Dog-Walkers Enjoy Pleasures, Reap Benefits

By John Cairns

ON A HONG KONG HILLTOP – Not many things surpass going for a nice recreational jaunt with close friends. It's all the better if the outings happen several times per day as part of a job.

Hong Kong's most frequent dog-walkers, many working as domestic helpers, enjoy a desirable blend of canine-related pleasures and benefits. While the dogs indulge in strolls, fresh air and chances to socialize, so do their human companions.

“Walking with dogs gives us lots of fun and good exercise,” said a 10-year veteran of such activity. “It's also my time for relaxation and meditation, a diversion. Just cleaning the house every day can be monotonous. Dog-walking gives me such a welcome diversion that I hardly even consider it as work.”

Not only that, but “...the connections that we make with the dogs, and the development of our relationships with them are so inspiring and satisfying. We don't just get the trust of dogs. We need to work at it. Once we do earn their trust and form attachments with them, it's such a nice feeling. They become our friends.”

Generously, the dogs help their walking partners to make even more friends, often with other dogs and their walkers. “It's so relaxing to stroke a dog's fur too.” The only disadvantage to dog-walking may be the need to clean up “feces deposits”.

Recently, I joined two experienced dog-walkers, Marie and Grace, both Filipinas, as they escorted three dogs for a hillside stroll on one of Hong Kong's outlying islands. They regard interacting with dogs as the highlight of their daily work.

“I love dogs and always did,” Marie said. “Every time when I walk with them, I feel happy. At first, coming to Hong Kong made me sad because I'd moved far away from my children. It helps me a lot that the dogs make such nice company.”

Grace added: “Often the dogs make better company than humans do.”

Marie chaperoned two black dogs: robust, handsome Fred and elderly, grey-faced Rita. Grace brought along a sleek, brown female named Chocolate.

Fred and Chocolate Are in Love

Marie and Grace have a compelling reason to walk these dogs together whenever possible, usually every few days. “Fred and Chocolate are in love,” Grace confided. “We can tell from the connections we've developed with these dogs.”

Fred likes to linger near Chocolate. At certain moments, he moves close to lick her face, which she gladly tolerates.

“Every time when I tell Fred we're going to see Chocolate, he's very happy, dancing around and so excited,” Marie said.

“It's the same with Chocolate,” Grace revealed.

Dogs Outnumber People in the Employing Families

Some Hong Kong people walk their own dogs. More often, the task falls to domestic helpers from the Philippines or Indonesia. Many domestic helpers, especially those working on outlying islands or in parts of the New Territories, have more dogs than people in the families employing them. They devote much of their time to exercising, feeding and otherwise caring for the dogs. “My job has been mainly looking after dogs,” Grace said.

Dogs of all sizes and ages need regular walks. These excursions, no matter if along city sidewalks or on hillside paths, are daily necessities.

Walking dogs on outlying islands gives much more proximity to nature than on urban streets. “It's much more difficult in the city,” Grace said. “There, everything’s busy. There's no proper place for dogs. No matter where you go, cars drive nearby. With the traffic lights, cars and so many people, the dogs find it a little confusing and frightening.”

What happens if dogs relocate with their humans from a quiet location deep into the urban commotion? “It's traumatic for them to move into busy, noisy surroundings,” Grace said.

Marie remembers when one of her dogs first needed to travel from a small village into Mongkok for a medical appointment. “He felt so nervous in the taxi and couldn't sit still,” she said. “When we got there, he still moved nervously, pacing non-stop.”

Remarkably, Grace held a deep fear of dogs before she came to Hong Kong. “Although skeptical, I built up my courage,” she said. “Once I realized the fun of working with dogs, I overcame my fear, and a new world opened up for me.”

Now she encourages the dogs to overcome their fears too. “One dog that I used to care for was a nervous girl who disliked busy places. When walking her, I told her, ‘No, you need to overcome that fear.’ So we went to some places that frightened her. At first, she felt a little panicked and unsure what to do. In time, she improved. It's always best to face fears, not to run from them.”

Similarly, “Chocolate used to feel very scared of drilling or other construction work. Now despite being maybe a bit nervous, she can walk beside me anywhere.”

Buoyed by positive experiences, Grace holds a firm, once-unimagined confidence that she can befriend most dogs. One of her past employers often assisted at the Lifelong Animal Protection (LAP) charity. Soon Grace became a LAP volunteer too. “I gained experience in caring for lots of different dogs, right from tiny ones to the biggest, even a Saint Bernard with a really big face who could have swallowed me,” she said.

“All the dogs became my friends, and I grew attached to them, even if they stayed for just a week. I walked them and looked after them. When they found new homes, it was so emotional. Sometimes I cried because I'd miss them. It can be difficult too when you're emotionally attached to these creatures.”

Responsibilities and Worries

Amid the pleasures, reliable dog-walkers never forget that they have responsibilities too. “We're responsible for our dogs and don't want to trust anyone else to look after them,” Marie said. “If I need to go somewhere else, I always worry about who is with my dogs and what they're doing.”

When the dogs grow old or ill, their walking companions grapple with greater worries. An elderly dog long in Marie's care died recently. “I always worried about him – not because he formed such a big part of my work, but because I loved him,” she said. “We always were together from morning until evening.”

For dog-walkers, almost every dog for whom they have responsibility, with whom they walk, becomes a firm friend. Dogs push along the process by appreciating their two-legged walking buddies in return. “Every time when we see them, no matter how long we’ve been together, they're very happy, jumping at us and welcoming us,” Marie said. “They're very happy when they're with us. And we're happy with them too.”

Different Personalities

Each dog has a different personality, and regular dog-walkers soon appreciate that. “Some are smart. Some aren't too smart,” Marie said. “Some know how to listen. Some don't.” Some like to walk fast. Others poke along. Some cheerfully greet unfamiliar dogs. Others cringe from them. Some chase cats. Others, fearing sharp claws, run from cats.

Certain dogs hold an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Marie recalls a brown-and-white poodle. “If I carried her, she felt very proud that ‘I'm being carried, and the other dog's just there on the ground.’ ”

Grace speaks fondly of a tiny Shih-Tzu. “He regarded himself as powerful and big, but he was just a little guy,” she said.

After spending enough time and taking thousands of walks with familiar pets, the dog-walkers believe they often know what the animals think. Marie can read “the eyes, the face and the posture.

“Sometimes Fred may try to bully other dogs, especially when he knows another dog feels scared of him because he sees its tail start to go down, down. I try to stop him from being a bully by making the first move. I tell him, ‘No,’ and then he'll behave.”

Does Fred’s lady friend, Chocolate, have any bad habits? “She loves to chase cats, but mostly just to play,” Grace said. “The cats misunderstand and try to scratch her face.”

Routes to Adventure

Dog-walkers and their canine friends seek variety by following different routes. “We can explore together,” Grace said.

“Sometimes we go up into the hills or to the beach,” Marie said.
 
“And going together to walk dogs, like Marie and I do, makes it even more fun,” Grace said.

Adventures may happen along the way. “Sometimes we see snakes,” Marie said. “Once I wondered why Fred suddenly stopped and just looked in one direction. I went to him and asked, ‘What are you looking at?’ Then I saw a really big snake. Too scared even to make a big noise, I just grabbed Fred and said, ‘Come on. Let's go. We're changing direction. Don't go there.’ ”

Grace used to collect snake photos on her mobile phone. “Each time I saw a snake, I used to take a photo,” she said. “Last summer Chocolate and I probably saw six different snakes.”

When younger, faster and fiercer, Rita tended to fight with other dogs. “But not now that she's old,” Marie said.

On some of Grace's best adventures, she took Chocolate to explore unfamiliar paths. “We climbed some back-hills on which I'd never been,” she said. “We walked and walked until I got lost. I didn't know how to get back. So we sat on a big hill, and I asked, ‘Chocolate, what'll we do?’ Finally, I made up my mind, tried my luck and chose the right direction. It was scary, but thrilling.”

Could Chocolate have led the way home? “Sometimes it happens like that,” Grace said, “but I can sense if Chocolate doesn't know the way. Then she wants to walk behind me, to follow instead of leading.”

Sometimes the destination may cause dissent. Long ago, Rita, once off her leash, used to disappear to places other than where Marie had in mind. “It was during my first year with Rita, and I didn't realize that she knew the way home,” Marie said. “I'd get my bicycle and ride everywhere looking for her. Then after a while, I'd notice, ‘Oh, she's home already.’ ”

Other dogs who wander away may be found by different means. “Sometimes you just check at all the rubbish bins on the way home.”

Life as a domestic helper isn't always easy or happy. “Sure, it's difficult to live far away from your family and to work in a foreign land,” Grace said. “Interacting with dogs makes it easier. We start to feel more at home because the dogs become like a second family. They give us happiness.”


Knowing the way, Chocolate presses ahead.


Fred moves forward, staying close to Chocolate.


Dog-walkers and dogs: happy together.

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