My `accidental' puppy

This is a twist to an almost `tragic' story of a dog..

Last Saturday afternoon, I went to my usual pet shop to get dog food for the two Js. A cute little miniature schnauzer puppy caught my eyes and he was walking around! The pet shop owner said the pup was for sale but was letting him out for some exercise.. I couldn't help but cuddle him and play with him.

When I put some items on the counter, I didn't think twice but also carry the puppy and put him on the counter and played with him a while. I thought the owner who was behind the cash register saw what I did but didn't object; I turned round to talk to him and proceeded to pay.. and then suddenly there was a loud yelping sound!

As I turned round, imagine my horror to see the little puppy had fallen from the counter onto the floor! He was lying still, yelping and crying loudly and non-stop, clearly in agony! Seeing the way he lie motionless, it looked like he could have broken his leg! I was so shocked and in utter anguish.. What have I done!??

The owner said how could I put the puppy on the counter! (He didn't see me doing that he claimed..) He carried the pup and carefully massage his legs and kept listening to his heartbeat too.. he then put the pup on a cushioned bed.. the little pup still didn't move at all..

Words couldn't describe my feeling - I kept uttering `sorry, sorry, sorry' to the dog and also apologised to the owner.. I felt so distressed and heartbroken seeing the pup. Just minutes ago, he was so active and lively and now... If not for my stupidity.. :*(

I spent another 15 minutes or more with the puppy.. which by then had not made anymore noise. Thank goodness he was conscious and alert but looked so pitiful.. the owner said he would bring him to see a vet soon.

My heart was so heavy when I went home.. The whole night I couldn't stop thinking of the pup and was praying for him.. At night I tried calling the owner but could not get him.

I managed to contact the owner the next day and he said the pup was with the vet, and he still could not walk. They were trying to find out where the injury was. Two days later, I was told by the pet shop owner that they did an x'ray on the pup and found his spinal cord was injured! And he had only 50-50 chance of recovery.. and he still couldn't walk!

I was wretched and miserable! I felt like a murderer.. a dog's life is ruined because of my mistake. When I shared this with my family and one or two friends, some of them said if there's no chance of recovery, it's more humane to put the dog to sleep.. but this option deeply troubled me.

Then thanks to another friend who told me that paralysed dog could also live a `normal' life with the help of wheels.. and even showed me Youtube clip and website on it, I decided unless the vet recommended euthanasia, I would adopt the crippled pup and take good care of him and give him a good life to compensate him...

Yesterday afternoon when I contacted the pet shop owner, I was told the pup was back already. I went to see him, preparing myself to be heartbroken again.. and then to my joy and surprise, the owner said the pup could walk already! Not only could he walk, he could also jump up!

I saw the x'ray and it showed a column of his spinal cord has jut out' due to the impact of the fall. Although he seems pretty normal now, extra care needs to be given especially in keeping his body small.. If he grows heavy that would put strain on his spine and he may not be able to walk.

I must say I was so relief seeing and knowing that the pup could now walk and has no life danger from the fall.. So even though I have to fork out RM1K (a discount of RM200 apparently) to buy the pup - although the owner did not spell it out in the beginning, he finally admitted I HAD to take on the responsibility of buying the dog as he could not sell him anymore! Ya, I know I couldn't argue with the case...

So, this cute pup is my new `accidental' dog and I will be his new `accidental' `mom'. I am actually very excited although its under such circumstance that I have a third dog. But I love min. schnauzer and he is such a beautiful pup!

I somehow felt we had established a bond. And he seemed very happy to see me - totally oblivious to the fact that I was the one who caused him such pain and sorrow..

Because both my parents and I would be travelling in the coming week, the owner agreed to take care of him till we are back.

I spent the evening thinking of a name for my new pup - finally, I decided to call him `Jammy' or `Jam' for short.. According to the Urban dictionary, a meaning of Jammy is `flukey, lucky, defying probability with outrageous good fortune' - quite appropriate indeed!

Guess soon I will have to change my blog's name to `Jess' three Js'! And can't wait to welcome little Jammy home next weekend! :))

Pls pray for justice to prevail... and also spare a prayer for Kitty

I actually wanted to post an update about Kitty (see previous post)... but with the recent event that just occurred in the country, I think that should precede the poor dog's update first..

If you're Malaysian, or maybe even not, you would probably know of the `mini op lalang' that saw three individuals being arrested and detained under the I.S.A. (Internal Security Act)

I won't go into details but pls refer to online news report such as this and this and other SoPo blogs around.

At press, I mean blog time, the Sin Chew reporter Tan Hoon Cheng has been released but the whereabouts of MP Teresa Kok and Malaysia Today's Raja Petra Kamarudin are still unknown.

Why it bothers even someone who is not really politically-conscious like me? Because these individuals, esp Teresa and Hoon Cheng, had not done anything that threatened the internal security of the country.. well, Raja Petra who is vocal enough arguably may get himself into trouble with the gov, but again, that's his freedom of expression and speech. But to arrest a reporter who merely reported on an event that had someone else inciting racial hatred, the real culprit wasn't even punished by the government but the reporter was!

What kind of logic is that?!! Ok, at least they have the basic decency to release her after 20 hours but still...

To be honest, I don't follow politics closely these days yet I'm still miffed at the grounds on which Teresa was nabbed.. whether it has to do with some mosque-related complaints (which she denied earlier) this is a hardworking and well-respected MP with integrity. Can't say so about some others politicians!

I, and so many others I'm sure, feel really saddened and enraged about this.. What democracy? It's like anarchy and dictatorship that we're living under!

Unfortunately I won't be able to take part in the candlelit vigil by DAP and Gerakan this evening due to prior commitment.. but I'll be praying for the detainees and also for justice to prevail.

On another note, Kitty's owners did not take heed at all to my letter. Yesterday and today, the poor dog was confined in that garbage compartment again. and now I know how long hours that is!!

I knew I had to do something.. Glad that I have the blessings from my dad to report it to authority as he believes it's better than confrontation. I seriously doubt very much if anything would change if I go talk to them. If they didn't feel a slight bit remorse about their action, the only way is for the authority to take care of them.

After speaking to furry friends who only would house the dog if I can take her away to them..I called up SPCA and reported this case which they classified as `solitary confinement' - which is a form of abuse and mistreatment. I would need to follow up with the inspector on Monday and they would send someone over to investigate and speak to the owners. They would first warn them and if after that they still go on mistreating Kitty, SPCA would report to the authority and seize the dog from them. I really don't want Kitty to end up an unwanted dog so I am praying that these neighbours would care just a little to NOT abuse her like that. Is it so difficult to fence up their gate and get a crate?!! Sigh..

My dad is so funny. We know at this moment Kitty is being locked up in that awful place.. so my dad actually wrote a note to the owner on behalf of Kitty. Basically it says in both Chinese and English: `Please Don't Lock Me In Here!!! Your poor dog Kitty' And later we will put the note into the garbage compartment.

I doubt that would change them at all but I guess it's another form of `warning' to them that what they do is wrong..

I am quite concerned about Kitty being locked up like that for another few more days... I am praying for her welfare..

Sigh.. you get sick people everywhere - in whatever positions and capacities..!!!

(over-due) update on Kitty: (sorry, I should have posted this much earlier.)
When I got back from China, dad said the SPCA officer did come a few days later and dad took her to the house - but Kitty wasn't there anymore!!

I also went to check - indeed there was no sign of the dog - she is not in the garbage compartment nor in the compound.. till today, she is still not there..

As an optimist, I'd like to believe that the owner decided to give away Kitty to some one who wants her.. I can't enquire as well, even when Jelly pooed in front of their gate and we were cleaning up after her, the daughter shouted at us!! They were still angry at me or maybe they know I have informed SPCA...

Anyways.. I pray and hope Kitty is doing better in whatever new place she is in..

Heartless people!!

Gosh I'm so mad! Can't believe there are people who are so inhumane.. and they are living in my neighbourhood!

This is not the first case of dog cruelty that happens at my place - my longer readers (esp. dog-lovers) may remember that plight of my neighbour's Goldie Jasor and how there was a war. But what I discovered tonight made me even angrier!!

A neighbour a street away locked his dog inside the garbage compartment (I don't know what you call it but it's the small space when you put your garbage for the garbage collector to collect!!) for god-knows how long!

Yes, they actually put the poor dog inside a space like this (I just took a pix of our garbage compartment)


The dog - a small/scrawny but very sweet mixed breed - looks like a cross between Pomeranian/Spitz - is always tied up with a short metal chain at the front gate! I remember once at night, I tried to ring the door bell as the dog looks like she can't move! But no one came out.. and then another time, dad told me he saw the dog being tied outside the gate - the chain so short that it almost choke her.. and he went to release her! :)

Just more than a week back, when I brought my dogs for walk at night, finally I saw someone watching TV inside the house while the dog was chained to the gate again. So I called and spoke to the girl. The first thing she said was: `the dog could squeeze through the gate' and that `the dog is not theirs but she kept coming here so the family sorta adopted the dog.'

But I told her even if you didn't buy the dog, and even if the dog can squeeze herself out of the gate, you can't tie her up 24/7 - and worst still using that kind of metal leash whereby it can tangle up and the dog can even be strangled! I suggested that they built a small dog house for the dog then.. She didn't argue then but said she would talk to her father about it.

Well, things didn't change.. only over the weekend when dad and I walked the two Js that we saw the poor dog there again, and a young boy was around so we took the chance to tell him again not to tie the dog like that. He didn't seem to understand (but he's in his teens already!) The poor dog - her name was Kitty according to the boy - was so tangled up that I had to do something - so I told the boy I would release her to untangle the leash. I did, and Kitty proved to be an active dog - ran around the garden and finally even squeezed throught the gate!! Oops but she did return soon..

So yes, she can `escape' from the house compound easily... unless they really build a house for her.. I think her fate would not change. But I never imagined they could do something even worse!!

Just now, my maid and I took the two Js for a walk after dinner and I wanted to introduce Kitty to my maid - and ya, Kitty and the Two Js have become pretty good friends. But when we went towards their house, Kitty was missing at the gate. The house too, looked empty. My maid even said maybe they put her in a dog house in the backyard.. but I was dubious.

Trust Jelly to shit in front of the house so when we're cleaning up after her.. we heard Kitty's bark! And horrors!! The sound came from the garbage compartment!! She was inside there and there was a padlock so that no one can open (but the owner with the key of course) No wonder their garbage bags and dustbin were outside..

Poor Kitty, I feel so sorry for her for being `adopted' by such sick owners!! For so long, she has been so used to being incarcerated that she wasn't even making much noise. It was only when other dogs in the neighbourhood started barking that she barked a bit. Gosh! I so wanted to rescue her.. Of course the first thing after I discovered she was locked in there was to press the doorbell!

But no one was at home.. And I couldn't unlock the lock.

I was so incensed that when I saw two people living two doors away walking out with their toy poodle (which made lots of noise) I asked them about that inhumane neighbour as well as told them what happened. Although being a dog owner, they seemed quite apathethic about it. But when I say I would definitely complain, the girl said I could write a letter and put it in their letter box. The guy said that family are usually not in, they go out early in the morning and return late at night! I shudder to think of how long poor Kitty has been put inside there!?

Then I thought.. could it be that after my dad and I spoke out against how they tied up their dog, that they thought THIS would be the `solution' so that the neighbours won't see them tying up the dog??

I know I just can't remain silent.. So now I think I'm going to write a letter to them- do it the most civic way first. But I must also choose my words carefully I guess.

Sometimes, confrontation is necessary. Unfortunately for Jasor's case, I only kinda helped him getting a big house/prison..

But locking up your dog inside a smelly garbage compartment...this IS cruelty to animal!!

Oh! what have I done?! :((

I'm still traumatised. The feeling of anger is now diverted to guilt and yes, anger as well.

I couldn't believe that it was me who caused so much pain to Jojo! And all the while I thought it was another dog that snipped off his tail end!

After bringing Jojo to the 24-hour vet and waited for a one-hour operation that ended at 1am, I came home to discover the shocking and painful truth. I have slammed the back door on Jojo without realising because I was at my wits' end to try to get Jasor out!

Yeah, Jasor is my neighbour's poor Golden Retriever which was always locked up but sometimes gets his lease of `freedom' when he was allowed to come out and roam about at night. Which of course, is a bad and wrong way of doing it - you're supposed to walk your dog and not just let it run amok!

Anyway, I didn't realise he has come into my house after I drove my car in. It's not the first time and I thought just let it be for a while and even let my two dogs play with him in the garden. Finally after the TV episode finished, i decided it's time to get Jasor out. But no, he wouldn't listen and if my two Js' were around, it's impossible to let Jasor out without the two getting out as well. So I had to chase my dogs inside the house first. And while Jelly was willing, Jojo wasn't. I had to push him in almost and then I slammed the door. But then after a short while, both came out again! (Jojo could open from inside out!) I got so fed-up and by this time my maid came out so I handed the job to her while I went inside again.. But just one minute later, i heard she screamed for me. When I opened the front door, I saw a lot of blood on the floor! And both my maid and mom were asking me to look at Jojo's tail!

Jasor meanwhile was chased out by my maid. My first reaction was that Jojo and Jasor had a fight and Jasor had attacked him! My maid who was outside even said both the dogs were fighting for a while before she chased Jasor out. Jojo was still active but his tail end was soaked in blood and still dripping! And then I heard another scream. My other maid found Jojo's tail end and she was almost in tears. Anger actually overcome me more than anything. I charged over to my neighbour's house and rang the bell. And then when the teenage son (Jasor's owner) came out, I practically yelled at him and told him that he was a irresponsible dog owner (this statement I held on). I saw Jasor on the road side and just glared at him. He looked scared somehow. And then he even followed me again into my house and this time I felt like keeping him for a ransom to teach his owner a lesson.

By now I think I had to bring Jojo to the 24-hour vet as the bleeding was very bad.. we tried bandaging his injured area but soon blood soaked through. Oh and as I was preparing to drive Jojo to hospital, that boy came by in his scooter and took his dog back. When I showed him what happened to Jojo, he said he would take care of the bill. I said `you better do!'

The journey to the vet seemed so long because there was road work. And Jojo was getting very restless and I believe he was in pain. I was so afraid that no one was there but my fear proved unfounded as there was a vet as well as assistant, who came down to greet us and led us upstairs. This is the same place that I brought Jelly last year for emergency treatment.

After examining Jojo's injury for a while, the Dr said they would need to do an operation because his bone was exposed and they need to stitch it back with his flesh! And yes Jojo made a mess of the room with his blood.. By that time I couldn't help but cried a little.. seeing my dog in such a shape. I was told it was not life threatening but definitely needed immediate treatment.. Dr said we could either stay or go when he does that hour-long operation and I chose to stay. I wanted to see Jojo after the operation.. and yes, he needed to be warded at least for the night.

Jojo was given two doses of G.A. and finally knocked out. One hour plus later, with some peeping into the operation room, it was completed but Jojo was still heavily sedated. Dr said everything went fine but it would take at least 10 days for the area to dry up. Poor Jojo looked so stone and his tongue kept coming out because he was feeling very dry. We saw them putting him into one of the large cages and he looked relaxed enough now.

I was told that by tomorrow afternoon, he probably can go home. I was briefed on the estimated cost too. It's not cheap but not more than I expected either knowing how expensive animal treatment is.

So my maid and I reached home at 1:30am. And as I walked around the kitchen and back area, I noticed some blood stain still on the wall. That raised my suspicion because if it was Jasor which bit Jojo, there shouldn't be any blood inside the kitchen! They were outside after I went in and Jojo never came in after that. So I asked the maid who cleaned up the place and also found the tail end. She told me there was lots of blood near the back door and on the floor, and now she said that she found Jojo's tail end just by the back door!!

Suddenly I felt my hair standing on my arms.. Oh Gosh! It was me! It wasn't Jasor. I had slammed the door onto Jojo's tail without knowing. Mom had actually suggested that was a possibility but I thought she meant the front door cos I only saw blood there. But the fact was there was even MORE blood from Jojo around the back door.

Yes, this was even more traumatising than thinking it was another dog that hurt my dog. I was and still am angry with myself. But at the same time, I feel a little `relief' in the sense that I know Jasor had not betrayed me. After all, I was the one who was concerned of his welfare and we had always been good friends - him with me and him with my dogs.

When I had to confess this to my mom, she seemed not surprised! She was logical in that she said it was highly unlikely that Jasor and Jojo would fight in such vicious way when they had been friends with each other for so long. Why didn't I think of it? Maybe dad was right, I'm always just too impulsive.

So tomorrow after taking Jojo home, I would have to go to my neighbour to tell him the truth. I was still hoping I don't have to fork out the hefty bill but of course my conscience won't allow me to do that. On top of that, I do not want to wrongly blame Jasor for something he didn't do. Although he indirectly contributed to the accident (cos I was trying to chase him out!)

Sigh, what drama and what a night. My poor Jojo. I hope he is sleeping well at the vet and praying that his injury would heal completely soon...

This bad mommy must not be so impulsive nor careless anymore..

Big Jin and me

I met a Great Dane when went for an interview assignment last week. I've never touched nor played with a Great Dane before. He is huge.. but quite mild manner and mellow.. unlike my two hyper dogs!

His name is Jin - short for `Gui Jin' - from Hokkien (there's a story behind how he came about but too long to tell here :p) He is 3 plus, a well-travel dog as he gets to go with his master everywhere!

During the photo shoot, we requested that Jin would be in the photograph together with my interviewees, who are a family; and he ended up upstaging his owners and became the centre of attention!

I believe the photos will look good with such a handsome dog in it. Even I couldn't resist taking photos with him!

Do your bits for our furry friends

Just received this in my email inbox. If you're a dog lover and especially if you own mongrel/mixed breed dogs, this may be of interest to you.

If you remember, `Remembering Sheena' campaign was sparked off after an Alsation Sheena died by senseless abuse and gross neglect in the hand of her owner! That was in 2005. There was a lot of outcry from animal lovers.. and in a way raised much awareness in animal protection...I had also posted on it before.

I don't know how much changes had taken place, but kudos to the people behind this campaign who tirelessly and continuously strive towards stopping animal abuse in Malaysia. Indeed, no God's creature deserve to be treated cruelly, especially man's best friends, and ironically in the hands of man!!

Dear RSC Supporters,

We are having a landmark event take place on June 9 and 10th this year at Central Park, Bandar Utama, Kuala Lumpur. There will be radio announcements and newspaper articles. China Press and Nanyang have already carried some of the news.

Kindly help us by participating in the contests posted on www.remembersheena.blogspot.com

Those of you in the corporate field who can help in other ways, please keep in mind that Furry Friends Farm is still in need of proper fencing and an area for cats. If anyone can help with landscaping the 3 acre farm or know of contractors who can help out for free please write to me.

Otherwise, just join us on the 9th and have fun.

Please go to www.remembersheena.blogspot.com to see what all the fuss is about on the 9 and 10th of June.

Thanks for your support!

Shoba Mano

The Remembering Sheena Campaign.

Animals S.O.S.

Late tonite (Tues) I received a few sms and an email on the same matter. It is quite distressing. I shall copy and paste the email a friend sent here.

Dear Friends,

I just received news that about 60 dogs and cats need adoption urgently between tomorrow (19 July) and Friday (21 July). These animals are scheduled for culling tomorrow, but the local MP (authorities) has given an extension to the culling date. Half the animals are licensed and belong to owners. Tomorrow, the animals will be photographed and posted on blogs (or advertised) so that owners can locate them.

If you would like to rescue these animals by adopting them, please show up tomorrow at No.1 Jln Utama, Jln Perindustrian Puchong Perdana, Selangor Malaysia; at 9am. If we can find homes for most of the animals, perhaps we can do away with the culling!

For more enquiries, contact: Kokila 0166070398 or Sham 0122238459

Kindly spread the word around! Post on blogs, and online bulletin boards.

Sigh.. I hope I'm not too late as the messages came late. As an animal lover, I don't know what I can do besides spreading the message. It's not possible for me to personally adopt more dogs or cats.

The problem of unwanted pets is a mammoth one.. I just don't understand how people can abandon their pets and how the poor manner the authority is handling it. Pet shelters like SPCA or PAWS have too more than they could cope already.

To me, it is the MINDSET of the people that need to change and therefore we have to get to the root of the problem with education. We need to educate our next generation on pets ownership from a young age and to incalcate proper values in them..

When God created the world, human beings were given the task of stewardship of the earth - we were supposed to take care of the environment and all the other animals well. But look at what a mess human beings have done with this..

Gosh, i could just go on..! But right now, lets pray that the matter above can be solved, that at least some of these dogs and cats would be adopted so that the death of the poor animals will be minimised..

:(