Representatives from the Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome Co. Ltd. yesterday told the elderly living at an old people’s home in Coloane and their family members that the former racetrack’s 533 greyhounds will be their “temporary neighbours” until they have gone through the adoption procedures to be flown out of Macau to their new homes overseas.
The representatives, who declined to give their names or any contact details when asked by The Macau Post Daily, held a briefing yesterday about moving the greyhounds to a plot of land the company has rented next to the Asilo Vila Madalena retirement home, where several dozen shipping containers are currently being installed just metres away from the senior citizens’ dormitories.
Another briefing is scheduled this Saturday at the elderly home.
About 50 elderly residents of the retirement home and their family members attended the briefing, where the representatives explained how adorable the greyhounds are – complete with a booklet of file photos showing greyhounds with people happily spending time outdoors and helping people with disabilities, as the home’s residents and their family members expressed concern about noise and hygiene issues possibly resulting from their provisional greyhound compound next door.
According to the representatives, the greyhounds usually sleep for at least 14 hours a day, usually waking up at about 8 or 9 a.m.
The representatives said that the greyhounds would be muzzled when out for walkies so they wouldn’t be able to bark, telling the elderly that they needn’t worry about canine noise.
The representatives insisted that the facility they are preparing is a temporary greyhound adoption centre, pointing out that the greyhounds will only be there temporarily, with most of them having been adopted and only remaining at the centre until they are flown to the US, Europe, and Taiwan.
“So they are just going to be your neighbours temporarily,” one of the representatives said, adding that Yat Yuen targets to have the greyhounds there for “only” six to eight months. However, the representative admitted that Yat Yuen couldn’t control the timing of the flights.
A Yat Yuen representative briefs senior citizens, their family members and staff at the Asilo Vila Madalena old people’s home in Coloane yesterday about their future canine neighbours. Photos: Monica Leong
Several dozen shipping containers are being installed on the plot of land just metres away from Asilo Vila Madalena retirement home yesterday.
This scan shows the cover page of a booklet that Yat Yuen representatives handed to the elderly and family members during yesterday’s briefing at the Asilo Vila Madalena retirement home in Coloane.
