Looking For A Home For Jasper

The same day I returned from the Furry Friends Farm, my brother, Anoo, rescued a cat that was caught on the road divider along the LDP Highway. The cat was terrified at the heavy traffic on both side. My brother stopped his car on the highway so he and his girlfriend could rescue the cat. Needless to say there was much honking but as it was for a good cause, they just apologized and did their best to quickly rescue the cat.

When they managed to get hold of it, they saw that he was bleeding slightly from the nose. They took him to a vet who found one tooth had broken but apart from that his nose seemed fine.

That was a week ago. As the cat's foster mother I named him Jasper. Jasper is perfectly fine now. He is very handsome. He has a deep burgundy fur (an unusual reddish tone) and his eyes are turquoise blue. I thought my Moggie had the most beautiful blue eyes, but Jasper's are pretty unsual too. His are kind of blue green -very unusual.



He was found in the Kelana Jaya part of the LDP. If you think you know who he belongs to or would like to adopt Jasper, please contact 03-5637 4594.

Furry Friends Farm In The News

This article below was out in the STAR Metro section on November 13, 2006.

A FARM FOR ANIMALS TO THRIVE

BY JACLYN SHARMELEE and PIAREE RAJANDRAN
metro@thestar.com.my

THE Furry Friends Farm is a one of a kind shelter for animals.

Sited amid the greenery of Kundang village in Sungai Buloh, in Kuala Lumpur , it offers 1.2ha of land for stray and abandoned dogs and cats to run and play freely.

Animal welfare education officer Sabrina Yeap, who works at an animal medical centre in Jalan Tun Razak, started the farm with couple Jimmy and Lucia Foo.

On the right is Sabrina Yeap with a poodle that she rescued from Puchong recently.

The farm was opened on Oct 4, to mark World Animal Day. Currently, they have just three workers.

Backed by 15 years of working experience with the Society for the Prevention of Animals (SPCA) and lots of encouragement from friends, she decided to set up the home to "rehabilitate" abandoned animals to become pets and companions.

The farm provides for the animals to roam free in a garden-like setting rather then be kept in shelters or within small and closed compounds.

On the right is photo of two workers seeing to the chilli plants growing at the farm.

Currently, there is just one dog, a stray that Yeap had picked up (Note from RSC: since this article came out Sabrina has been inundated with calls and the Farm is now full of animals)

She said she was confident that the farm would receive public support in time to come.

She added that the farm would have a fishpond and there are also plans to rear goats there.

Yeap said the farm did not impose any fee on animals that were taken for adoption and that she welcomed contributions – in kind – to help in the upkeep of the farm.

However, she added that they intend to make the farm self-supporting rather than depend on public donations.

This would be done by selling their own homemade dog shampoo as well as cakes and vegetables from their farm to the public.

“We also plan to rear free-range chickens and sell their eggs,” said Yeap, adding that they intend to educate children and give them a hands-on experience with animals as well as teach them to care for the animals. The farm has started its own blog as a tribute to an abandoned dog called Sheena.

Yeap said the website, which seeks to create more awareness about the “ethical treatment of animals”, can be accessed at remeberingsheena.blogspot.com

Sheena was abandoned in August 2005 by her owner and was left to starve for many days before she was rescued by the SPCA, who found her tied and sleeping in her own faeces. However the rescue came too late. Sheena had to be put to sleep on Aug 18, 2005.





On the right are the pet care products from Furry Friends Farm.

Furry Friends Farm - A Dream Come True

It is with the greatest joy I announce the arrival of Furry Friends Farm (FFF) - a dream come true for all animal lovers and of course - for the animals themselves. Seven members who have been great supporters of RSC and animal welfare and myself went to the farm on November 18.















Here we are in the pix above (from left to right) - Davina Goh, Raihana Souket Ali, (sorry skip the lady with sunglasses on the front of her blouse and husband to her left. Can't remember their names. They came to adopt a dog and not part of our team), continue with Cynthia Hassan, Nick Josh Karean, Sabrina Yeap, Denise Pang and finally Uma Mahendran. The rest of the photos scattered over this blog were taken by me and Nick during the trip.


This farm is run by an elderly couple, Jimmy and his wife, Lucia with the help of Sabrina Yeap formerly animal abuse investigator with the SPCA Selangor. For years all of us have read about Sabrina's tireless work for animals. She is the one that urged the DVS to help Sheena the German Shepherd and carried her frail body out of the house where she was kept starving and tied up.















Now she has joined this elderly couple to help them run the Farm to turn it into a working farm and animal shelter for strays and abandoned pets.


Furry Friends Farm is not just any animal shelter. RSC is tired of seeing animal shelters that just vegetate in one place, waiting for a good Samaritan to bring in a stray only for them to euthanize the stray.

Such shelters seem to be very good at keeping a handful of animals for adoption and to pose for photos for the Press so that the public can keep donating more money to these shelters. There is nothing pro-active that they are doing. Hardly anything to stop abuse, nothing to educate the public and now they have even started charging good Samaritans for bringing in rescued animals.















Enough about these inactive shelters and let's talk about one that should be a model shelter - the Furry Friends Farm. It is unique for these reasons:

1. It has a no-kill policy for all animals.

2. It works with the Independent Pet Rescuers (IPR) who have kindly allowed FFF to have the animals from the shelter at their adoption booth on Saturdays at Plaza Damas, Sri Hartamas. FFF too helps out IPR by giving some of the rescued animals temporary shelter before finding loving homes for them. If you would like to adopt please also go to the Farm or go to www.rescue2rehome.blogspot.com

3. It aims to be self-sustaining by growing chillies, vegetables, producing their own neem and papaya shampoos and many other products to generate income that will go back into feeding and caring for the animals.

4. Sabrina is actively involved in educating the public through many programmes and media coverage. One such coverage was an article featured in Sin Chew in November on animal therapy programmes. The story was about two different people whose health were medically certified to have improved tremendously by caring for animals. Sabrina is hoping to educate the public more about this and a doctor from Hong Kong will be down to give additional training on this matter.

5. FFF engages the public to actively participate in animal welfare through its own programmes and through RSC's activities. FFF refuses to be a dumping ground for abandoned pets and strays and calls on every individual to take responsibility for their pets. If a person rescues a stray then help the work of FFF by spaying and then setting up for adoption through the method described in No.2 above. Please don't just dump animals at FFF without helping out in some way.

If everyone puts in a little bit of help, we will see a great change in Malaysian society. FFF has already paved the way.















Will you now lend a hand to these brave people (Jimmy, Lucia and Sabrina Yeap) who have dared to take this great leap for all animals?

How About Meals On Wheels For Malaysia?

RSC is thrilled that the wonderful Meals On Wheels Association of America that brings meals and helps senior citizens so feeble and poor that they need help is now ensuring these people don't have to give up their pets for this reason. Well done! Please read article below. To learn more about Meals On Wheels go to http://www.mowaa.org/








By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer
Thu Nov 23

FORT WORTH, Texas - When 87-year-old Lucille Mann knits, her 2 1/2-pound dog Pepper curls up beside her or nuzzles in her lap.

"I just don't know what I'd do without her because she's my life," she said.

Realizing the two are inseparable, Meals On Wheels of Tarrant County not only delivers daily meals to Mann, but also drops off some pet food for her treasured Chihuahua.

About a fourth of the Fort Worth chapter's 400 clients receive free pet food in addition to daily meals. The chapter started providing cat and dog food five years ago after volunteers noticed a growing number of clients feeding pets from their own plates.

This holiday season, the Meals On Wheels Association of America and Banfield, The Pet Hospital are teaming up to help needy seniors nationwide feed their pets.

They hope to collect 1 million pounds of critter vittles at 575 Banfield veterinary hospitals across the country during a two-month pet food drive called "A Season of Suppers." Since the cause started earlier this month, donation boxes have been filling up quickly, so volunteers are already making deliveries.

"The holiday time is when there is a more acute awareness of people in need, especially seniors who may not have other relatives and are really more isolated than the general population," said Sandy Campbell, president of Banfield Charitable Trust, the veterinary practice's nonprofit organization.

Portland, Ore.-based Banfield and Meals On Wheels also are accepting monetary donations in hopes of raising $100,000 for the meal-delivery agency's "We All Love Our Pets" program. The pet food program already helps seniors in Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Sacramento, Calif. and the agency would like to expand into other communities.

"It's truly awesome they're doing this," said Janine Brown, program manager of senior nutrition services at the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance. "Not only do seniors not have to share their food, which isn't healthy for pets, but they can keep the limited amount of income for their medicine and electric bills."

Elizabeth Escontrias and her brother, Manuel Valle, who live in Fort Worth, said their lives are enriched by their several cats and five small dogs, including a feisty 11-year-old Chihuahua named Bad Girl whose tongue always hangs out.

But feeding them is difficult on a fixed income, they said.

"I'd have to give them away if they (Meals On Wheels) didn't help me," said Escontrias, 68. "Our animals are just like family. They're our little children."

Meals On Wheels provides food for homebound people age 60 and older. Many are low-income, although there is no minimum income requirement.

Though the priority is providing meals to seniors — four in 10 Meals on Wheels chapters nationwide have waiting lists — the agency says the pet food program improves the quality of life for its clients.

"For most of our clients, their pet is probably the most important thing in their lives. It's their family and the only friendly face they see," said Enid A. Borden, CEO of Meals On Wheels Association of America. "That's why this program is so important."

Sign Petition If You Are Outraged By The Murder Of Mr Eng's 13 Dogs By Seremban Municipal Council, in Malaysia

Nick Josh Karean and his team have put up a Petition opposing the murder of Mr Eng Her Sun's dogs by the Seremban Municipal Council. This Petition will be sent to the Prime Minister.

RSC will not explain who Mr Eng is as everyone in Malaysia knows about this poor man who had his dogs cruelly gunned down before his eyes.

On the left is the sad photo of Mr Eng trying to make an escape with some of his dogs to protect them from being murdered. If for some reason you haven't heard, go to the link to sign the Petition below:


http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/947146655

RSC calls upon all Malaysians to sign the Petition. Please click on link above to read more and sign.

For those of you who still believe Mr Eng was an animal hoarder who should not be supported, think carefully first about the options anyone who loves animals have in helping a suffering animal in Malaysia.

In Malaysia the laws don't protect animals. The government bodies that have the authority to act like the Department of Veterinary Services, the local councils and for wildlife, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks are hopeless in protecting them and in many cases are themselves guilty of abuse.

It is the Department of Veterinary Services that is supposed to prosecute the Seremban Municipal Council for animal abuse when their officers massacred Mr Eng's dogs. Instead the Bar Council and independent lawyers who have compassion for animals are doing so.

Few NGOs are sincere enough to speak up for these animals. Some are afraid to speak up for fear it will hurt their working relationship with these bodies named above.

In a country where the government doesn't protect animals, the shelters are putting them down and pet shops and breeders motivated by MONEY are given a free hand to breed more animals for people to dump on the streets and abuse, can you blame Mr Eng for doing what he could to help strays?

Only those of you out there who have tried to help strays or rescued pets from abuse in Malaysia will understand what RSC is saying here.

So now will you sign the Petition?