The Macau Association For Stray Dogs and Animal Welfare (MASDAW) yesterday held the draw for the raffle prizes to be handed out to all the people that had bought tickets to support the dogs in the kennels in Estrada de Dona Maria II.
Fátima Galvão, the head of MASDAW, told The Macau Post Daily yesterday that over 4,085 tickets had been bought for the chance to win one of 108 prizes and that the value of the prizes donated by the various sponsors was over 65,000 patacas.
Galvão said that this year they [MASDAW] had started selling the raffle tickets later than usual so the number of tickets sold was probably less than usual.
MASADW moved from its old kennel premises in Coloane a year ago to the current location near the Macau Communications Museum and although the property is much larger and the dogs can play in the garden, the cost of running the kennels is much higher.
Galvão said, “It is very complicated now as the rent on the old premises was 9,200 patacas a month, the rent here is 42,000 patacas a month, so it is a huge difference.”
When asked about the weekly running costs for the kennels, Galvão said, “It is difficult to say as we have vet bills, medication for the sick dogs, special food for various dogs, we have 120 dogs in total so the costs are pretty high. I would love to live without having to worry about money.”
When asked about the number of adoptions that MASADW has been able to process, Galvão said that it is very difficult as all the dogs in her shelter are mongrels and the locals generally only want pedigree dogs. “Also, it seems like a lot of people are surrendering or abandoning their dogs,” she said. “For example, one-year-old Tarik, [a beautiful, extremely friendly black dog] was adopted in February [this year] and handed back in September as the owner said they were returning to their home country, but they are still in Macau. Another dog, Kebab, was rescued from a construction site and had to be taken straight to the vet as someone has put an elastic band around his testicles. He was in awful pain and could hardly walk, one of his testicles had already gone.”
From this journalist’s observation he is a very happy boy who smiles a lot and loves cuddles.
Galvão said, “I would love to see the Macau government set up a sanctuary for all the stray cats and dogs in Macau [and] so many people here are against Trap Neuter Release (TNR) and the government won’t accept it. Macau is a rich place and says it is civilised and so it should respect the lives of cats and dogs, but should not be killing them.”
The Municipal Affairs Bureau’s (IAM) website shows the statistics on dogs and cats euthanasia since 2003. In the first 10 months of this year, the bureau had euthanised 164 dogs and 122 cats.
Galvão said that she would love more families to adopt MASDAW’s dogs as “they are sweet and well behaved and each one of them deserves a home”.
Galvão said that MASDAW always wants volunteers. “People who love animals but don’t have the condition to have a dog but want to give them love can come here.”
Galvão added, “We have many mainland students studying in Macau who cannot own a dog in Macau and instead of going to the mall come here at weekends to be with the dogs. They heard about MASDAW and spend every weekend with the dogs. That is why we say MASDAW is love.”
“Black beauty” Tarik playing at MASDAW’s kennels near the Macau Communication Museum yesterday.
Fátima Galvão and a MASDAW volunteer drawing raffle tickets for prize winners yesterday at MASDAW’s shelter. Photos: Lesley Wells
