On July 20, 2018, the Macau (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 so knows how happy the greyhounds are or had been in their new homes.
Tamiz Moe Kaur from the UK said, “Emily arrived home scared of everything outside of kennels, now she is interested in it all, especially food preparation and is vocal if she thinks you are being slow or late with her food. She is happy, funny, mischievous, loves barking at squirrels, pigeons and anything her partner in crime Bobby (a tripod chihuahua cross) tells her to, she steals items from the recycling or dusters, she loves playing with her toys which can be found anywhere including on top of furniture and the TV. But most of all, like many of the Macau greyhounds, her favourite thing is lying out on grass in the sun. She enjoys trips away in the campervan, Freenee, named after our senior Macau greyhound [Sonia] who passed away suddenly from cancer having only been with us for 7 weeks.
“Emily gave us a scare at the start of the year with high blood [pressure] and renal compromise, she recovered, is doing really well, we held a party for her 12th [birthday] in February and look forward to celebrating her 6th Adoption Anniversary this month and more campervan trips. From a scared aloof greyhound, she has turned into quite the affectionate cuddler”.
Mariann Martins of Calgary, Canada said on Messenger, “Lucy (ex Electric Fortunate) was rescued from the notorious Macau Canidrome in 2018 by a group of courageous, beautiful humans. After many weeks of stressful travel, she finally landed in her semi-permanent place of refuge in Woodinville, Washington State, USA in November, 2018. She was 6 years old.
“Born into the Australian racing industry she was sold to the Canidrome before she was a year old. She spent the next five years in torturous conditions, of which she still bears the scars of today.
“We (her Canadian mum and dad) had already been involved with rescuing greyhounds from the American gambling industry, when we learnt of the massive rescue efforts of Albano Martins [founder of ANIMA] and many others along with him, and committed to adding a Canidrome survivor to the family. So with big red greyhound brother Kairo, mum and dad adopted Lucy from GPI [Greyhound Pets, Inc.] in Woodinville on January 13, 2019 and brought her home to Calgary, Canada.
“She LOVED her brother Kairo (who was the world’s gentlest and loving greyhound) and quickly bonded with him. We continued helping transport American greyhounds from the US into new Canadian homes and Lucy soon overcame her fears and shyness and learnt to love being in groups of greyhounds. We took many road trips all over Canada and the US and had many adventures. The Rocky Mountains just west of Calgary was a favourite, as she loves walks, hikes and pretending to hunt deer in the forest.
“She especially loves lying on her back in her numerous beds around the house and enjoys helping her mum do gardening. She loves her food and her many favourite humans.
“Sadly, her brother Kairo passed away fairly suddenly on September 16, 2022 from a heart condition and she hasn’t been quite the same. I believe she felt that loss as a missing piece of her soul. We keep Kairo’s items around the house for her to enjoy, and she has actually “adopted” his night-time bed as her own.
“In March of 2023 (just months after Kairo’s passing) Lucy gained a greyhound sister named Blinky. Blinky is a “return” from an adopted home (they had their first baby and Blinky was not doing well with that). It’s been two years with the new sister and Lucy still has not bonded with her. They get along well but not the bond she had with Kairo.
“Today, at the age of 11 1/2 Lucy continues [to be in] great health, enjoys walks whether alone or in groups, loves roaching* in her beds, loves her food and her special humans. She seems to prefer male greyhounds and has several boyfriends that she loves, I believe because of her first love, Kairo. She still goes camping and on road trips and loves the mountains and river banks”.
Stephanie Malady adopted three greyhounds from the Canidrome Shadow, her first ever dog, who unfortunately passed away last month of a bone tumour that no longer could be treated by her oncologist. She could no longer use her back leg, and she no longer wanted to eat. She was 12.5 years old. (Born November 2023.
Gracie was adopted six months after Shadow, Malady’s second ever dog, but sadly had her leg amputated at age 11 which she recovered from but she passed away from tumours bleeding in both kidneys. She was diagnosed with kidney disease, the year that she was adopted, and had had her food changed to low protein and had her urine checked every 3 months for many years.
Malady said in an email “Wylie is my blue fawn! She is my third dog ever! She was adopted six months after Greycie. She was actually a foster fail, as we were asked to foster her after she was returned and depressed. She was 9 years old! Now she will turn 15 in February 2026! She will try to pull her ears off, if she wants attention. She won’t stop, until you go over to pet her! Then she will continue to do the paw of more! She will not stop! She will also look at you and give you a very high-pitched bark, if she wants attention. She will continue, until you go over to her. She likes to do this, as soon as you sit down to eat or answer the phone!!!! She is a nut!
“She is also a lap dog. She loves to sit on your lap and be pet for hours! She also sits on my lap in the waiting room at the vets. Everyone laughs and smiles, because she IS a lap dog. She looks very proud of herself on my lap! She loved to feed off the personality of Greycie. If Greycie started to bark at crows, then Wylie would sprint to her and join in. They would run along the fence barking at crows to try to get them to fly away! It was the funniest thing to watch, and I have tons of videos of it! They were best pals, and they rested together on the couch all the time. They would even sleep together in the same bed. They loved to play this silly game together: Wylie would start doing spins in the living room, and then Greycie would bark once. That signalled Wylie to spin again. Wylie would spin once or twice, and then Greycie would bark at her to keep spinning. This went on until Wylie was tired or dizzy! Then they all started rooing together. It was a daily thing, and sometimes they did it two or three times a day! I have tons of videos, too.
“Wylie wears hunnyboots**, because she has a corn on one of her front paws. She can run and dig in them! Greycie also had a corn on her back paw, but once she had her amputation, it changed her gait and the corn went away. Wylie is the last survivor of my pack of Macau greyhounds.
“She is 14 years and 3 months old! She loves to eat! She is learning to be spoiled as an only dog, now that Greycie and Shadow have passed away.
“Wylie has heart disease, mitral valve and tricuspid flap disorder, which caused high blood pressure and an enlarged heart. She just needs to watch how much she runs, so she self-monitors herself and walks and runs as she likes on our four acres. We don’t force her to go for walks. She is having the time of her life, but she still chases that crow!
“I wrote a book! What drew me to greyhounds was their beautiful nature, loving personalities, and their beauty! My pack of three was such a perfect match for each other, all Macau survivors and full of sooooooooo much love and personality. I adopted them all as seniors, and it was the BEST thing ever! Seniors still have sass!!!!”
As the adopters have written so much about the joys of having a Macau greyhound I have let them tell their stories and will be adding another article next week.
Every single adopter has said how special all the Macau greys are that they are thankful for having them in their lives.
* According to https://www.dogster.com, “Roaching” is a common behaviour in greyhounds, but it isn’t exclusive to the breed by any means. This goofy position is where a greyhound lies on their backs with their legs splayed out. For one reason or another, it’s pretty common in greyhounds, though other breeds also lay like this.
When a dog lies like this, they’re relaxed. These dogs aren’t worried about anything. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be lying with their legs in the air.
**Hunnyboots are durable outdoor dog boots for sighthounds, whippets and greyhounds. – Pointy Faces
P.S. Unfortunately, Chowder who I wrote about in my first article had to be put to sleep last Friday as Ron Mikala said in an email, “Chowder got up and fell twice during the night. At 4 a.m. (local time) I noticed that she was lying in the living room at an unusual spot, and when I turned on the light, I noticed that both of her hind legs were spread out. No crying out or noise. She couldn’t get up or walk. We took her to the vet and he put her to sleep. Chowder was very peaceful”.
Emily
Wylie
Lucy
Photos supplied by adopters
