Pulau Ketam Dogs Rescue In The Star Weekender Today

Please read my story in the Star today on the Pulau Ketam dog dumping issue. Worthwhile getting the print as well:

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/5/30/lifefocus/3980146&sec=lifefocus

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/5/30/lifefocus/3980153&sec=lifefocus

Malaysia Dog Day 2009

MALAYSIA DOG DAY 2009

Date : June 28th , 2009
Venue : Chin Woo Stadium, Kuala Lumpur
Time : 8:30am - 4:30pm
Admission : Free

The event is open to all dogs lovers. Owner of Mixed Breeds and Pure Breeds dog and their dogs, their Family , are welcome. First time held in a fully air-conditioned indoor stadium. Program includes various competitions and lucky draw.

Chin Woo Stadium is in the vicinity of Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara Kuala Lumpur.

Address:
Chin Woo Stadium, Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur.

Vet Killed My Cat

This complaint below was taken from Allo' Expat Malaysia forum:

We sent our 2 lovely cats and a dog for boarding over the xmas holidays. It was a 2 week holiday. Normally we would have our amah feed the cats at home while we send the dog for boarding if it was just a couple of days, but this was 2 weeks. and our amah was also celebrating x'mas too. so off we sent them to our vet for a two week boarding.

We picked them up as soon as we got home, the vet with a stupid grin sat behind the counter and said 'oh, i have a very interesting story to tell. your cat escaped on x'mas day. but we found him again, killed by our guard dogs.'

I couldn't believe my ears. was he telling us a joke? the method of delivery was so insensitive. 'we don't know how he escaped. there are 35 other cats that time. we have tried our best to take care of him.'

I can't believe it....I still can't believe. I lost my cat over christmas. I can't even write about this. I just want people to know, this can happen in a vet or boarding, and they can treat it like as if its just another thing. He had the nerve to say 'I have 2 other cats, I can give one to you if you want.'.

I can't believe this guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you are in living in Miri, remember this - Live Animals Center. He was grinning while he was delivering the message, and he didn't even have the decency to stand up, walk around the counter to greet us and say 'I'm sorry, I have an unpleasant news.' We asked his wife why was he grinning, she said, he was trying to make it 'light'.

My cat was killed by their guard dogs...in their own words..'we found the carcass on the 27th December'. We didn't receive any calls. Not then, not ever, we learnt the news only on the day we went to pick the pets up.

This is not acceptable! And we souldn't allow such mediocre pet services to go on. I'm sharing this for you lot with pets. I've shared this with other forum and have found out that incidences like this happens all over Malaysia (KL and Penang in particular). SO next time you visit your vet or your pet store, look around the facilities, more important if you're boarding them or having them treated there. Some vets are so laxed and profit driven, with no intent to care for the pets but instead sees them as live/stock animals and nothing more. This vet had the nerve to say 'no problem, we have 2 cats that you can chose and have for exchange.'.

Pet care has a long way to go from those available in UK, states and Australia. Sadly, my cat, Baloo, has suffered the worse. :(

Pulau Ketam sent 300 stray dogs to a remote island to starve to death. Please help with rescue!

The residents of Pulau Ketam sent some 300 stray dogs to exile on a remote island where the harsh conditions almost certainly guarantee a horrible death. Of the 300 dogs sent there, more than three-quarters are presumed to be already dead. I traveled to the island with Sabrina Yeap of Furry Friends Farm and managed to save only one dog on this reconnaissance trip. We did see several other starving and dying dogs along the mangrove shore.

I am mounting an urgent rescue mission to capture and transport the remaining survivors back to Sabrina's Furry Friends Farm animal shelter. But time is running out and there might be only skeletons and carcasses left to collect on our next trip. Boat hire is expensive there. It is a tourist area and it has already cost me a few hundred ringgit for boat hire alone, so far. The rescued dogs cannot be transported on the regular ferries.

Almost nobody will lift a finger to help without a fee. This is understandable. The locals are already shaking their heads in disbelief that there are outsiders who want to save the animals they so casually discarded. Instead of pointing fingers and antagonising them, we need their co-operation to help save the unfortunate creatures. In the process, we also hope to educate the islanders on better treatment of animals. It would be an impossible mission if we didn't win their hearts.

If you are unable to help directly, please help by forwarding this appeal to other compassionate folks who you feel might be able to make some monetary contributions.

Apart from boat hire, we need money to buy cages, to pay people to help catch them, to hire land transport to send the rescued animals to veterinary clinics, pay for vet fees, send the recovered ones to the shelter and to feed and house them for life. I can go on!

To donate or help, e-mail TV Smith at tvsmith@mycen.com.my or Sabrina Yeap at yeapwen@yahoo.com

Fellow bloggers, you can also help by embedding the appeal poster above to your blog and linking to http://www.mycen.com.my/rescue

We are aware it is a monumental task and appreciate all forms of support, assistance, suggestions, encouragement and your prayers.

Thank you and don't forget to view the pictures of the dogs in order to appreciate their plight.

TV Smith

3rd May 2009