We love Freebieeees !

This is the best thing I like about the annual Pet Expo in Mid Valley...

Apart from dog & cat food samples, I also got shampoo, mags and 2 free fish! My favourite Betta (Fighting Fish) !

Well not everything is free; I did went a bit crazy buying Cat food, canned food, toys & mags etc...

These rubber toys practically lasts forever! Love em' !

Bailey: "What da heck .... ?!"

Poods: "Nom Nom Nommmm...."

The last time I gave Poodley a soft toy was a Poodle toy bought from the Charity Shop... It has since spotting a massive hole on top of it's head. Some internal fluff gone too, hence I don't think these two fellas can handle soft cuddly toys, it's rubber for now, thank you ...

Pipoka... at last.....

This little white/orange kitten came to us around January 2010... The man who's been feeding this kitten sent an enquiry one day asking for advise on whether or not to put this kitten to sleep or send it in for surgery. He claimed he's neighbour had hit the kitten causing it's back legs to be limping...

I didn't know why I made an exception for this one, although I did explain to this guy if the injuries is severe we will have to do the neccessary...

So he met me in front of Starbucks Times Square and I bundled the little fighter into the car as the guy made a tearful goodbye... Kitten was meow-ing away... I thought he doesnt look too bad, maybe he'll be alright?

As luck would have it, the Vets thought there was probably no fracture and little kitten was put on anti-inflammation medicine....

Bright and playful, lo and behold, our fighter was up and running in three weeks time!

Baby Pipoka having a Photoshoot by our Intern, Catarina

When Pipoka was 3 months old...

Our then Intern, Catarina was so taken by this little gangster and named him "Pipoka" which means Popcorn in Portugese, an apprent favourite name for Pets in Portugal!

Pipoka spent many nights sleeping in Catarina's room... messing around with electric cables much to Catarina's annoyance and harassing everything in sight, he's particular favourite; Dried Dead Frogs; which my dear friend decsribes as killing the dead dried frogs twelve times over!

Pipoka... A hit with the Ladies! ;)

Star studded life; Pipoka with Amber Chia

We had tried to rehome Pipoka in the past few events but with no success. Then of course, any adoptions vetted through me barely has a high success rate! I'm one of the most strict rehomers when it comes to choosing a New Home for Animals. I interrogate and dig up all the dirt I can. Of course, it's not a fault finding mission but it's better to find out the truth than be sorry later. I also threaten bodily harm if they do anything funny to the Animals. Half kidding.

The point is not quantity but quality. My rehoming strategy is to talk people out of adopting. If they are serious and keen about adopting they will convince me that they will do their best to provide a good life for this animal.

Finally, we brought Pipoka for the Pet Expo in June. My colleague told me a guy with a gentle personality was very taken with Pipoka and begged to adopt him! Pipoka is he's first cat and naturally he had a lot of question. Luckily he only came to pick Pipoka up the next day, giving us enough time to say goodbye.

I was prepared to refund the adoption fees if I found him any dodgy!

Then he came, bought a fancy looking Cat carrier and all the other cat gear! :-)

It was a bag of mixed emotions. He seemed a nice guy and all of us in the office will miss Pipoka madly!

So we all said our goodbye, I placed him the carrier and shed a tear.

We will miss you and love you always, Pipoka!

As hard as it is, to let go...

Two of my foster babies found a new home over the weekend... My wish had come true....

Before I left home, I put Baby in the carrier and jokingly told Mama Cat, "Ok let's find Baby a rich family today!" Mama gave Baby a little sniff as though she understood.

Saying goodbye to Baby....

Baby sitting nervously huddled together with Joe & Tinkerbell...

Of course it was a hard decision to let go.

I never wanted to foster any animals as this was the feeling I dreaded the most; Sending them away.

It would be selfish to be keeping my fosters and even more heartless to be depriving them of a chance to go to a good home and loving family... So, when I saw this girl who convinced me that she will take good care of Baby, I knew I had to let Baby go...

It was around March that I met Mama Cat and her three kittens at our usual Murni Restaurant. The Kakak saw me and told me to take the Mama and her litter away... She had built a temporary shed for them out of canvas and some cardboard boxes at the backlane. The babies were so small , eyes unopened wriggling away. One looked particularly tiny and dehydrated. Not good.

True enough, it died the minute it was brought back.

Left with two kittens, Mama Cat was doing a fantastic job... until one day, one of the kittens died mysteriously.. and then started a Panleucopenia outbreak in the office. I decided to move Mama and the last surviving kitten back home; now that I have two empty room to spare. If anything happened to this last kitten, I'd probly kill myself...

When Baby was just a teeny weeny "Squitten" !

Superb Mama~!

"Independent" and Adventurous little Baby...

Baby grew very quickly; the first month she was a bit clingy and followed me everywhere... by the second month, her character developed and she turned into a bold, adventurous and independent little kitten, running about investigating things and acting all grown up. She didn't wanna hang out with me anymore. I was heart-broken.

Inevitably, I knew this day was going to come and there is nothing I want more than to see Baby going to a fabulous new home and a loving, patient and kind family who will provide the best for her.

As tempting as it is to start keeping your fosters, there are some people who ends up becoming an Animal Hoarder. Many argue, as long as there's a roof over these animals' heads and food provided, what more could an animal want ? Truth is, they need not only food , water, shelter and hugs and kisses. It's about quality of life.

I've seen my fair share of Animal Hoarders in my line of work; Yes, there's a roof, there's food and water, there's possibly tons of hugs and kisses. But they cannot afford to medicate their collection of animals, buy each animal quality toys to play with, send them to Obedience School or spend equal amount of quality time and attention and the list goes on!

So for now, I'm still contemplating whether to rehome Mama Cat or not as I've really grown attached to her, yet another part of me wants to see her have the best in life, possible a life I'm not able to give to her? I don't know, but I will keep everyone Posted!

Koru’s quest on finding her Doggie…

I never had the privilege of owning a dog… This was one of my childhood deprivations. I envied those who had even had a mongrel at home whom they did not even stop to play with. Growing up in pekeliling flats for 20 years, it was impossible to own one. When I moved back to Jalan Ipoh, it didn’t seem likely I could have one. Then finally now, my parents agreed to have one. I was elated beyond words!

My quest for doggie started somewhere this year around my Birthday. I decided to visit SPCA to adopt a doggie. I was lucky to see a 7-month old German Shepherd. I was short of cash at that time & my cheque will only be cleared 2 days later. When I finally got the money & was about to go bring “Bailey” home, SPCA told me she was already taken. I cried my way home… I hope she found a loving family & good home…
I stopped the thought for awhile, thinking I would not be able to accommodate one since I started working in June… quietly, I’ve started to prepare myself for dog ownership. I bought books on Dog Training, researched on the Internet, etc…

I was a bag of mixed emotions when Mike got Chi Chi… It was quite sudden, like Poof! Then came the pup. At least he takes the effort to provide the best he can for Chi Chi when he goes away for work at outstation. When I was at Phuket I bought a small gift for Chi Chi too, even it’s not my dog! J When I came back, my parents were anxious again after another neighbor’s house got burglar-ed while I was in Phuket. My dad suggested a dog all of a sudden. I said “Get one! What are u guys waiting for?” I assured him I’d be responsible for it.

So while I was still on leave, I started my quest. I paid SPCA a visit the next morning & dragged Felix with me J He was so disturbed by the sight of so many dogs surrounding him! It was a freaking wet day & I was adamant to see all the dogs there even in the rain! I saw an overweight GSD, two lovely looking Golden Retrievers. I really liked Oscar! 2-year old Golden Retriever. Reve said he just arrived a day before so he seemed upset but curious! I went home that night I marched up to my dad & said I’m bringing a dog home. He said ok but check with mother just in case. She agreed too. I was soooo happy!!

I got up very early with the money to adopt Oscar. I even bought McNuggets for him! When I reached, I had a chat with the girl & she said suddenly the owners would want to take Oscar back! I was fuming! I was thinking what the F*** !!! Then why put him there in the first place?? Are the owners playing a sick joke to their dog? They only told me that day that Oscar has a skin problem it gets smelly & that’s why the owners put it up for adoption! U can only imagine how pissed I was. Here I was, telling SPCA, I AM WILLING TO BEAR THE VETERINARY COSTS for their dog. Not to mention, love their dog, but the owner was pulling a fast one over the phone when SPCA spoke to the owner. SPCA had to assure the owner TWICE that Oscar will be well taken care of. When she hung up I asked her what was the owner so concerned about? She said “Argh, usual-lah these owners, scare people will mistreat their dog!” WTF. Then why leave your dog in SPCA? I left SPCA upset & heartbroken again. I liked Lucy, a loving little fellow, but her front leg was run over by a car & they said it’s a nerve paralysis and the leg has to be amputated. I almost cried when they said they mite put her to sleep. It’s really a lot to take in one day.

I called up my good friend & she suggested PAWS. So I drove all the way to Subang to continue my search…

It was my 1st time going to PAWS. I was very happy that they take the effort to make the area a cosy place to live in for the dogs. They have a lot of plants and you can even buy treats there to feed the dogs. The space there is limited so they are all mixed up together, and occasional nippings can be expected... Some of the dogs have been there for a long time. I was relieved that they don’t give a dateline to the dogs unless some circumstances. I met Sin Tian, I’m filled with awe for her. She connects very well with each dog & passionately described a few dogs to Thanny & myself. I saw one nice doggie but it was not ready for adoption yet. It would take 6 more weeks. She gave me their number & asked me to follow up if I’m still interested. Empty handed again….

I made a call to another friend to ask her advise for a good pet shop for pet supplies & she recommended one in Taman Megah. So I headed there to do some shopping. It was nice to see the place looked cosy and their cats & dogs ran all over the place freely. I picked a body harness, leash, shampoo, toys, bowl, ear cleaner, comb & food. I small talked with the owner, Abias, and I told him my events of the day. He said he happened to have one 1 year old, female, Golden Retriever belonging to his friend & he’s helping to sell it. I asked why and he explained that they stay in a condo and the dog is getting bigger & noisy so they kept the poor dog out on the balcony!!! Are these people fucking sick or what?? We played with the doggie for awhile & he kept asking me to consider but he won’t budge on the price. As I’m paying for the dog, RM800 was slightly over my budget. I just felt compelled to give a good home to suffering dogs. As the doggie spends most her time in the small cage, I was really very sad. I left, hoping Abias would counter offer me and was planning to come back the next day to negotiate again.

On Saturday morning, I got up early for an appointment with another breeder from a newspaper column I called up. So I dragged Felix with me again to find that God forsaken factory tucked somewhere in Gombak. The place is actually a factory manufacturing all sorts of things; chairs, animal cages, furniture etc… and they have spaces for dogs all kept in unhygienic conditions. This dude called Jeff showed me their Golden Retrievers; there were 6 of them. All were females & they are past their expiry. The freaking irresponsible owner bought the females from another previous owner & bred puppies out of the females. I was really upset after I probed further. The whole place screams “DODGY”. Its disturbing enough that the females are already 2nd hand & now they have milked enough out of the dogs, they wanna get rid of it like having a garage sale! FUCK! I bought a cage & left the place. Jeff told me they have GSDs as well but I would not even be bothered to support their shady business! The dodgy factory also breeds fowls, pheasants, Ostrich, parrots & mini pigs! Jeff tried to sell me everything! What a suspicious fellow. I really wanted to buy 2 of the females. My heart aches when they let her out from the pathetic cage & these are the same people who are exploiting her & yet she still shows her love to them. It was just too overwhelming!

So to everyone out there; Please think twice, thrice before owning a dog! DON’T support those breeders who only breed to make money & exploit their dogs. Otherwise, help out SPCA! You can do so much for a loving doggie there!

I am saddened if anyone thinks I am rushing to get a dog out of impulse. I AM rushing! It’s because cruel human has put a dateline to some dogs. Time is running out to save them. There is a room in SPCA I accidentally caught a glimpse of that day; inside were a pile of doggies lying in a heap. All were not saved in time. Puppies, dogs, died because time ran short on them. That picture is forever in my memory.