We’ve been fostering these three adorables for almost two months now, and they are ready to go to new homes.

Though my heart will break into a few thousand bite-size pieces.
Though potential adopters will be thoroughly grilled.
Though you will have to pry them from my hands, finger by finger.

Poppy (left) & Hunter (previously known as MuiMui, till we found out he was a he.)

Poppy @ Popeye @ Popichu

Hunter a.k.a Killer

So there I was, going to Ms Dora’s to pick up her stray cat for neutering. When I got there, I saw this tiny kitten trying to squeeze out of a shoe-box in their living room. Apparently, the elderly couple had witnessed Poppy’s sibling get crushed by a car at the morning market, and quickly picked Poppy up and brought him home - to be passed to me.

He has grown into a splendid little gentleman. He is very gentle, and very affectionate. He also loves to be held and cuddled, purring and blinking even when you stop to talk to him.

Hunter was found in the bushes opposite our house, early one morning when we were leaving for the Pulau Ketam rescue & relief work. He was tiny - about a month old, with a big voice hollering at the top of his lungs. I don’t think he was calling for help, because even when we settled him down in his cage he paced and cried frantically.

We popped Poppy into the cage, and the rest is history. Hunter immediately became silent, focusing all his energy on stalking Poppy. The two have been together for two months now, and are the best of friends. We earlier called Hunter MuiMui, thinking he was a girl and madly in love with Poppy. Wouldn’t that have been ideal? But no, Hunter is now obviously a boy. He is extremely active, quite fierce and a little primitive - he is a caveman, to Poppy’s gentleman. Hunter likes to hunt for socks, tissue, bags of food and drags them like dead prey around the living room. He would definitely need a patient and understanding family

Foxy Brown was an abandoned dog. Her owners apparently had turned her out when they got a new puppy, according to the Good Samaritan who called it in to the SPCA. We picked her up, and brought her back to the shelter - but she was painfully thin. So I took her home, and tried to feed her up. It’s been two months now, and she is not much fatter but a lot happier.

She is about 2 years old, and is medium-sized. She has soft, medium-length fur the colour of rust and a lush tail. She really does look like a fox, hence the name. Plus she’s gangster, like the rapper Foxy

She has one bad habit, but it’s enough to get her in serious trouble! See, Foxy is thin enough to slide through most front gates, and she will happily squeeze out and take a good run around the neighbourhood. You could chase her, but she only stops to give you a playful smile and tease you with a twirl, before she runs off at full-speed again. We have had to resort to leashing her when we are out at work, but really she needs a home where she will not be able to squeeze out at all.

She is very affectionate, and knows how to ’sit’ and ’shake hands’. She loves to eat boiled meat, but will also sulkily accept kibbles. Very alert, and very intelligent. Foxy is such a lovely dog, anyone who adopts her is surely very, very lucky to have such an amazing dog.

All of them have had their vaccinations, and will be neutered before being adopted out. Drop me a line at jacinta.spca@gmail.com or text me at 012-2881421 if you are interested in meeting either one of the three featured here !

Xo,
J

She calls me from the cold
Just when I was low, feeling short of stable
And all that she intends
And all she keeps inside, isn’t on the label
She says she’s ashamed
And she can take me for a while
And can I be a friend, we’ll forget the past
But maybe I’m not able
And I break at the bend
We’re here and now, but will we ever be again
‘Cause I have found
All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade
Away again

She dreams a champagne dream
Strawberry surprise, pink linen and white paper
Lavender and cream
Fields of butterflies, reality escapes her
She says that love is for fools that fall behind
And I’m somewhere in between
I never really know
A killer from a savior
‘Til I break at the bend
We’re here and now, but will we ever be again
‘Cause I have found
All that shimmers in this world is sure to fade
Away again
It’s too far away for me to hold
It’s too far away….
Guess I’ll let it go

I loved this song. Shimmer, by Fuel. Loved it so much that it inspired a sweaty and hoarse short story by a then 16-year-old me - angry, lonely, and lovely in my innocence.

I’m still loving this song. Sing it to me the next time you see me, and watch me s h i n e.

Shiny Happy People.

What a week it has been. On Sunday, Mo and myself stayed in for a much-needed break from work and all other things hectic. We found ourselves lounging around, talking about babies, must-have vacations and our dream project for pet owners (under wraps for now!).

A lot is being said on blogs, but I think given time and first-hand experience, people can decide for themselves what is right, and what is wrong. I giggled when Mo said let pigs play in the mud - we don’t need to join in the mud-slinging but we certainly can watch the fun

Last night, we watched a documentary about the history of beatboxing in Germany called ‘Love, Peace & Beatbox’. It’s just off the hook – talk about skills!! We also watched this Korean kid KrnFx beatboxing on YouTube

Am rushing off a tonne of work before I leave for the Humane Education workshop in Bangkok on Saturday. Will be there for almost a week. Will be meeting up with Dr Nat (who used to work at Klinik Kembiri) who is now attached to WSPA Asia as a consultant for Companion Animals! Whether when she was here with us or way over there – she has always been very helpful and supportive. *air kisses to nuttynat*

Hi guys !

We have been invited to be a guest speaker at Perspektif Kita. We will be discussing the Pulau Ketam dog overpopulation crisis tomorrow with other panelists from MP Klang and DVS. This pre-recorded talk show is a highly interactive show between anchor, panellists and audience discussing debatable issues, intellectual discourse and sharing of views on all aspects of current and global issues, may it be social, politics, entertainment or economy – the whole nine yards that is of interest of the civil society.

Perspektif Kita is a one hour talk show, anchored by Syed Farradino Omar, on air every Saturday, 9pm.

The topic of discussion with SPCA Selangor would be “Memelihara Kebajikan Haiwan”. Areas of discussion would be on the ethical treatment of animals by owners and mass, awareness of responsibilities of having pets.

We would love to have some of you come to participate as the live audience, and ask questions and share your views about animal welfare in our country.

Saturday June 6th, 10 am
Studio 2, Astro
Bukit Jalil
(Please call or text me at 012-2881421 when you get there)

Dress code : Formal casual - please avoid wearing white, pin stripes and polka-dots, flip-flops/open toe shoes.

All participants must be above 12 years old. Please do come by 9.30am, we look forward to seeing you there. The producer also promises a scrumptious F & B provision

Love,
j

Monday starts with a flask of coffee. Or two.

Though on an average week all the staff are already over-worked, the last few weeks have taken our workloads to a whole different dimension. We are exhausted, and worn out - but anyone who is into animal rescue or animal welfare work can attest to the fact that there is NEVER a free moment when it comes to helping animals.

Shelter
June will see us pushing on in many fronts. While the shelter is dealing with an alarming surge in the surrender rate (900 in May alone), we’re looking for new avenues to highlight adoption as well as finalising a shopping centre as the location for our next AdoptionFest. We just had our Jumble Sale yesterday, which saw all our regular volunteers and an army of new ones helping sell donated items to raise funds for the Animal Shelter. Thanks to everyones efforts, we managed to raise more then RM5,500 in a few hours! We are also very, very close to formally acquiring the land we’re on.

Education
We are working with the good folks at INTI College, who are in the process of setting up an Animal Welfare Society (AWS) this month. We will be participating in a week-long education/ awareness booth from the 8th-12th June at their campus, as well as conducting a few educational talks and activities. We’re also facilitating several other colleges and high-schools who chose to work with us for their Moral/ Community Service projects - so nice to meet these young people who are passionate about animals!

Workshops & Seminars
I’ll be representing us at the WSPA Humane Education Workshop in Bangkok from the 14th-18th June. Really looking forward to learning and sharing with the participants from last year! A few of us will also be attending the 3-day Zoo Check workshop jointly organised by ACRES from Singapore (www.acres.org.sg) and WSPA from 23rd-26th June in KL. Topics covered would include history of zoos, the welfare and needs of animals in captivity, introduction to abnormal and stereotypic behaviours, and developing a ZooCheck campaign. As we work towards slowly enlarging our scope of work beyond just companion animals, this seminar will certainly be an eye-opener. Looking forward to seeing Louis and Amy again!

We’ll also be at the puppy.com.my Malaysia Dog Day on the 28th at Chin Woo Stadium, can’t wait.

Pulau Ketam
We’re busy making arrangements for our PK campaign on the 27th & 28th June. Lots of logistics to be taken care of, as well as coordination of our resources. This is not our first Kempen Kembiri, but this is the FIRST time we’re carrying out a campaign on this scale and under these very pressing circumstances. We will need support from all our donors, volunteers and staff, and we are latched on to both the DVS and MPK as partners in this endeavour. We are happy to work with any animal rescuers who offer their help for this campaign. This mess must be cleaned up together.

Our rescue team will also be back at Pulau Selat Kering this week. Please pray for their safety, and for the dogs who are still in the mangroves.

Our 12 rescued dogs are recovering well with us, as well as the wounded dog we rescued from
the waters under the walkways in Pulau Ketam. We named him Mr Miracle. The villagers said he is a ferocious dog, but Murugan and Jorg handled him with ease. He is such a good boy.

Will be updating the website later with Mr Miracle’s story as well as latest pictures and updates of our rescued dogs!

Also, we heard that Kuning was returned over the weekend. Just scanned the blogs and forums and noticed this hasn’t been reported yet, will wait for more updates. We hope the big boy is safe and healthy, and happy.

Love,
j

Apparently the news of the midnight visit spread, and we received calls from members of the media on Thursday night requesting for the inside scoop and police report.

A quick press statement was prepared, and passed to the media in the morning at 11am when they came by. To my amusement, the Guang Ming reporter told me that upon calling Furry Friends Farm for a comment on the midnight visit, they had told her that I (Jacinta) had been ‘pressured by a staff from FFF and finally ‘confessed’ that SPCA Selangor ‘stole Kuning’. Very interesting, and very imaginative. But to set the record straight - I did not say that, simple because SPCA did not take dear Kuning. I wasn’t even angry - to be honest nothing really surprises me anymore, especially after all the sensationalized happenings in recent weeks. I thought their claim was really quite strange, but I was quite happy to have it published either way. Give a person enough rope, and they will hang themselves

Here is a summary of the Press Statement;

-starts-
SPCA Selangor’s message to all animal rescuers, animal lovers and the public

The prevention of cruelty to animals and the rescue of abandoned animals who have no voice , is indeed a noble cause that develops kindness and compassion in people. In all good causes there will be transgressions by extremist groups who take matters into their own hands, not adhering to proper procedures in their efforts.

SPCA Selangor urges all animal rescuers to respect the privacy of all in their cause and to put an end to bickering that often stems from unwarranted sources. Sensationalising and distorting an issue, slandering of character and general misinformation appears unmoderated on various blogs and forums online.

Visit At Midnight To SPCA Volunteers House

SPCA is extremely distressed that Furry Friends Farm (FFF) supporter and volunteer, Daniel together with YB Edward Lee of MBPJ and his son Simon and Mark (from MBPJ) went to an SPCA volunteer Jorg Bandlow’s house at almost midnight on Wednesday, 27th of May 2009.
The group harassed Jorg, and his wife an SPCA employee, Shahrul Baharin. The couple are dedicated animal rescuers and have rescued 13 dogs and several cats that share their humble home. Shahrul, who is 3 months pregnant, is suffering from the trauma of this intimidation. Shahrul has lodged a police report (attached) that they harassed her and her husband, alleging that Jorg had stolen a dog called Kuning from Pulau Selat Kering, where the SPCA Selangor rescue and relief team were rescuing abandoned dogs. Jorg had told them that he did not take the dog, and the visitors were allowed to take a tour of the house to search for him – he was not there as stated.

Clarifying rumours that have appeared in blogs and forums

1. Rumors About FFF Eviction
Many rumors are circulating that SPCA Selangor is trying to influence the owner of the Furry Friends Farm land to evict them. However, to the contrary – The owner has been contacting SPCA Selangor since late last year to help her, as she had been trying unsuccessfully to get FFF to move away. The owner of the property said she was only worried about the welfare of the 80 plus dogs there, and asked SPCA Selangor if they could take the dogs in. However, SPCA declined as our shelter is always full, and we are constantly overwhelmed with the amount of animals being surrendered here. We leave it to the owner to decide how she wants to proceed.

2. Trespassers to FFF
There are also allegations that SPCA Selangor is involved in trespassing into the FFF compound in the last few weeks, and this is untrue. We are not aware of who has been going in, and they allege that someone has gone in and released all the dogs from their cages.

-ends-

Kempen Kembiri @ Pulau Ketam
We are excited about the education/ neutering campaign we are planning for residents of Pulau Ketam on the 27th & 28th June 2009, working with the Dept of Vet Services! Our team at Klinik Kembiri have just finished the flyers, and will be going to reccie PK next week to find a suitable location for the surgery and educational presentations. To the many, many volunteers who have called and e-mailed us in the last few weeks- we will be in touch with you next week to update you on your roles in this Kempen Kembiri project! We also have to do a dog population survey prior to the Kempen Kembiri, to obtain a more accurate number of island dogs so we know the scope and magnitude of the work to be done. With your support, we can make a difference for the dogs at PK! In the meantime, our rescue & relief team will return to Pulau Selat Kering early next week, hoping to find the locations of more dogs and bring them home.

Are you ready to rumble in the jumble?
It’s a Saturday night, and we just got back from dinner. Am extremely tired, but psyched for our Jumble Sale tomorrow. That’s right, don’t forget - we’ll be having a tumble in the jumble tomorrow (31st May 2009) from 10am-1pm @ the SPCA Selangor Animal Shelter in Ampang Jaya. Lots of great second-hand bargains, all proceeds go to the Animal Shelter! I personally am a BIG FAN of Jumble Sales and Flea Markets; unique and quirky items for really cheap, and you help save the world by re-using old items instead of buying new ones. You can expect lots of clothes, shoes, bags, books, magazines, household items, electric & electronic items, furniture, collectibles & antiques, toys, plants, paintings and so much more. See you guys there tomorrow, nice and early!

Xo,
j

Am sitting here typing with fat Balooba on the dining table, wrestling with the power plug. It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged as you can see, and this is just my small voice speaking in a crowd of blogs, forums and twitters.

Last night, a group of people stood outside our volunteer Jorgs house. They said they were looking for Kuning, and knew Jorg had him. It was almost 12 midnight. Jorg and his pregnant wife were shocked, and had no reason to even let these people in but they did - trusting people as they were. In came a Selangor State Assemblyman, Furry Friends Farm volunteer Daniel and a few other people who looked to be from MBPJ. Bear in mind, the couple stay in an area under the jurisdiction of DBKL, so go figure.

They sat and told Jorg that Kuning has to be returned to the kelong, as he was vital for their rescue work. The rescue work had stopped because since Kuning dissappeared, there were no more dogs to be seen on the island. Jorg told them clearly that he did not take Kuning, which they were still unsatisfied with. The whole ‘entourage’ was treated to a tour of his small home - inside and out - which 8 dogs, 3 puppies and several cats call home. They are all rescued animals. I can just imagine their faces, causing so much trouble at midnight for a couple who only knew how to help homeless animals.

Jorg had more information to share on this dog which we all love and miss.From what we know of Jorg, he doesn’t mince his words and gets straight to the point.

According to him (and we found out this had been witnessed by other volunteers in the last 3 weeks), the kelong workers were not particularly fond of Kuning. One in particular was seen several times kicking Kuning roughly off the fish-farm into the water. In the hot sun or in the pouring rain, Kuning and Hitam are never allowed into the wooden cabin where the workers take shelter. While Hitam runs quickly to hide under his usual spot under another ‘hut’, Kuning is left outside on the landing without any shelter, to brave the weather and stormy seas on his own. One of the workers had also complained that Kuning was not a good guard dog, and they didn’t like him as much as they liked Hitam. He also said he is willing to sell Kuning for RM1000, ironically the same amount being paid by a certain volunteer from FFF for his return. Also, while it has been widely reported that Kuning is one of the 300 abandoned dogs, who was rescued by the kelong - let it be known that he isn’t. We have know for quite awhile that Kuning is actually a Pulau Ketam dog, who happened to get into the kelong workers boat two months ago. All this contrary to what you may have read online somewhere, this information comes from the workers themselves.

Jorg and Murugan who have been out for rescue work on 14 days and counting, find it very puzzling that on blogs, forums, twitter and Facebook certain parties claim that Kuning was the ONLY hope of rescuing the other dogs abandoned on the island - and that without him, the rescue work is futile. People who have never even been out to the island or seen Kuning now proclaim loudly that until he is found, all hope is lost for the other dogs. Strikes us as a strange emotional twist thrown into the actual simple case of a missing dog. It’s a longshot - but could it possibly be that these rescuers actually can’t catch any more dogs because we’ve moved our dog-traps to the other island? Point to ponder.

The fact of the matter; now that 30 dogs have been rescued from the main area the rescue efforts have been concentrated in, there are no more dogs in that area. SPCA last week with the help and permission of a forest ranger went into inlets and tributaries in the neighbouring island, where there were clearly signs of more dogs. Our traps have been moved there, and are being monitored by other workers in the area. On Sunday, 5 dogs were seen barking at a monitor lizard in the mud - and we hope we will be able to rescue and remove them soon.

Accusations have been flying against a certain ‘ORG’ or ‘Society’ (that must be us), ever since we even started our rescue work weeks ago. Honestly, we don’t have the time to log in to forums and blogs all the time, but volunteers and supporters make it a point to call, email or text whenever they come across some accusation or other coming our way (we thank you for this, please keep these coming). Many of these supporters even make it a point to quickly save these defaming posts for future reference. I think its very sad that people claiming to be volunteers of certain organisations seem to write as they please, without even stopping to think how it will in the end reflect badly not on themselves, but on the organisations they claim to support.

Please don’t believe the hype. To all the random people who stumbled in here, you don’t have to believe me. But to those of you who know me as a person, you will know exactly what I mean.

So.

Instead of talking about myself on Facebook, I’m going to go back to my roots. I love this blog thingthing, so I am gonna try to be nice to it from now on.

Thank you, JD and weblogs.us for letting me keep this account, lazy blogger though I may be.

Stay tuned (which is jacintaspeak for ‘ I’m too lazy to do this update now, but I hope I will be inspired at some point in the future to do it’) for more.

Xo
j

So, its been a year since we last met.

To make up for the lapse, here are some pictures of youknowwhat which happened to us youknowwhen.

I’m happy.
Managed to return to Guangzhou to watch my class kids graduate from kindergarten.
Working at the local SPCA.
Just Married.
Waiting to move into our new, little house in Subang Jaya.

Also, just decided to put the word out that I’m a graphic designer for hire again. Looking to add to my portfolio, and supplement my income of course. Holler at me if you think I can be of any help

Lovelove,
J

I can’t believe I can access my blog again. Thank you, whoever unblocked me…

Will be posting more often with more pictures when ‘got time’.

Whoever is still faithfully coming back here : You are the Ish. YaY.