How one dog helped end greyhound racing in Macau, and how he lived out his life free from the cruel sport
- A Post Magazine investigation set off a global campaign that closed a greyhound racing track in Macau. One dog, Brooklyn, was the beating heart of that campaign
Even in his last yards, Brooklyn refused to accept that his race was run. Stricken with cancer, paralysed and struggling to breathe, he clung to life, believing he could defy the odds one last time.
“He didn’t want to go, and that was the hardest part,” says animal welfare campaigner Carey Theil who – with wife Christine Dorchak – nursed Brooklyn, a former racing greyhound, through his dying days at their home in Massachusetts, in the United States.
“We wanted Brooklyn to pass naturally, but he wouldn’t leave. He wasn’t eating and his body was shutting down, and yet he hung on for days and days, because he just didn’t want to go.
“In the end, we couldn’t stop that terrible cancer that overcame him and took away his ability to breathe. That’s what made the decision for us. We couldn’t watch him suffer any longer and we knew the time had come.”
Brooklyn’s death in June at the age of 13 was much more than just the sad passing of a beloved pet. It was met with an outpouring of grief and thousands of messages from people worldwide for whom he was a symbol of hope in the battle to close greyhound racing tracks.
