Malaysia's First Official AAT Kicks Off!

PETPOSITIVE BRIEF UPDATE:


(Picture by Ruwaidy Mat Rasul)

AAT LAUNCHED!

It's now official.

Malaysians with disabilities and the elderly can now look forward to having more outings with their pets.

If they have none, they can expect to be invited to events where they will be there so that they can be exposed to the uncanny special powers of animals for healing and healthy living!

The first animal-assisted therapy (AAT) session for disabled and elderly Malaysians was successfully kicked off earlier this morning.

The activity was opened by Suhakam Commissioner Dato' Siva Subramaniam at the Kepong Botanical Gardens in Selangor.

Addressing some 80 participants - nearly half of them people with disabilites, their cargivers and their pets, Dato Siva said he was extremely pleased that AAT had finally arrived in Malaysia.

"By reaching out through AAT, we demonstrate that we care much more than others," he pointed out.

Petpositive's Vice-President Dr Anna Padma Soosai (pictured above) and our Society's official doctor on call for the event handed several momentos to Dato' Siva after his encouraging speech.

"Dato' Siva's speech is one of the best speeches I've heard," said Lynda Merican, the Petpositive Event Coordinator to this Blog. "He was truly spot-on with his delivery," she added.

The blind, Deaf, people in wheelchairs and the profoundly handicapped were afterwards lead by by able-bodied volunteers on a nature walk into the forest.

They were later introduced to various pets. These included two rabbits, three wild frogs from the forest that was captured the night before (and released later), and one home and office cat.

Four dogs were also present. These were personal pets of some of the participants, including the disabled and the elderly. They accompanied their owners up the jungle trail that was made for wheelchairs in FRIM.

The AAT event called the Valentina Project was named after a nine-year old rabbit named Valentina. The bunny which was the first lagomorph (a member of the rodent clan) to attend a Petpositive Committee Meeting in February of this year.

Valentina, sadly died of cancer two months later. She belonged to Captain Karim Stuart Russell and Fasidah Sabeh, Petpositive's official rabbit care specialists who reside in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

LOOK OUT FOR FULL DAILY REPORTS ON OUR FRIM EXCURSION BEGINNING

FROM TOMORROW!

P+Blog End

COMING SOON: POSITIVE LIVES! NEWSLETTER

WHAT!? NO COMPUTERS AROUND AND NO INTERNET ACCESS?


Isn't that often the case for most Disabled and Elderly persons in Malaysia?


But you still wish to be kept informed about PETPOSITIVE'S super duper activities and how you can participate?

No worries folks. We have just the thing for you!

The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and the Elderly Association (PETPOSITIVE) will very shortly be coming out with our very first print newsletter.


Aptly named POSITIVE LIVES! It will be a four-page quarterly.

Also called PLN for short, with the letter "N" for Newsletter, each edition will cover our main highlights of our activities every three months.

The purpose of the PLN is to keep our Disabled and Elderly Members - as well as our ardent supporters - abreast of all Petpositive's activities.

The first copy will be our July to September issue. It will be covering some of the following events:

• Looking back at our highly successful Petpositive launching and charity dinner event last July in words and pictures.



• Recapping our first AGM last year when animal-assisted therapy (AAT) was born in our country.



• Looking forward to our first AAT session with the Disabled and Elderly in FRIM on Tuesday.

PLN has been made possible through the kind sponsorship of Mr Tan Teik Poh from K-9 Pets SDN BHD and Diamond Pet Foods.

The Penangite, among other things, is a professional dog-trainer and lover of all animals.



He has been a long-time supporter of pets as special companions for the disabled and the elderly.

Here is a picture of him present as one of PETPOSITIVE'S VIPs at our charity dinner at The Legend Hotel in Kuala Lumpur three months ago.


Teik Poh: A PETPOSITIVE VIP
who strongly supports AAT.

(Pix courtesy of David and Anna Tandy)

Mr Tan was also instrumental in sponsoring Malaysia's first service dog training programme by Bivai Special Dogs in KL in 2001. The VIP launching that event was Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir who is also Bivai Special Dogs' Patron.


The End.

Animal Heroes

PETPOSITIVE INVITED TO SPCA DINNER/Animal Care Petition Launched By SPCA
(Story by aNt. Pictures by Andrew Martin)


Dateline Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur:

The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (PETPOSITIVE) attended a charity dinner earlier tonight.


It was hosted by the Selangor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).


Petpositive's invitation came from the SPCA.




Having fun: (Left to right) Cynthia, Edwin
aNt & Suren.

Our Society was represented by three persons. The President, Anthony Thanasayan, the Assistant Treasurer, Andrew Martin and Petpositive's Legal Adviser N Surendran.
Surendran also participated in his capacity as President of ROAR, a protem Society formed to champion the rights of animals in Malaysia.

About 500 dinner guests and SPCA supporters watched a touching video on stray animals and heard several speeches as they tucked into their sumptuous pork-free Chinese dinner.


Electrifying and soulful: Radford (Right)
wooed animal-lovers.

The evening concluded with a highly entertaining rhythm and blues vocal performance by Donne Ray Radford. Guests howled in delight as he churned out their favourite tunes.

Some of his best numbers were "Grapevine," "Superstition" (by Stevie Wonder) and Ben E King's "Stand By Me."

Audiences were so enthralled by his performances that they couldn't resist going up to the front of the stage and dancing along.

SPCA Honorary Chairman Christine Chin in her speech at the beginning of the dinner thanked the many animal rescuers, volunteers and activists for speaking out for defenseless animals in our society.


Christine Chin: True Champions

Calling them "heroes and heroines", she also praised everyone for joining voices with the SPCA to "spread the message of spay and neuter campaigns, as well as the importance of responsible pet ownership."

The dinner also paid a special tribute to Mrs Mea Wheatley who four years ago handed the chairman's post over to Christine.

Wheatley first joined the SPCA with her husband in 1959 - a year after the Ampang Jaya society was formed by five expatriates.

The evening also saw the official launch of "Animals Matter To Me," a petition campaign initiated by the World Society For The Protection of Animals (WSPCA).

The global effort - billed as the biggest to date to call on governments to protect animals - has been a success with the support of hundreds of animal concern groups all over the world.

To know more about the noble cause, please click here.

End

COMING SOON IN PETPOSITIVE NEXT MONTH:

• Deepavali Do for about 50 disabled persons and their families at the Hanuman Temple in Brickfields, KL. Keep it right here on this blog for details on how you can participate if you are disabled or elderly.

No bias in the forest

(Friends in FRIM: Above picture

by Norsham)


DATELINE FRIM, KEPONG:

TUESDAY OCTOBER 30, 2007, 9am - 1pm:



WHEN TWO DOZEN disabled and elderly Malaysians - most of them for the first time in their lives - venture into the Forest Reserve Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) early next week with their wheelchairs, walking aids and white canes, they will have to face several challenges.


One of them - hopefully - is to overcome their fears and worst nightmares.


These include having an aversion to creepy crawlies like spiders and cold-blooded creatures that many of us would never dream of getting close to: large lizards, warty frogs - and even possibly a snake or two!


However, fret not everybody because we in Petpositive have no plans of introducing a Fear Factor made-for-television style experience to our participants.


In fact, what we have in mind is far better than anything the US TV host Joe Rogen (below, right) can muster.

FRIEND OF THE FOREST


Say hello to zoologist Norsham Suhaina Yaakob (Below, left). A true friend to the forest and its biodiversity, she will be conducting a session where the disabled and the elderly will be able to get close and personal to some of the real and natural residents of FRIM.


Depending on which of the nocturnal creatures that she is able to to catch on the night before the animal therapy session, it was initially difficult to get the animal rights activist to agree to do the session for Petpositive.

Norsham was more worried about the stress levels and discomfort our event would cause to these wonderful creatures (and rightfully so) but she finally consented when she realised that this was to help the disabled and elderly persons.

However, not before coming up with effective plans on how to keep the animals as comfortable as possible first, such as keeping frogs constantly re hydrated, etc.

Norsham who works at the Kepong Botanical Garden in FRIM told Petpositive Blog (P+B) that our upcoming event on Tuesday with the elderly and the disabled was the "perfect project for everyone to finally see nature as a form of therapy."

(Left: Green always keeps this girl grinning from ear to ear.)

"Many animals which originated from the wild have been domesticated either to aid our economic activities, for our protection or as good companions to human beings," she added.

Norsham who is currently posted at the plant nursery in FRIM first joined the organisation in 1998.

"Animals and plants accept people as they are with no bias," she points out.

"They do not care how we look or how we smell. Their acceptance is full and unconditional."

Norsham who has six cats in her home says taking part with Petpositive and working with the disabled, elderly, animals and nature has helped expand her horizon.

"I feel that I will be doing something positive for people and knowing that you're making a difference in the lives of others is a wonderful feeling to have.

"I would like to encourage more disabled and elderly persons to take up the challenge to open themselves to nature and then experience for themselves, the true power of nature," she concludes.

PETPOSITIVE WOULD LIKE TO SAY SYABAS TO ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:

1. Melvin (012-205 5140) of Sindhu Trading (03-6272 3340) who are specialists in videography, music machine, sweets and food catering for sponsoring lunch to Petpositive for 70-persons at our Valentina Project in FRIM.



2. Harvinder Kaur for putting us in touch with Melvin and arranging for 50 chairs and 5 tables to be delivered to FRIM with absolutely no cost to Petpositive. Congratulations also goes to Harvi for being elected Secretary of the PSOCAM, a KL national based sports society for the physically disabled.



3. The Association of British Women of Malaysia (ABWM) in KL for funding to meet our other costs in arranging for the upcoming event.

The End

Walking in the disabled's shoes

WHEN CLOSE TO 25-DISABLED AND ELDERLY MALAYSIANS make their way up and down a specially designed 400-metre pathway for wheelchairs in Kepong, Selangor, next Tuesday - it would be a wonderful experience of emotions for each and every one of them!


Surprisingly, the idea didn't come from us at Petpositive. The pets part was ours.


However, the jungle adventure aspect came from two incredible researchers from FRIM - the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia where Petpositive's first-ever animal-assisted therapy session takes place next week.


Meet ELANGO VELAUTHAM (Below, right) : FRIM's research officer for over two years.


Elango obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in horticulture in UPM in 1995.

In 2004, he graduated with a Masters of Science Degree at the Imperial College in London.

His expertise? Taxonomy (the science of classification of life forms) and biodiversity.

The 38-year-old's interest in the disabled came from his own experience of handicap.

His athletic activities as a runner during the late 1980s put him in a hospital, leaving him to be what he describes as "temporarily incapacitated."

Elango was left to pick up the pieces after a surgery when a metal plate was inserted into his body to strengthen his broken bones.

The ordeal caused him to spend long weeks and months first in a wheelchair and then on crutches.

It took a full five years after his leg operation before Elango stopped limping completely.

"Even though five years is a very long time, it is comparatively short when you consider that many people have been disabled all their lives either through an accident, disease or birth condition," Elango points out.

The nature expert says that his experience with handicap had been positive.

LEARNING THROUGH DISABILITY

"I have learnt much when I was disabled, especially the feelings of frustrations, helplessness and even low self-esteem," he points out.

"It's for this reason why I feel so strongly that nature with its diversity of plant and animal life can be extremely therapeutic and healing for the disabled and the elderly.

Elango who was instrumental in coming up with the wheelchair-friendly trail at FRIM says that he has always wanted to bring the beauty of nature to vulnerable groups like the disabled and the elderly.

"Now through Petpositive, my dream has come true where I hope that I can be a positive influence to a disabled or elderly person who might be hurting or suffering from a lack of self confidence or dignity," he says.

"I want to see disabled and elderly people have a time of their lives. . . " Elango.

The nature expert who had been working for seven years on reforestation before he joined FRIM concluded his interview with this blogger with the following:

"My greatest wish is first and foremost to see the disabled and the elderly having the time of their lives with nature and the great outdoors.

"I hope that this will lead them to start thinking about doing something with nature that could enrich their lives lives.

"Instead of staying indoors, the jungle walk will get them motivated about doing interesting thngslike growing a plant, taking up bird watching, etc because nature has so much to give all os us - including the disabled and the elderly."

Elango is the person-in-charge to conduct the nature walk in FRIM.


For more information on the Petpositive, please contact us.

Please note that the Tuesday outing is only for registered participants. Registration for the current AAT programme is now closed. The next one will be held early next year.

Thank you

Petpostive


TOMORROW: Meet zoologist Norsham Yaakob, the woman who not only thinks that frogs, lizards and even snakes are cool but will also be introducing some of these creatures we love to loathe to the participants on Tuesday.

End

Animal-Assisted Therapy Gets a Big Boost

PETPOSITIVE BREAKING NEWS!
SUHAKAM COMMISSIONER TO LAUNCH ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY FOR THE DISABLED AND ELDERLY IN FRIM.

(Picture left: Dato' Siva Subramaniam to do the honours)

Dateline: Kepong, Selangor, Tuesday, 30/10/2007:

LOCAL HISTORY WILL BE WRITTEN DOWN next week when Malaysia's first-ever animal-assisted therapy [AAT] session for the disabled and the elderly session gets official - and underway - at the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia [FRIM] in Kepong.

The VIP who will be assisting Petpositive to mark this epoch-making event for hundreds of lonely and unempowered disabled and elderly Malaysians' lives who currently don't own pets is Suhakam Commissioner Dato' Siva Subramaniam.

The former National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) Executive Secretary and current Adviser to CUEPACS (Congress Of Unions Of Employees In The Public And Civil Services, Malaysia) very kindly consented to oblige us when our Society approached Dato' Siva for support.

In a simple ceremony at approximately 9.30am, which has never been witnessed before in my living memory, the highly esteemed Official from the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia will kick off the Valentina Project (VP).

VP is Petpositive's pet-mission to promote AAT for all disabled and elderly persons in our nation in order to live positive and a high quality of life.

The launch by Dato' Siva will play a pivotal part in bursting open the doors of opportunities for people with all types of handicaps and senior citizens to enjoy keeping pets.

Through the non judgemental and fully accepting nature of animals, be they the furry, feathered or finned kind, Petpositive hopes that through the bonding of special companions, our target groups will find comfort and strength in coping with disabilities and old age.

THANK YOU DATO' SIVA FOR YOUR WONDERFUL SUPPORT IN HELPING TO BRING SPECIAL COMPANIONS INTO OUR LIVES!

The Valentina Project includes a never-before attempted nature walk of people with varying types of handicaps in the forest.

Jungle-trekkers with disabilities, using wheelchairs, white canes and walkers - including the blind and the Deaf - will be led through a special pathway for wheelchairs on Tuesday.
Two FRIM experts will tell this blogger why they thought of including the disabled in their special project.

You can read about it in this blog, TOMORROW!

For further information about Petpositive, please contact us.

KINDLY NOTE THAT TUESDAY'S EVENT IS ONLY FOR THE 70-ODD PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED WITH PETPOSITIVE AND FRIM.

WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT UNREGISTERED PERSONS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ENTER THE AREA.

SO PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

Thanks,

Petpositive

Time to meet the people behind the Valentina Project

EIGHT MORE DAYS TO HAPPINESS!



That's probably what's going on right now in the minds of some 25-odd disabled and


elderly persons as they eagerly anticipate what Petpositive has in store for them come


Tuesday morning next week.


It's being called the Valentina Project (VP) - a unique initiative cleverly and jointly designed by the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association and the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) in Kepong, Selangor.

The experience in FRIM promises to be one that's full of jungle adventures as well as encounters with heartwarming animals.

People with all types of disabilities and the elderly together with their caregivers, friends and even pets, will be taking part.


They will be joined by an army of volunteers. The entire group will comprise about 70 persons.

It's time now to briefly meet the forces behind The Valentina Project:



(Kindly click on the images to make them bigger)

1. LYNDA MERICAN's great big smile says everything.

Born in the UK and now happily married to a Malaysian husband, the mother to two handsome boys joined Petpositive shortly after our Society's Charity and Fundraising Dinner last July.

She is now Petpostive's Special Adviser and Special Events Coordinator.

More importantly, Lynda is the Captain-in-charge of the Valentina Project. Also actively involved in other charities like Salaam Wanita, she is often able to see the bigger picture in our planning when some of us fail to.

Lynda doesn't just see into the disabled and elderly person's needs but she is also mindful of the many able-bodied volunteers who will be present at our function.

Lynda was instrumental in getting a local international school from Kuala Lumpur to send 15 young volunteers to help us out at the VP. (Look out for that story and pictures coming soon in another blog)

Before she joined Petpositive, she was able to get special funding for our VP activity from the Association of British Women in Malaysia where she served as Charity Coordinator - a post she held for the past two years until April this year.

She recently confessed to this blogger that working on the VP has been a lot of fun for her.

"I have had the opportunity to meet a diverse group of people who all have the same passion to improve the quality of life for all living things; whether they are people with disabilities, animals or plants!" Says Lynda.

"Through our VP we hope to bring all three together to make one great day out," she adds.

"I hope that each participant and volunteer will at the end of the event go away with some new experiences and memories that they will cherish.

"I also hope that the day will help reduce the barriers that have developed between man, animal and our environment," she concludes.

Lynda has two dogs, Cola the Alsatian and Abby, the Dalmatian.

The spotted female canine who is wonderful with people will make a "guest-appearance" at the VP.

2) aNt: That's me! (Not the handsome devil in the photograph but the three letters you see after the numerical two)


I'm what you could call the fire-breathing, no-nonsense, slave-driving, honcho in Petpositive.

And it's been a wonderful learning experience for me too just planning for the event.


The people that I'm working with now from Lynda to everyone else that you are going to read about in the next few days until our great event are simply the best, as Tina Turner puts it in her best-selling song.

They have no personal ambitions or "hidden agendas" as they say over the upcoming VP.


All they want to do is to make about 25 disabled and elderly people have a chance to do something that they've never done before.

That's it. Plain and simple!

And that's why I love this group so much. They're incredibly dedicated to people and pets too.

Every planning meeting turns out to be loads of fun, despite the occasional disagreements we might have. And that's also probably because all of us feel so passionately about the VP that we can't stop ourselves from trying to be perfectionists in what we do.

How's that for a great bunch?

Enough about me and my rantings.

The cute face you saw in the photograph earlier with the droopy ears is sporting on that mischievous look again.

He does that whenever he spots something which he wants to give it a good chase.

It's really going to be tough for me to keep him with me as a full-fledged service dog should a tree shrew or eagle fall out of the sky - or even something more bigger and menacing (I can hope, can't I) starts to dart across us in the wild?

Well, if anything like that happens, I'll be the first to tell you about that in this blog.

By the way guys, I need to tell you that only those who've already registered for our FRIM event are invited to turn up that day. The invitation is now CLOSED.

We thought of working with a small group first before working with more disabled and elderly people in future.

The good news, however, is that we're planning to do the same thing again in the first quarter of 2008.

This time it will be geared for kids with disabilities.

If you want to join us as a volunteer or know of disabled applicants who would benefit from such a programme, get in touch with us, will you?

Finally, I end this blog with a photograph of a brand new and shining wheelchair that popped up from nowhere in the front door of my home a couple of hours ago.

Actually, two medical professors of a nearby hospital were the "culprits". After reading a message in our blog asking for wheelchairs, these kind angels went out and got us one.

They also made it a point to make it a special and personal delivery! They came with their young son.

What a delightful surprise - the lengths to which people would go to for the sake of other peoples' happiness. I am deeply touched.

These great guys, however, have forbidden me from revealing their identities to you, except to say that it is a gift from "two well-wishes". (True to my naughty self as usual, I broke part of that deal to at least telling you that they are medical professors)

Thanks dear doctors. Petpositive really appreciates what you both did.

By the way, to the rest of you: we still need wheelchairs if you have any. Even used or old ones will do - as long as they are in working condition.

Here's the wheelchair (below). It costs RM1, 400. A good buy for the money, certainly as its parts are detachable. It is also a lightweight wheelchair.

TOMORROW: Meet the FRIM experts who came up with the brilliant idea to make nature accessible to the handicapped.

Ciao!

aNt

All Systems Go for AAT in Malaysia!

PETPOSITIVE'S VALENTINA PROJECT UPDATE:
(Pictures by Lynda Merican and aNt)


Dateline FRIM, Kepong, Selangor, on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 9am - 1.30pm.



(Below: FIRED UP OVER PETPOSITIVE POWER! People + pets on a special mission to empower handicapped and senior Malaysians)

















APPROXIMATELY 25
DISABLED PERSONS - together with an equal number of their personal caregivers and friends - joined further by twenty teenagers from a local school in Kuala Lumpur, will be heaving a huge sigh of relief before long.

The agonising waiting period for them all for the Big Day to start will finally be over in less than a fortnight from now.

These privileged groups of people will not only get to witness a rare opportunity that has never been achieved or experienced before in the disability and animal-welfare circles in the country - but the best part of it is that they will also be able to take part in the epoch-making occasion.

(Left: ONWARD MARCH! Intrepid explorers walking and wheeling into the forest on a specially-built pathway for wheelchairs. Notice the green grab-and-safety bars on the left? Click on pictures to enlarge)

The end of October this month will mark the unveiling of the first animal-assisted therapy (AAT) session for the disabled and the elderly in Malaysia.

Called The Valentina Project (VP), the initiative is the brainchild of Petpositive, the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly National Society in the country.

Registered in June of last year, Petpositive aims to help its members lead positive lives through the uncanny power of pets.

The VP, which was named after Petpositive's first AAT animal Valentina - a seven-year-old female bunny that died of cancer this year - will formally introduce and encourage rabbit-rearing as a means of therapy for the disabled and elderly Petpositive participants present at the occasion.

In addition to AAT, the groups will be led with help from volunteers, family and friends through an exciting nature walk through the dense Kepong jungle on a special walkway designed for trekkers in wheelchairs at the Forest Research Insititute of Malaysia (FRIM)'s park.

(Left: UNDER THE CANOPY OF TREES:

Petpositive's Jungle Walk Coordinator
Chan Mee Leng (in blue and black) passed with flying colours during her hands-on pre-wheelchair-training session at FRIM.

Encouraging her on is our Society's rabbit-care specialist Fasidah Sabeh.)

(Left: THOROUGH TESTING: VP team investigating everything; from too rough or too smooth surfaces, uneven sections, steep areas, potentially hazardous spots on the windy 400-metre pathway)

(Below, right: A SERIOUS MOMENT: Preparing for anything on VP day. Notice the handsome cat on the leash in pix)

Earlier today more than a dozen of Petpositive's organisers and volunteers met up with the FRIM team at the event site in order to go over the final details of everything before the actual day.

We arrived at 9am. And almost at once we were all greeted by the natural residents of the forest.

A magnificent bird - not normally seen in the city - with its wings outstretched hovered over us for several minutes at FRIM's car park where we met to run through our written out plans before venturing into the forest.

Our meeting there incredulously lasted about one-and-the-half hours. There was just so much to run through before the real walking took place.

Our meeting was also "attended" not just by the two-legged kind.

(Below: OOH, THIS IS LIFE: Having a breather under the cool shade)

Four four-legged animals: two dogs and two cats tried to get acquainted with each other that soon turned out into an exercise of futility.

One of the cats decided that it had had enough with the two literally nosey mongrels that couldn't keep their noses to themselves.

They got into his face, prompting him to voice his protest with hisses and snarls before retreating to a shady and safer area - first under one of the trees in the park and then inside his owner's Volkswagen van.

Facilities-wise, I was pleased to note that improvements were made to FRIM in the original disabled toilets since I last visited the public park about six months ago. I was there along with some of our Petpositive Committee Members to prepare for this event.

Instead of the odd couple of steps that wheelchair-users had to contend with previously, the floors inside the bathrooms were now levelled for the physically handicapped and those with walking difficulties with a better designed ramp to access the restroom.

The morning excursion lasted a good four hours before we were finally satisfied with what we saw and decided upon as trouble-shooting solutions and alternatives to take if something cropped up.

(Left: TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE: Petpositive VP Event Coordinator Lynda Merican and aNt being briefly distracted by some irresistable animal antics during the meeting.)

Some of these included reminding participants to bring along sunscreen creams and sun hats to protect them from the sun and umbrellas for rain. On our side, it included providing extra wheelchairs for those who might need them and even tools to tighten the nuts and bolts that might give way whilst on the rough terrain.

WHAT WE STILL REQUIRE:

1. LUNCH SPONSORSHIP BY A FAST FOOD CHAIN: No positive news yet at publishing time from the companies that we've approached.



2. SPONSORSHIP OF SECOND HAND WHEELCHAIRS, WALKERS, CRUTCHES, ETC: Two professors from UMMC in KL have sponsored one brand new wheelchair. We still need more.



3. VOLUNTEERS TO FERRY THE DISABLED AND ELDERLY FROM THEIR HOMES TO FRIM AND BACK: Please contact us if you don't mind providing this service for that day.
   

Please contact Petpositive at 012 220 3146 or mailto:petpositive@yahoo.com or viisit http://www.petpositive.blogspot.com/

MORE WRITE-UPS COMING SOON:

• MEET THE TEAM BEHIND THE VALENTINA PROJECT: Why they're doing it and what they hope to see happen there.


• GETTING YOUNG PEOPLE INVOLVED: Petpositive visits a local school to pick volunteers for our VP.
  
  

KINDLY NOTE THAT PARTICIPATION AT OUR VP IS BY INVITATION ONLY. THE LIST FOR OUR UPCOMING EVENT IS NOW FULL.

The End

Want to get your pet blessed this Deepavali?

UP AHEAD IN PETPOSITIVE:

(Picture right by Captain Karim Stuart Russell: Reba the Sheltie was blessed by the priest [not in pix] at the Hanuman Temple in Brickfields last July, 2007. Temple treasurer Suresh Maniam handing over token to aNt and other disabled members whilst Petpositve Event Coordinator Dr P Vanaja [behind, in black] looks on)

The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and the Elderly Association (Petpositive) is organising a DEEPAVALI GATHERING at a Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur.

This will take place either before the festival or after.

The celebration event will include a special blessing of pets at the temple. Food and drinks will be served.

If you are DISABLED (doesn't matter if you are blind, Deaf, dyslexic, a person with a mental illness, etc) or ELDERLY and would like to come, please contact Petpositive. (See below).

Only 30 persons in total are invited to participate in the gathering. They may bring a caregiver or friend along. Participation is only through invitation.

Pets will be screened before they are allowed take part. The event is opened to Hindus as well as non Hindus.

Preference will be given to those who have never joined Petpositive's activities before.

There is no payment or fee for any disabled or elderly Malaysian taking part in Petpositive's activities.

The Petpositive Coordinator for this event is the Society's Committee Member Dr P Vanaja who is a senior veterinarian.


Please contact the Society by calling or SMS to 012 220 3146 or emailing: petpositive@yahoo.com You can also visit our blog at http://www.petpositive.blogspot.com/

THANK YOU!

From all of us at Petpositive

Looking for wheelchairs, walking sticks, etc

CAN YOU HELP PETPOSITIVE?

Do you have a wheelchair that's lying around in your house with no use? What about a walking frame or stick which you've been storing for months?

If they are in a good usuable condition - and they're foldable (so that they can nicely fit into the car) - PETPOSITIVE needs them!

Of course, we'll be speechless by a brand new one, too!

The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive) is organising an outing for disabled and elderly people at FRIM later this month and these equipment will be extremely useful for our members.

Please donate them to us! They'll also be much appreciated for many of our future events.

Please contact Petpositive by calling/SMS 6-012-220 3146. You may also visit us at our blog here: http://www.petpositive.blogspot.com/ or mailto:petpositive@yahoo.com

If you can't help us at this time with these requests, kindly forward this email to someone you think that might be able to help us.

Thank you! Selamat Hari Raya!

aNthoNy thaNasayaN

President

Petpositive

Exciting wild wheelchair adventure in the forest

(Petpositive is going into the jungle!)

PETPOSITIVE NEWS UPDATE:
(Taken from Petpositive's blog: http://www.petpositive.blogspot.com/)

First, they thought we were "outrageous".

Now they'll probably think that we've plain gone crazy!

Petpositive - Malaysia's first and only animal-assisted therapy (AAT) Society for handicapped and senior citizens in the country - is back.

And once again about to perform the unimaginable!

After having turned ordinary and often unseen handicapped and elderly persons into instant VIPs at our official launching dinner in a leading hotel in Kuala Lumpur last July, we're going wild this month.

Petpositive is taking a couple of dozen disabled and elderly Malaysians - quite a few of them with profound disabilities - into the "jungles" of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) in Kepong, Selangor.

The youngest is 18 years of age and the oldest is 77.


(Drenched after a sudden, heavy shower but all smiles at FRIM)

Called Petpositive's "Valentina Project" after our Society's first AAT rabbit which died of cancer earlier this year, the outing will take place at the end of the month on the eve of All Hallows Eve or Halloween's Day on Tuesday, October 30.


(The late Valentina impressed many hearts at Petpositive's meeting)

Whilst many perceive disability as a virtual "death sentence" and old age as people living under "borrowed time", Petpositive begs to differ.

We're adamant that the disabled and the elderly can and should lead a high quality of life.

That's why our NGO is taking the challenge to give about 20-disabled and elderly persons an opportunity that's never been offered before - to go on a nature walk under the thick canopy of wild flora and fauna in FRIM.

The four-hour exercise that begins at 9am is part of Petpositive's first-ever AAT session in the nation.

Participants made up of the blind, Deaf, persons with spinal injuries to others with neurological conditons will be guided through the forest on a special path in FRIM which has been designed for wheelchairs.

The journey will be led by FRIM research officer Elango Velauthan who was instrumental in designing the wheelchair path.

(Disabled loos - too close for comfort?)

Some of the participants will be accompanied by their pet companions who have been specially invited by Petpositive.

The excursion will also include an AAT session on rabbit appreciation and care. It will be conducted by two of Petpositive's bunny-handlers Captain Abdul Karim Stuart Russell and Fasidah Sabeh.

FRIM expert Norsham Yaakob, who is a trained zoologist, will also introduce some of FRIM's wildlife to all the participants.

Participants will be encouraged to put their animal-care questions forward to the presenters, as well as to at least two of Petpositive's animal-care experts: Dr P Vanaja, a senior veterinarian and Dr Jon Satyamoorthy, our Society's Secretary.

Dr Anna Padma Soosai, Petpositive's Vice-President will be the doctor on standby at the event.

The event will wrap up with an AAT review session over lunch by Petpositive.

(One for the album . . . say Cheese!)

The Valentina Project is working on having a strong volunteer support with the help of Petpositive volunteer Sally Addington and Valentina Project-Coordinator Lynda Merican who is also our Society's Special Adviser.

Please note that participants from ages 18 and above have already been selected to take part in this month's walk.

If you are interested to participate in Petpositive's next jungle walk and AAT session, kindly submit your details to the email address below.

Please call 012 220 3146 (aNt) if you wish to help or mailto:petpositive@yahoo.com