Thank you, Asia "Just walking the Dog. . . in Hong Kong" (rewarmed) (29 days until Green Bay)

Almost five years ago to the day, I posted this blog about my hikes with Rigby.  Rigby now has a new home and is not 6 but 11 years old.  The sentiments expressed here about these places remain unchanged. 

 In Hong Kong there are a few places I can walk our dog Rigby.  The most frequent route is a 25-30 minute walk around Red Hill Peninsula, a one-mile road that is one big circle.  The sidewalks shift from narrow to wide and the view shifts from sloped and maintained mountain, to beautiful distant mountains with inlet ocean water dotted with bobbing yachts, to 20 story blond brick apartments with a view of the mountains and water where some colleagues live, to 5 story pastel condos that cost $10,000 per month to rent, minimum.  On this route we meet many other dogs being walked on leash by their owner's helpers, mostly Philippina women who are likely to greet us "Hello, Mum."  The dogs range in size from golden retriever to jack russell and are either guided to the opposite side or take a moment to sniff each other in choice areas.  The women pick up droppings with newspaper and put it in the bins along the road designated specifically for dog poo.  Rigby, a milk-chocolate chow mongrel rescued from Hong Kong Dog Rescue, walks with a spring in his 6 year-old step and sniffs as often as I will let him.  He likes to back up against the slope on grassy areas to do his business.  Depending on the time of year we may come home wet from the humidity even though the route is leisurely.

Another, and even more breath-taking route I like to take, but less often, goes down to Tai Tam village.  First Rigby and I take the elevator from 7th to the 5th floor exit of our building, then down a series of four flights of stairs past the middle school campus, the track, the landscaped flowers, and the guard off of the grounds.  From there we wind down a paved country-road until we reach the water's edge.  This is a bay off of the ocean.  It is dotted with yachts to fishing boats floating equidistance from one another on the dark blue, quiet water.  We go left on the road with the sea inlet on our right and jungle underbrush and trees and a bit of trash on our left.  After a few more minutes we will hit the edge of Tai Tam village.  When I am alone I like to walk through the village and look at the gardens, the banana trees, the stone homes stacked up into the hillside with cemented in windows on the street level and signs of interesting water sports gear like kayaks and paddle boards.  But when I'm with Rigby we turn back here because there are a few street dogs that are quite territorial and Rigby is afraid of them.  They bark too loud and tend to growl or follow you, making you uncomfortable.

A third route is to take Country Road Park. This is the most beautiful of all.  This one begins just a few minutes past the middle school guarded gate where the guard always smiles and says hello.  We walk up an incline past drivers in Mercedes and Cadillac vans waiting for school kids when the day is done.  They are parked all along and on the sidewalk so that we are forced to walk on the road instead.  After crossing busy Tai Tam Road we reach the entrance of the Park.  Here there is a waterfall on the left, (really it's the run-off from rain and mountain water cascading down a cement stair from the catchment above).  On the right there is an amazing view of a 100 year old one-and-a-half lane bridge straddling a freshwater reservoir which begins where we are and ends below a dam just on the other side of Tai Tam village.  The reservoir reminds me of a Wisconsin lake, except because it is a reservoir the capacity ebbs and flows with seasonal rain and runoff and there are humans allows on or in the water.  Recently, with all the rain, the reservoir is filling again, so there is maybe only one meter of exposed red clay sloped beneath the jungle trees which line the water and seem to go on forever, turning into misty mountains stacked on top one another.    On a very ambitious day, Rigby and I could walk all the way over the mountain and into the city of Hong Kong.  The entire route would be paved black and wide and we would see dozens of people along the way making the long trek up or down the mountain.  But usually we just walk one hour; this takes us past three different BBQ picnic areas, over several bridges with the view of the pristine reservoir, and through the tree-lined, spider infested jungle.  Here large dogs are usually off leash, well-behaved as they greet each other and Rigby.  Singles, couples, families, expats, Cantonese, Chinese all come here to enjoy the walk, the hike, the picnic spots, or the view.  We might run into a bride and groom on a wedding shoot.  If we are ambitious there are many off-shoot trails we could take, some paved, some not.

Finally, there is the catchment trail.  This is a trail that takes about 5 minutes to reach.  It's entrance lies across Tai Tam Road just past our public bus stop.  One must climb up like a child (and on the return, jump down) to get to the long narrow stairs which take you to the catchment.  Turn left and you will eventually arrive at Stanley, our nearest town.  Turn right, and you will reach a stair leading down to Country Road Park and next to that waterfall I spoke of.  The catchment is a concrete ditch designed to catch the water run-off from the mountain.  Along one side is the sloped mountain rising twice to three times as high as the Southwestern hills of Wisconsin.  On the other side the concrete continues as a narrow sidewalk meant for repair workers to easily reach the catchment.  We use it to walk.  The views are beautiful up there.  At points the view overlooks the ocean and our nearby local Turtle Cove beach.  At points it overlooks the school and nearby Red Hill Plaza.  At points all you see is bushes, trees, flowers, butterflies, and huge spiders pressing in on you.  Much of the time there are metal railings, sometimes there are not.  Such a trail is perfect for letting your dog off leash to sniff and walk or trot as he pleases.  Here we spend about 30 minutes walking and enjoying the smells and the view, but NOT the spiderwebs that invisibly crisscross the trail and which cling to my arms and legs as I pass by.

Photos by © Brenda Brayko. All rights reserved. 

Thank you, Asia "Rigby" (84 days left)

 March 8, 2021

I grew up with a family dog.  Through the years we had three dogs as the Brayko family, prior to coming to Hong Kong.  Here, we found our fourth!  Rigby, formerly known as Bill.

The following are excerpts from a post originally posted Nov. 20, 2016.  Rigby was re-homed in December 2020 in anticipation of our move.  He is doing great, although we still miss him.

"We adopted him a year ago [2015] from Hong Kong dog rescue where he had been a resident for three years.  We could tell he was a sweetheart with a gentle disposition, so that and a high recommendation for him as an adoptee who could easily adjust to a cat were enough for us.

"He doesn't bark.  He doesn't enter rooms that he shouldn't enter.  He doesn't jump up on beds or couches.  He doesn't steal food off the counter.  He doesn't snap at anyone or get upset when you are near his dish.  He doesn't wake you up in the middle of the night needing to go out.  (Although he does snore.)  He also doesn't lick you, though that part I wish he would do.  He's just an all around great companion.

"It took him quite awhile to play with Jigs our cat, but now he chases or bats playfully at Jigs almost every day.  At first he didn't know what to do with a kong, but he has now figured out it is fun to try to get the treat out.  He still doesn't have a clue about what to do with a ball.

"Somehow - and I still have not witnessed this in person - he manages to pull the handle down and in just enough to wiggle the door open and escape.  From there he pushes a second door and takes the flight of steps leading to either outside or more flights of stairs which take him to the apartment of a dog-friend of his."

Thank you, Hong Kong Dog rescue, for our fluffy companion of five+ years, Rigby. 

The Dog named Rigby, formerly known as Bill

Rigby, the dog formerly known as Bill, is now seven.  He's a chow muttt who is cinnamon brown from top to bottom, including his eyes and nose.  We adopted him a year ago from Hong Kong dog rescue where he had been a resident for three years.  We could tell he was a sweetheart with a gentle disposition, so that and a high recommendation for him as an adoptee who could easily adjust to a cat were enough for us.

I find it ironic that the most well-behaved dog we've owned had lived outside of a family situation for three years.  I don't know why he's so good, but he is.  Mostly.

First of all, Rigby knows how to walk.  He walks beside me without pulling.  He can be let off the leash and will stay close by, come when called, and stand still to have the leash reapplied.  He is attentive and eager to please.  He's easy around other dogs who are in good balance, and defers to my "alpha-ness" around dogs who are too hyper or aggressive.  So he is always a pleasure to walk.

He doesn't bark.  He doesn't enter rooms that he shouldn't enter.  He doesn't jump up on beds or couches.  He doesn't steal food off the counter.  He doesn't snap at anyone or get upset when you are near his dish.  He doesn't wake you up in the middle of the night needing to go out.  (Although he does snore.)  He also doesn't lick you, though that part I wish he would do.  He's just an all around great companion.

He has been learning over the course of this last year to "be a dog", that is to say, to play.  It took him quite awhile to play with Jigs our cat, but now he chases or bats playfully at Jigs almost every day.  At first he didn't know what to do with a kong, but he has now figured out it is fun to try to get the treat out.  He still doesn't have a clue about what to do with a ball.

For a long time I thought he was a bit stupid because he would always stop at the wrong floor of our apartment building when we would return from a walk.  I couldn't imagine why he couldn't figure out we live two floors up, not one.  But my understanding of his intelligence quotient increased dramatically when he started having separation anxiety and proceeded to figure out how to escape from our apartment.  Somehow - and I still have not witnessed this in person - he manages to pull the handle down and in just enough to wiggle the door open and escape.  From there he pushes a second door and takes the flight of steps leading to either outside or more flights of stairs which take him to the apartment of a dog-friend of his.

Once he started escaping, we had to figure out how to stop him and change his behavior.  It took months, literally.  We were at our wits end, really, days away from taking him back to the rescue center, when something finally worked!  Pheromones.   I bought a diffuser that secretes mommy-dog pheromones which keep puppies calm.  After attempts at crate training, noise training, tying him to a door handle indoors, and I don't know what-all, these invisible pheromones seem to have done the trick.

I'm quite grateful for that.  Yes, we have a two damaged doors and one damaged piece of furniture from Rigby's days of insanity, but hopefully that is all behind us now.  I'm hoping we have him around for many years to come.