopatra, Nola and Shadow in the US.
* Rife is known for his microscopes, which he claimed could observe live microorganisms with a magnification considered impossible for his time, and for an “oscillating beam ray” invention, which he thought could treat various ailments by “devitalising disease organisms” using radio waves. – Wikipedia
**Furever is a playful, slang term that combines the words “fur” and “forever.” It is often used in pet-related contexts to express everlasting love, loyalty, or companionship between pets and their owners. – DeepSeek
***Zoomies are bursts of speed triggered by a need for a release of pent-up energy. Common causes are seeing a doggy friend, getting a bath, or going out to the park. – https://www.rover.com
NaNa
Rife
Photos courtesy of adopters
