The greyhound they call ‘Migaloo’ is a medical marvel.
Born snow white, deaf and with stunning blue eyes, his condition is so rare that trusted veterinarian, John Newell, said the son of Bernardo x Zakuska Zipper was a “freak of nature”.
“Migaloo is just a one off. There’s been five albino greyhounds in my 45 years in the sport and every one of them was deaf…it’s a recessive genetic trait…but Migaloo is not your classic albino,” Newell said.
“If you look at what makes an albino, most of them have the melanocyte cells (they are cells that store the pigment in the skin) but genetically they lack the enzyme that produces the pigment to store in those cells…meaning they are white and typically have a pink nose.
Migaloo as a pup alongside his littermates
“But Migaloo doesn’t fit that pattern because his nose is black. True albinos have no pigment…whether he’s a mutation, it’s hard to tell but he doesn’t fit the classic albino pattern even though he’s lacking pigment everywhere, has blue eyes and is deaf as a post.”
Newell, a former head vet with Greyhound Racing NSW, admitting it was “nice to come across strange things of nature like this”.
“I’ve known Migaloo since he was a puppy and I vaccinated him at both six and 12 weeks of age,” he said.
“I regularly attended the property of Rod and Natina Howard and Migaloo was always a bit quiet and not as outgoing as other pups. I remember at 12 weeks old, I clapped my hands and he just ignored it and I said at the time “this dog is deaf”.”
Newell also insisting the hearing impairment was not a reason to preclude “an otherwise very healthy” greyhound from heading to the race track.
“I’ve seen a number of deaf dogs at the track in my time and they’ve all raced fairly competitively,” Newell added.
“Being deaf, they obviously cannot hear the approaching lure and for that reason, they will often not jump in front. They’ll usually be 0.3 or 0.4 of a second slower than the rest of the field but as far as chasing the lure goes, there’s no disability that stops them from pursuing.
“From a scientific basis, there’s nothing to preclude Migaloo from competing as he has the same chasing instinct as every other dog.”
Music to the ears of his trainer Natina Howard who is still buzzing after Migaloo ran second over 515m at Gosford on Tuesday night.
“What an amazing effort, even after missing the start. He probably should have finished closer to the winner as well, but the time of 29.67 suggests he can run,” Howard said.
“He was a little bit underdone heading into that race as well, so he’ll improve off that. He’s a mad railer too, he usually finishes with grease on his side, that’s how close he runs to the rail.
“He’s run 24.5 post to post as a puppy at The Gardens and his run home times are pretty strong so I think he’ll end up over 600m before he finishes. We’re just so proud of him and we have to thank John Martin who broke him in, and our daughter Jorja did so much work with him as a puppy as well. She was always throwing balls to him and getting him used to chasing."
Migaloo with Jorja Howard
Howard determined to give her “special guy” every opportunity to excel.
“If a person has a disability, we don’t exclude them from doing things they enjoy,” Howard added.
“Migaloo loves to chase and he loves to run. When he sees the lure, his tail goes up in the air, he starts wagging it like there’s no tomorrow and he starts prancing up and down.
“And he’s already a little superstar. We’ve got messages of support from all over Australia and around the world, the public love him. Every time we take him anywhere, people stop in their tracks to pat him and groups flock to him.”
GWIC veterinary officer for the Hunter, Matthew Webber, has also seen Migaloo up close and personal and said he was like “a unicorn”.
“I saw him at The Gardens a few months ago when he came across the table and he’s very striking to look at. He’s a big, white strapping boy and he’s certainly able to run,” Webber said.
“There are no hearing specific rules that would stop him from racing and because greyhounds are sight hounds, the vast majority of their actions are sight driven. He’s obviously able to see the lure easily and his other senses may even be heightened due to being deaf.
“Since I started with GWIC in 2019, I haven’t seen or heard of an albino greyhound and I haven’t seen a deaf racing dog, so this is a first for me.”
