Stop Dogs From Being Separated From Their Owners

The Shah Alam City Council has banned several types of dogs from the State, some of which include the Rottweiler, Japanese Tosa, Akita, American Bulldog. Come January 1, 2006 those who fail to find a place for the breed are expected to surrender them to the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) or get rid of the dogs themselves.

Those whose dogs do not fall in this category must adhere to new rulings in order to keep their dogs, amongst these rulings are that they should get the permission of neighbours from houses on the left, right, front and back in order to keep their dog. It looks like even if they get the permission the first time there is no guarantee the dog can stay as this license needs to be renewed every year and who knows, the neighbour may move or change his mind and the poor dog and loving owner are in danger of parting at any given moment. So in order not to be parted they are basically at the mercy of their neighbours.

All this is the result of a dog attack on a nine-year-old boy, Muhammad Hazman Seh Zahidi, in Putrajaya last month.

This is a terrible ruling. Dogs that become vicious, in almost all cases got that way due to abuse by its owner. This is the result of cruel owners. Instead of punishing irresponsible owners the authorities, with their ruling are now punishing the responsible owners and worse the poor dogs!

That is why Remembering Sheena campaign is getting to the root of this problem and fighting to change the laws to punish the real culprits. When we force people to be responsible pet owners we will see loving dogs and the added benefit is that we won't be seeing strays running around without food, drink or shelter.

Let's help everyone see that the root of the problem is the irresponsible owners and how the laws must ensure they treat their pets right. Anyone who is not able to give their pets a loving home and a caring environment has no business keeping pets.

Please help the Shah Alam dog lovers who are devastated at the prospect of parting with their dogs. Please sign their petition by clicking here.

Shoba Mano

POSTERS AND FLYERS

Campaign flyers and posters will be distributed next week. Anyone who has access to some great places to display the posters please contact us at remembersheena@gmail.com

Thank you for your help.

Shoba

Sheena's Appeal To Be Heard On December 2nd, 2005

The case against Sheena's owner, Lien Chong San, as we all know ended in Lien walking out of court a free man after paying RM100 fine. Naturally, SPCA is appealing.

The appeal is to be heard on December 2nd, 2005 at the Shah Alam High Court, Court Room No. 5, at 9 am. If you're free on that day, please go to show your support.

Thank you.
Shoba Mano

MY CATS

Hiya!

Daniel suggested I write about my two cats and since he has taken the lead and introduced Chewby [don’t y’all just love that name?] to you, let me introduce my little terrors too.

Well, they’re not so little anymore. Moggie and Earwig are about a year and a half now. My husband and I rescued them from the drain while they were kittens. Check out their photos below:





You wouldn’t believe they are sisters. Earwig is black all over with a white underside. The tips of her paws are white and someone once said it looks like she’s wearing white socks. She is stocky, small, has big ears and a stump for a tail and that too slightly forked. Her sister on the other hand is a bombshell. She looks like a Siamese cat – white with a brown face and touch of brown on her legs and tips of her ears. She has a tail like a plume of feathers. And believe it or not she has the most beautiful blue eyes that would stop Clark Gable in his tracks. Gazing down into her blue eyes, he would most certainly give a damn then. Heh heh. [Sorry, only those who have read Gone With The Wind will know what I’m talking about]

I think Earwig is absolutely gorgeous too. She is the most adooooorable little thing, with her swaggering walk and “attitude” and her love to climb onto my tummy and stay there.

Shoba Mano

Bits and Pieces

Hi all,

For those of you who are interested, the case against Sheena's owner, Mr. Lien Chong San, is up for appeal on 2nd December 2005. I'm not sure, but I believe it's at the High Court. We'll get back to you on that.

Introductions now: I'm Daniel, a dog owner and animal lover. I was appalled to have read about Sheena's case in the newspapers in August. For me, I saw a lot of my own dog, Chewby, in Sheena's face (okay, I know Chewby looks happier - as I'm sure she is). Although I'm sure there are much worse situations, maybe even happening right now, Sheena's case struck a cord with me, and I feel galvanised to do as much as I can to ensure that her death and suffering will amount to something.

I wrote in to the newspapers (none were published, although many letters from other readers were), and I began spamming everyone on my address book to sign the petition. Along the way, I got in contact with Shoba, who was just filled with motivation to make a change. She surely has been a fantastic inspiration for the campaign.

I'd like to clarify something regarding the online petition. Many people, whether Malaysians or not, are concerned about including their IC numbers (or passport details etc.) on the petition. The reason why SPCA has asked for this is so that they can show the cabinet how serious the citizens are in making a change, and also to exclude the numbers of people who have signed more than once. If your heart is at peace with this, then do sign online. Otherwise, do sign manually and attend the event in January (details here).

Als0, do share your thoughts with us on the comments links below, or email us. We'll eventually begin to post thoughts and comments of readers on the blog itself.

Thank you.

Daniel

What We Can Do

I'm sure our animal friends out there appreciate all the help you can give them. Here are just some thoughts on how we can be a more caring society...and by that I mean masyarakat penyayang terhadap manusia dan juga haiwan.

Strange fact but true: A person who shows kindness exclusively to humans will not be consistent in his kindness. But a person who is kind towards animals will almost certainly show consistent kindness towards humans.

What We Can Do:

1. Think twice before you get a pet. It requires a great deal of time and care for the whole of its life.

2. If you do get a pet, learn about its needs, characteristics and personality. Most importantly neuter your pet.

3. Report cases of abuse. Please don't turn a blind eye when you see abuse. If Sheena's neighbour had not called we would never have known her story. Be persistent. Her neighbour called the Selangor Veterinary Department three times, but they never came. Finally she called SPCA and Sheena was rescued.

4. Educate others on the right way to treat animals. Even if you don’t get to speak to many people, your own actions will speak volumes.

5. Feed strays and give them the help they need when they are injured. Don’t ignore them. Worse, don’t hurt them.

6. Participate in SPCA programmes to help animals such as neutering and other activities. Check their website regularly to learn of activities at www.spca.org.my

7. Help with the Remembering Sheena campaign. Collect signatures manually and bring them to our rally on Saturday, January 21, 2006.

8. Encourage your children to participate in SPCA programmes. There is proven medical evidence that animals are therapeutic. Sick and abused children have improved tremendously when they bond with animals. There have also been reports of positive change in prisoners. Disabled people in the West go bungee jumping and do all the things they otherwise can’t do all because they have trained pets that assist them.

Love your pets. You're all they have.

Shoba.

Phase 1 of Remembering Sheena Campaign

Welcome to our blog!

Quite frankly, we wish this blog did not exist. We would rather Sheena had gone to a loving family from the moment she was born. We would rather she never experienced the pain and suffering she went through all her life, never understanding what she had done to deserve it.

But the painful reality is that she did endure great cruelty at the hands of her owner. There was no happy ending for Sheena.

Yet we are here today in the hope that Sheena can vicariously "live on" through the happy lives and happy endings of the many other animals this campaign can save.

So please, help us make a difference.

The first phase of this campaign is this:

1. Sign the petition to amend the inadequate laws currently in place for the protection of animals at www.spca.org.my

2. Download the petition forms and collect the signatures manually then attend the rally on Saturday, January 21, 2006 at 4:00 pm at SPCA Selangor, Jalan Kerja Ayer Lama, 68000 Ampang Jaya, Selangor (next to the International School Kuala Lumpur) where you are to:

a) hand in your forms at SPCA
b) collect the educational flyers
c) fill up your contact details so that we can keep you informed of the next phase.

The educational flyers will be distributed so you can see the approach we intend to take in educating the public on the proper treatment and care of all animals. We need volunteers to come forward and be trained as educators so that we can be prepared to give talks on animal awareness and train others at schools, colleges and various other places.

More and more the public are treating animals like objects without feelings. When they adopt a puppy or kitten they seem to think it is a toy to play with and discard when they are bored with it. When people understand that animals are very intelligent and are not very different from humans in many ways, we hope this mindset will change.

However that is for another day. For the moment phase one of our campaign is absolutely crucial in order for us to move on to other phases.

So please...make a date with us on Saturday, January 21, 2006 at 4:00 pm. Every single person who turns up on that day gives a voice to these voiceless creatures. Bring your friends and family and show you care.

We who are running these campaign are merely volunteers. We too have busy lives, work and family commitments but we realize that SPCA cannot go on fighting alone much longer. For every animal they save many more are waiting to see the light of day. Now they are being forced to move to Putrajaya. For all the struggles they endure daily, this is just one more burden they can do without.

Please don't think there will be others there and your absence won't make a difference. Come if only to tell your kids, "I care. And when you grow up I know you will too because you will remember this day you stood with me hand in hand outside SPCA because we cared."

Rosa Parks said: "I have learned that in order to bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try. Each and every one of us can make a difference."

If you know of places such as stores in a shopping mall, colleges, etc. that will allow us to put up campaign posters, please let us know at

remembersheena@gmail.com

See you on the 21st of January next year!

Shoba.

Remembering Sheena

Who was she?

Born seven years ago, Sheena was a beautiful German Shepherd who died recently. The hope and happiness of a puppy was dashed when Sheena ended up in the hands of an owner who failed to take care of her. Aside from neglecting her, Sheena’s owner decided to end her life in his old house, leaving no food and water for her “because she was already old”. When the Selangor Veterinary Services Department rescued her, she was found tied up, sleeping in her own faeces. Sheena had to be put to sleep, due to her malfunctioning organs caused by years of malnutrition.

Why we should remember her?

Sheena stands for all the abused and neglected pets in Malaysia. The 21st century has sadly seen an increase in reported abuse of domestic animals in our nation. Many of these pets are returned to their owners after the case is investigated, and prosecution takes place. The Animal Ordinance 1953 has a maximum of RM200 fine and/or 6 months imprisonment as penalty for abusing an animal. In Sheena’s case, her owner admitted guilt, and was fined RM100, not even a quarter of the price of a German Shepherd puppy, and definitely not even close to the price of her precious life. Sheena must be remembered, so that other animals won’t suffer.

This evidence of cruelty does not necessarily end with the animals. When we breed a race of abusive pet owners, we can rest assured there will be other social problems that will arise along with animal cruelty.

What You Can Do?

Please help us give a voice to the voiceless.

Please support our Remembering Sheena Campaign. In addition to signing the petition to amend the laws in Malaysia for harsher penalties on irresponsible animal care at www.spca.org.my, please collect the signatures manually and attend in person our special meeting at SPCA Selangor at Jalan Kerja Ayer Lama, 68000 Ampang Jaya, Selangor (next to the International School Kuala Lumpur) ON Saturday, January 21, 2006 AT 4:00 PM.

Contact friends of Sheena at: remembersheena@gmail.com