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Canine fugitive from Hong Kong reunited with former owner
By Sandra Thomas-Staff writer
As Allanah Ong sits down, the shy rust-coloured dog ambles over and nudges her with his nose.
Suddenly, he backs off about three metres and hunches down, trembling.
Ong isn't offended. She, of all people, knows what this dog has gone through in its short life.
Speaking in Chinese, Ong calls him by the nickname she gave him when she rescued him from the streets of Hong Kong almost two years ago.
"Dai Jui. Dai Jui," she calls out.
It's a name that means "big mouth," a reference to the large head and muzzle of the dog, which looks like a cross between a smooth chow chow and sharpei.
But the dog keeps his eyes glued to his new owner Betty Banfield, who rescued him last October after more than a year of living on the streets in Mount Pleasant.
The reunion of the three last week could have been straight out of Disney. It's a story of survival, street smarts and two women determined to save a clever, wily animal.
Last week, the Courier reported that a dog who'd eluded dog catchers for a year had been adopted by Banfield, who nicknamed him Teddy. Animal control officer Kevin Mazer called him the smartest dog he's ever met.
It took Banfield months of feeding Teddy, riding her bike around the neighbourhood every day to find him, to earn the dog's trust. He didn't let her touch him until last summer.
"I had been out for dinner for my birthday, so I hadn't been to feed him at my usual time," said Banfield.
"We pulled into the alley where I usually fed him and when he saw the headlights, he came out of the gutter where he had been hiding. When he saw me, he ran right over and put his head against me and let me pat him. That's when I knew he had been waiting for me and missed me."
The dog spent last winter living in Douglas Park but Banfield was so concerned about him, she managed to coax him into her home last October, where he's remained ever since.
Banfield often wondered where the smallish dog came from-besides a tattoo in its ear, it wore a collar with tags from Hong Kong. But since Teddy's amazing abilities don't include the gift of speech, she was left to speculate-until last week.
In response to the story about Teddy in the Courier, a reader contacted Banfield and said the tale reminded him that he had met a woman in Queen Elizabeth Park two years ago who was desperately searching for a dog that had gone missing. He was sure a story had been published in the Courier at the time.
A quick search on the Courier's web site brought up the article with a picture showing Ong holding up a photograph of the dog, which had gone missing two days after arriving from Hong Kong two years ago. The dog was a dead ringer for Teddy,
Ong, a soap-opera actress who lives here part time, had rescued the young dog in Hong Kong after it was abandoned. It was living with several litter mates in a large compound that once served as a helicopter training facility but had since closed, and was being redeveloped.
Like Banfield, Ong spent months earning the dog's trust by feeding it, to the point the dog would wait for her every day as she walked her own shepherd cross and would join the pair on their travels.
When the development company started using explosives in the compound, Ong and a group of volunteers decided to get the dogs out.
Through an animal rescue group here, she found someone willing to take the dog and Ong paid its airfare to Vancouver. The day after it arrived, the dog went to the Atlas Animal Hospital on Fraser Street to be neutered and have its first shots.
The would-be owner visited the dog while it was recuperating and took it for a walk in the cemetery across the street. Ong doesn't know how the dog slipped its leash, but it escaped, racing up 41st Avenue and across Main Street without being hit by a car. Despite advertising for the dog, speaking to the media and paying for the help of a psychic, the last Ong heard about the dog was a few sporadic sightings around Queen Elizabeth Park.
"I know why he would go to that park. With all of the hills and bushes, it looks just like the compound he was living in in Hong Kong," said Ong.
Over time, Ong lost hope the dog would ever be found, but when she returned from Hong Kong Wednesday, her husband had a surprise waiting. He picked her up at the airport but, unable to contain his excitement, double-parked and pulled out a copy of the Courier.
"I couldn't believe my eyes," she said. "It was such great news. I am so happy this story has a happy ending."
So is Banfield, whose biggest concern was that the real owner would show up to claim the dog.
"He's my dog and that's all there is to it," she said. "But I was so worried."
Ong said she's thrilled Teddy and Banfield have such a close bond.
"You can see the love they have for each other."
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