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As I walked into the dog races track, I was thinking, "Huh???" The track is made from sand, and there are many paw prints on it. They have a fake rabbit, called a lure, which is made out of sheepskin. It fools the dogs into thinking it is a rabbit, and they chase it! Mr. Fraser (one of the adult leaders) told us that the dogs were travelling at a speed of 40 mph to 50 mph. It’s kind of like those horse races you see in Hong Kong. There is a huge black board across from us, telling the times of the dogs. In the beginning, each dog runs around the track, to give you an idea of which dogs are good, and which are bad. So far, the fastest dog has a time of 18.9 seconds to run about two-thirds of the distance around a typical "track and field" course. We were all yelling for the dogs to win. Here’s some information that Mrs. Ward, one of our teachers gave me:
These dogs get upset with loud voices. They are very fragile. If they win the race, then the owners get the award. Every owner has to pay a fee for the dogs to get in the race. At the race track, they have a photographic finish. But just in case that the photos don’t turn out to determine which dog wins, they have a person who would take a picture. They also have an electronic timer, but just in case it breaks down, they also have a person who will have a timer to time the dogs. These dogs have a break down (which means they get very tired) once a month. The people take the dogs out to race 4 days a week. Each dog runs 4 or 5 races on race nights, with a total of 14 races run for every day there are races. While we were there, we asked a few students how they felt about the dogs: "Funky." "Cool speed." "Cruel. They keep the dogs too skinny." Those were some of the comments. What do you think??? Oh shoot! Now I have to catch up with the others, or I'll be left behind to stay in Macau! Gotta catch a ride on the Turbo Cat, the high-speed ferry back to Hong Kong. |
The
Australians brought the dogs from Australia, and they sold them to the
dog owners in Macau. They are fed and trained here and they have a special
diet. In the morning, they feed the dogs milk and nuts. In the evening,
they get vegetable soup, meat, and walnuts. Can you believe that they go
swimming? No, ...... right? But the fact is, the dogs actually swim fairly
fast, and they are able to keep their heads, above the water.