Petpositive, the nongovernmental organisation in which I serve as president, turned four-years old on Monday.
Looking back, it has been nothing but an incredibly eventful and learning experience for all of us whose aim is to partner pets with disabled and elderly persons for positive living.
The whole idea was mooted from my own relationship with my dogs 15 years ago.
Despite being an activist on disability I still found it hard to fight off bouts of depression from time to time.
The day I got my first pup – a black and rust-coloured Rottweiler named Vai – it effectively put an end to my negative thoughts at once. He “took over” my life completely when he insisted that I take care of him and play with him every day.
He refused to take my wheelchair as an excuse.
Another remarkable Alsatian pup by the name of Biman II came a month later, leaving me no time to feel sorry for myself anymore.
The two canines which went on to become Malaysia’s first service dogs (SDs) have since died. However, their memory and special mission lives on today in Petpositive through my replacement SDs. Vai and Biman are recognised as the “grandfather founders” of our society.
When Petpositive was formed, we decided to expand our work with a variety of animals besides canines.
We started to work with cats, birds, rabbits and even reptiles like lizards and non venomous pet snakes.
The results were remarkable.
Six months after our society was registered as a national non profit NGO, we started a project with a young woman with a profound brain disability. She required 24-hour care.
The doctors who treated her had virtually given up on her. They assumed that she would be pretty much a vegetable for the rest of her life.
However, introducing her to aquarium therapy changed all that. Our volunteers visited her home and set up an aquarium full of “parrot-fish”.
For the first time in the young woman’s life she had something that she could call her own. She would spend hours gazing into the aquarium and watching her fishes swim from one side to the other instead of the ceiling and fan every day as she used to.
She would light up whenever her adoptive caregiver mother would speak about her underwater friends. And cleaning the aquarium would be the most exciting activity in her life where she would get to touch some of her finned pals.
According to her mother, there was a marked improvement in her cognitive skills since the aquarium was installed in her home.
Whilst Petpositive’s primary focus is on animal-assisted therapy, we also work with disabled and elderly persons who have no pets of their own.
There are no fees to become a member of our society. Anyone who is disabled or elderly is automatically in. In this way, our society is able to reach out to each and everyone who requires our services.
In 2008, we established the first-ever Petpositive Therapy Centre in Petaling Jaya (and the nation) – a place where the disabled and the elderly can come with their animal companions for assistance.
We offer counselling to our target groups as well as their families and friends, especially in coping with disability.
We are delighted that we will be getting a brand new van soon – courtesy of CIMB Foundation.
Aptly called the “Petmobil”, the vehicle will help to bring disabled and elderly people to our centre for sessions on positive living.
The Petmobil will also enable us to go into the homes of people who are bedridden – especially in poorer areas of the city – and offer our services to them.
We will also take them on outings – with their pets, if any – to let them have an experience of a lifetime.
Incidentally, our work is conducted closely with medical and veterinary professionals together with disabled and elderly persons who actively receive animal-assisted therapy.
As with any NGO with a mission, there are always obstacles in front of us.
We are looking for a driver-cum-office male worker, as well as a 24-hour male caregiver.
They must love animals and be patient and understanding with the disabled and the elderly in order to work with us. The ideal age that we require is someone who is around 25-years old.
We are looking for kind donors to sponsor their salaries as well to help meet the monthly rentals of our therapy centre which is 1,500.00.
Donations to our society are tax exempt.
For further information about Petpositive, please call 012 220 3146 or visit our Webpage: www.petpositive.com.my
You may also visit our blog at www.petpositive.blogspot.com or contact us on Facebook at Petpositive Empowerment.
PET+BLOGSPOT is the official online blog of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive). Our contents are ACCURATE, RELIABLE and THE LATEST. We offer both local and foreign news on animals, disability and the elderly. PET+BLOGSPOT was first established in October 2007. Our hits since then is 40,000 hits and counting. PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Kindly take note that views expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of PETPOSITIVE. You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.com.my
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