Snowy

Nei ho, everyone!

So, I have another adventure from my journey to share with all of you. I think this is one you will all enjoy very, very much.

Friday started like any normal day. Actually, it was a really good day. I woke up at noon and took a shower, made some delicious pancakes for breakfast, and then had my only class for the day at 3:00. After class, I took a taxi downtown to the Toni and Guy hair salon and had my hair done. There was a Starbucks next door, so I got my usual Vanilla Bean Frappuccino and sat down and began to enjoy my delicious drink.

And then I see that I have a missed call from my Chinese roommate, Cindy. After sending her a text message asking her what’s up, she calls again. This time I pick up.

At first I was a little confused as to what she was telling me. She was apparently all by herself, because Iris and Catherine had left for the store. She was trying to bring the puppy back to our hostel, but it was scared of the traffic and wouldn’t cross the street.

Wait, a what?

That’s right, Cindy had found a puppy at the park, and she needed me to come back to help me get it home. I asked why she just couldn’t pick up the puppy and carry it across the street. Apparently, it was too big to be picked up and carried. Iris and Catherine had gone to the store to buy it some food and a leash, so she was all by herself at the school’s educational hotel, where she’d found it.

I told her I’d be right there. I took a taxi back and met up with Cindy at school. Iris and Catherine had also returned, and the three of them had a large, white dog on a leash between them. I heard Iris call the dog “Snowy.”

It was close to 7:00, and the girls had been on their way to dinner in the cafeteria before they’d found the dog. I said I would wait with it outside while they had their dinner. So I took Snowy and sat down by the fountain in the park area by the school.

I tried giving Snowy some of the food Iris and Catherine had bought, but she didn’t really eat much of it. I smelled her, and she seemed to smell just fine. I thought that was strange, a stray dog that didn’t want any food and didn’t smell bad.

Snowy and I got to know each other a little bit. She was a little distracted, and she kept running around and pacing on her leash. Other people were walking their dogs too, and one even came up and made friends with Snowy. Another stray was in the park, a smaller one, and it came up and sniffed Snowy a bit. I tried offering some of the food to the stray, but it wandered off. I tried keeping an eye on the other stray, but it ran off and disappeared.

In the time I spent with Snowy, I learned that she liked to play hand games. If you offer your forearm to her, she’ll put her paw on it. She also likes her tummy scratched, and she kept rolling over so I would pet her. If I stopped, she’d start playfully nipping at my hand. Oh, and she liked her butt scratched too.

When the girls were done with their dinner, we walked back to our apartment. Snowy actually did fine with the traffic. As Iris and Catherine left for their building, and as Cindy and I turned with Snowy into ours, I first realized that we were taking a dog, and it wasn’t a small dog, into our tiny apartment.

I helped Cindy get Snowy upstairs. Our roommates Stella and Margarida were asleep, and our other two Swedish roommates were away on vacation, so none of them knew that Snowy was here yet. I left for the store to get some supplies for the dog, like food, treats, dish bowls, a rawhide bone, a towel, and some baby shampoo.

Cindy and I used our awesome teamwork skills to give Snowy a bath in our shower, which didn’t go too well. Snowy didn’t like the water, and our sketchy water temperature kept spiking too hot for her. She kept trying to get out, and ended up getting water all over the bathroom.

We tried getting her dried off, but she didn’t like the towel and just kept shaking the water all over us. We decided to just let her out of the bathroom, and she ended up getting water all over the hallway, kitchen, and living room. After Cindy had taken her own shower and opened the door, Snowy rushed in after her, got in the shower, and tracked even more water all over the place.

Margarida came in just as Snowy was starting to settle down. Of course, she was surprised to find dog suddenly in our apartment, and I didn’t really blame her. For some reason, Snowy was weird with her and didn’t seem to like her very much. Because she was acting so crazy, Cindy put Snowy out on the balcony and tied her there. At this point Stella also woke up from her nap. Cindy had called her earlier to tell her about the “puppy,” but Stella was expecting a much smaller dog. She didn’t really come out on the balcony to greet Snowy.

It was about 9:00 at night at this point, and I hadn’t even eaten dinner yet because of all the craziness. I also still had to pack for my weekend trip to Hong Kong the next morning, print out our hostel booking confirmation, and talk to Iris and Nanja about what time we were planning on leaving for the ferry the next morning.

I felt bad for Snowy being left all alone on the balcony, so I untied her and let her come in again, hoping she’d calmed down. I was wrong, and she ran all around the house again. She pooped outside the bathroom in the hallway, so Cindy cleaned that up. However, I promised I would clean up the next mess she made, which happened soon after. Cindy and I settled in with our laptops in the living room, so Snowy wouldn’t be by herself, and we started doing research on Macau animal shelters.

Stella came into the living room at that point, thinking the dog was still tied up on the balcony. I was in the kitchen getting my dinner when I heard Stella’s shrieking. I ran into the living room to find that Stella had leapt on the couch while Snowy was trying to sniff her. Apparently, Stella is terrified of dogs.

Since I’ve gotten here, I sometimes find myself in a situation where I think, “How in the world did I get myself into this?”

This was definitely one of those moments.

I began the research on animal shelters. I asked all my local friends if they knew anything about local shelters, and Cindy and I took some pictures of Snowy for flyers. We figured that she must have an owner since she seemed like she’d just eaten (she still wasn’t hungry), she smelled okay even before her bath, and she even knew some commands…in Cantonese, of course.

Here are two more words I can teach you in Cantonese:

Chotai! = Sit!
Mo! = No!

I looked up dog breeds, so that we could more accurately describe her to shelters and on posters, and I found out that she is a Korean Jindo dog. Jindo dogs are apparently very loyal, and often will remain loyal to their first owner, so re-adoption of these dogs can be difficult. They are also very active and need lots of space to run around and play. They are also very intelligent and need to be constantly entertained. If not, they will find their own way to entertain themselves and often get into trouble. In fact, this trait makes them abandoned quite frequently by owners who feel overwhelmed by caring for these Jindo dogs.

After calling some animal shelters, they were all full. Cindy returned to the park where Snowy was found the next morning to see if her owner would come looking for her there. The security guard at the park told Cindy that Snowy had been wandering around the park for five days!

I felt bad for leaving Cindy with the dog when I left for Hong Kong, and I secretly hoped that she would be gone by the time I got back. I really wanted Snowy to find her owners, and our apartment was not at all a good place for a dog her size. It’s too small for her to run around and play in, not to mention that six girls live there.

But I remembered when my own dog, Tigger, had run away for a week a few years ago. I made a promise then to try to help out stray dogs after that had happened, since I knew how much I’d hoped someone would have helped my own dog when he was lost.

When I returned from Hong Kong, Snowy was gone! I was hopeful that Cindy had taken her to a shelter, or had even perhaps found her a home! Cindy sadly reported that she returned Snowy to the park. All of the shelters in Macau were full, including the government shelter, and would only anesthetize Snowy. None of Cindy’s local friends would take her, either.

At last, the security guard at the park promised Cindy that they would take care of Snowy if she left her there. Snowy had taken a liking to Cindy though, and it was hard for Cindy to leave without Snowy following her. Margarida had to keep Snowy still while Cindy left.

I feel awful that we couldn’t find Snowy a home, but we figured she’d been abandoned, like so many other Jindo dogs. If she had been wandering around the park for five days, then that was most likely her story. However, I figure she will be much happier in a park where she can run around and play in, instead of our cramped little apartment. Also, the temperature in Macau isn’t too hot or too cold, even if it does rain often. I’ll go back often to check on Snowy and leave her food and treats.

But I still feel a little sad that I couldn’t find a good home for Snowy. I’ll keep trying to call the shelters and bringing her food until I do!

Until next time!
Kati