Happy Birthday Babeng!

She's got to be the cutest pug in the world
(and I've seen quite a few).


How not to love that face?

Responsible Dog Ownership Day

It was Sunshine's day out in the park.
She got so excited the moment she saw me putting on my shoes and throwing her leash into the car. She knew she was going somewhere!

We hopped into the car with mom (Sunshine in front - I really should get her a doggy seatbelt!), then D and SM arrived and we were all on our way.

When we got there, the sun was quite high in the sky, but it wasn't scorching - yet. She went about her business sniffing butts and privates. Then we saw alot of Sunshines. Her Purina banners were everywhere. But Sunshine being Sunshine, she was absolutely oblivious to them. Of course, we had to take a picture.

We finally met Natasha, though Cleo wasn't there at that time. We met Sunshine's sister Happy and Chili, another labrador, as well as Tiny the Newfoundland. Her buddies Winston, Bessy and Dumdum weren't there though. She missed them dearly. Well, I missed them dearly.

It was a good turn out, and it's so wonderful to be able to take our dogs out to a park that's normally off limits to them. Of course, there were some idiots who took this for granted.

There were little signages in the grass reminding people to "Scoop The Poop". Common sense would tell you to scoop, then dispose of the poop into the many bins provided. But no... some people actually HUNG the bags of doggy poop ON the signages. Stupidity. Really. Stupid humans shouldn't breed. They should be neutered and spayed!

What's the point of good Canine citizen training when the humans are in greater need of manners themselves? Geez.

Anyway, we had a good time. Sunshine had a go at the filthy pond. Mom was quite impressed to see her swim. I, on the other hand got quite anxious when she (Sunshine, not my mom) decided to play with the rottweiler which was also swimming in the pond. Well, it's a very fine line between play and cari pasal when it comes to Sunshine. Hahaha! Good thing her greedy self agreed to come out of the pond when I held some treats and called her name. At least she's got her priorities right. How I love her...

Then she tried her paws at this:

It's the only thing she would agree to do, apart from the low hurdles. She was terrified of the long slim plank and would not go up. One of these days I'm going to sign her up for agility classes. Maybe next year lah!

*Photos courtesy of SM! Thanks! Arf!

There's more to it

The Selayang Municipal Council is not only run by people with little morality and integrity (if any), they also have thugs in their committees. NGOs, animal lover groups and SPCA had to endure verbal abuse and were assaulted before the Dog Hunt was called off. Read the inside story at Natasha and Cleo's blog:

http://cleopatrathelabrador.blogspot.com

Please forward the link to other dog lovers so they know what happened behind the scenes. Kudos to everyone who fought hard for the Dog Hunt to be scrapped. Sunshine thanks you too. Arrrfff! Arrrrrff!

Dog hunt is OFF!

Animal lovers and stray dogs can now heave a sigh of relief.

The MPS has cancelled the ridiculous dog hunting contest after much protest by the SPCA and animals lovers like Natasha and Cleo. Read all about it in The Star.

So the MPS said they were 'enlightened' and all is fine and well now. But somehow, the news article looked almost too political correct and PR perfect. Keep watching Natasha and Cleo's space for the latest scoop on what really transpired.

Good job to those who made enough noise to stop the dog hunt from happening. I doubt it'll be the last of stupid ideas from people who run our townships (if not the country), but it's a good thing nobody took it sitting down.

Arrrfff! :)

A ribbon around your neck

Like most government 'official launches', they just had to put a ribbon somewhere. But there were no beribboned cutting scissors, mock keys or mock cheques. Instead, a yellow ribbon sat almost prettily on a noose at the end of a stick.














Something's awfully wrong with this picture, no? I don't know if it's the noose around the cardboard dog's neck or the stupid PR smile on the VIP's face. I could almost see the cameras going off and hear the fake applause. Makes me sick.

To date, animal rights and dog lover groups have done an amazing job of giving the poor strays a voice. From a peaceful protest at Bandar Utama's Central Park last weekend...













... to a memorandum written and petition gathered for the Selayang Municipal Council. Read all about it here at Natasha and Cleo's blog.














Surprisingly, the people at MPS felt a need to have security personnel present in full force. Not so surprisingly, the 'Datuk' or people who mattered were 'not around' or 'on leave' or 'busy'. So they sent their PR people out, 'bodyguards' in tow. They must be kidding, right? It was a memorandum handover. Not a violent protest.













Besides, the animal lovers had more to worry about. Who knows... the council could decide to throw a beribboned noose around their necks too. Even so, we must keep the noise level up for as long as possible. There's only so much stupidity we can swallow in this country.

*Pictures from Natasha's blog

Barbaric - Selayang Municipal Council Dog Hunt

You've heard of crow shooting.
You've heard of our local municipal councils rounding up stray dogs (and then we never see or hear about them again).

But this...
This takes the cake! Natasha and Cleo read with horror this advertisement on the Selayang Municipal Council’s website. See http://www.mps.gov.my/default01.htm.

It's for a Dog Catching Competition where lucrative prize money is being offered to individuals who can catch the most dogs.

Stupid doesn't even begin to describe such an idea. And to cover their ass, they wash their hands off any responsibility by saying "it will not be held responsible for any injury or damage caused by the individuals to the general public or themselves in their attempts to catch these stray dogs".

Which dimwit thinks this will solve our stray problems?
This competition would only encourage more cruelty towards these helpless animals. (Bear in mind that these stray dogs are on the streets due to our own negligence). They say the dogs must be brought in alive. But they don't say in what condition. That's green light for would-be dog catchers to physically harm the dogs prior to taking them to the council. Obviously, the dogs' welfare is not a priority. There is no statement anywhere in their ad stating that the dogs must be caught in a humane manner.

And this will only encourage people who are out to make easy money to steal dogs! Stray or otherwise. How easy is it to abuse this 'competition'? So dog owners, please bring your dogs indoors to keep them safe from potential dog thieves!

The Selayang Municipal Council is not just irresponsible, but down right BARBARIC. Let us plead to the government and the authorities to look into this matter and stop this campaign immediately. There are other ways and means to curb the stray population in this country. A number of groups and organisations like the SPCA and PAWS are working hard to educate the public via spay and neuter campaigns. If the council has so much money to give away as cash prizes, why not channel the money into spaying and neutering campaigns!

If we let the Selayang Municipal Council get away with their barbaric dog catching competition, what next? A dog shooting contest?

Let's speak up against the Selayang Municipal Council for organising this ridiculous competition. You can do this by highlighting this case in your blogs, by emailing all your contacts and by writing to the press. Contacts are as follows (thanks Nat):

Malaysian Press
editor@thestar.com.my
letters@nstp.com.my
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
editor@malaysiakini.com
editorial@sinchew.com.my
bhnews@bharian.com.my
news@nstp.com.my
metro@thestar.com.my
pengarang@utusan.com
editor@nanyang.com.my
tcpb@po.jaring.my
mmnews@nstp.com.my
am@hmetro.com.my
gmkl@guangming.com.my
bgns@bernama.com

Mix FM
richard@mixradio.com.my;
shazmin@mixradio.com.my;
serena@mix.fm;
ika@mixradio.com.my;
pietro@mix.fm

International organisations that you can write to:
wspa@wspausa.com
Info@peta.org
info@dogsdeservebetter.org
wspa@wspa.org.uk
wspa@wspa.org.au
wspa@wspa.ca
contact@gan.ca
info@bluecross.org.uk
afa@afa-online.org
press@api4animals.org
info@ari-online.org
info@rightsforanimals.org
info@speakcampaigns.org

Spread the news, and take the time to just write a short note to all our local papers as well as the international organisations mentioned above.

I'm so absolutely DISGUSTED!
Please visit Natasha and Cleo's blog for the latest updates!