Article: Champion of the oppressed

Saturday April 11, 2009

Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better
www.malaysiandogsdeservebetter.blogspot.com

Log on to this site, and you will be greeted by Sharmini Popiko Sasha, a female mongrel who is the face of this project which champions the welfare of Malaysian canines.

It even says on the top of the blog that: “this blog was created by a dog to help other dogs”.

Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better came about because one of the directors of Community Development and Integration Initiative (CDII) — an NGO dedicated to welfare programmes for the poor, needy and disabled — couldn’t stand seeing so many homeless dogs roaming the streets.

“The project became a reality last year after an incident in which a dog was dragged out through the gates of an empty house by local council workers in Subang Jaya,” explained Clarance Chua, a volunteer.

“That’s when we decided that these helpless creatures needed a voice, someone to look out for and stand up for them. We mostly rescue dogs from the local pounds, as well as off the streets, and bring them to our panel clinic where they are neutered, vaccinated and treated before being put up for adoption. We seek adopters through advertisements as well as through adoption drives,” said Chua, 30, a lawyer by training.

Recently, they held a successful adoption drive at NZX Mall in Ara Damansara, and this has convinced them to persevere with the programme. There are a number of local issues that they are currently trying to address.

“We are troubled by the way stray dogs are caught by companies engaged by local councils. A large number of these dogs have collars! This raises a question as to how the dogs ended up on the streets.

“We have also rescued pedigrees which were abandoned because of genetic skin disorders. We hope the local authorities will take note of unlicensed breeders who are flooding the market with pedigrees through pet shops.

“There are even a few pet shops that offer mating services! This is like operating a canine prostitution den. We hope the local authorities will seriously look into these issues instead of expanding their dog-catching activities,” sai d Chua.

Chua has one important advice for all canine owners: “Please neuter your dogs, and please adopt a homeless animal instead of buying one. The breeding will stop only when the buying does”.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Lifestyle: Focus 11 April 2009