My name is Betsey and I am a one year old girl who will be arriving from KL Malaysia on November 28, 2018.
Here is my rescue story:
I was taken off the streets in Kuala Lumpur when I was about a month old my mother went missing and I would have surely died if not rescued that day. I was so tiny my fosters had to initially bottle-fed me. I waited and waited for someone to adopt me but sadly it is tough to find good adopters in my home country Malaysia. Street dogs seem to be tainted and those who can afford a dog tend to buy them from pet stores and breeders. It’s a very sad situation for us street dogs in Malaysia and I know I am extremely lucky to be given this opportunity to come to the US to find a loving home. I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving – my rescuer and angel Wani Mutiah of Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better and of course my other angel on earth – Fadhillah Ariffin who adopted one of my fellow street dogs from Maylasia named Borhan and who worked so hard to raise money for our flight and is transporting us back to the US with her.
l know I will make some family very happy as I have so much love to give and I am so well-behaved. I am potty trained and have no destructive manners. I have a calm temperament for such a young dog. Please give me a chance.
If you are interested in adopting me please complete an adoption application and contact Dawn at 414-426-4148.
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MALAYSIA may be a haven for many things but it certainly is hell for street dogs. Although there have been a rise in animal advocacy and rescue of street dogs in recent times, the authorities, namely the municipal councils and city halls, are the biggest street dog abusers. This is because stray management is still somewhat trapped in laws and regulations that were formulated and passed during the colonial era some 60 years ago. Since there were some cases of rabies during the British era, street dogs were categorized as disease carrying agents. Stray management in the local councils still come under the auspices of the vector department even though the classification was made decades ago and rabies is no longer a threat in Malaysia. Therefore dogs are placed in the same category as rats, which are vectors for leptospirosis as well as mosquitoes that cause malaria and dengue.
To make matters worse, dogs are regarded as defiling by the Muslims and Malaysia is a Muslim majority country. The last decade or so has also seen the commercialization of dog catching in Malaysia whereby private dog catching companies have been engaged by the local authorities to handle stray management which basically means catching and culling street dogs. Malaysia also practices an economic policy, which offers certain government tenders to only companies owned and operated by Malay Muslims, and dog catching contracts is one of it. So, imagine a company owned and managed by someone who subscribes to the belief that dogs are defiling being given the job to catch and cull street dogs. These canine bounty-hunting companies make a huge profit as they are paid RM35 to RM100 for each dog they catch and surrender or cull. The manner in which these unfortunate creatures are caught and culled is the most pitiful sight ever. Amidst much crying and wailing, the dogs, which seem to know their ends are near, are brutally looped, sometimes with wires, and pulled up and thrown into the dogcatchers’ van. Lactating mothers and their newborn puppies are also not spared. If the local council has a pound, the captured dogs are sent there and if it does not, the dogcatchers immediately kill the dogs at the end of the day. Although it is yet to be known how the killing is done, there have been various allegations that these dogs are strangled or drowned as when there isn’t a veterinarian present to euthanize them. Things are not hunky dory at the pounds as well, as dogs and puppies are thrown into the same enclosures. Dogfights are common and more often than not they end up killing each other due to the lack of food. The enclosures are also not properly disinfected and dogs tend to get infected with distemper or parvovirus as they await their deaths which can take up to several weeks pending on the availability of a veterinarian to administer the lethal drug to terminate the lives of these wonderful and loving creatures.
Adoption of street dogs is also very low in Malaysia, as most people prefer to buy pedigrees as opposed to adopting street dogs or the Malaysian Telomian. That is why Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) works very hard to find homes for our streets dogs in the USA where they can have a better life. In Malaysia, since dogs are regarded as defiling, they are not allowed in parks, playgrounds and public places. Dog owners have no choice but to buy memberships in expensive dog parks which, although costs a ton, is nothing like the dog parks that you know. If you are interested in giving a Malaysian street dog a second chance in life, please get in touch with International Street Dog Foundation, which will work with MDDB to make the necessary arrangements.
MDDB has a spay and release program, which means dogs which means dogs are picked up from the streets, spayed or neutered and then returned to the street where they were picked up from. This is common in countries where the street dog population is high. In Malaysia they notch the ear to indicate a dog has been sterilized. Often times the dogs are very human orientated and too submissive to survive on the streets and are held in MDDB half way homes instead of being returned to the streets. They are held in the half way homes until they can find homes of their own. MDDB holds many adoption drives and the young cute puppies have a chance at finding a local home but the adult dogs rarely do. That is why overseas adoption is sometimes their only chance for adoption and a life fulfilled.