UPDATE 3 (6pm, Nov 2: Here's a latest response from someone who suffered a same fate from the MBI:
I am very sorry for her loss..My family and I went through the same thing in August..
My dog was wearing a licensed tag too and they shot her right outside my kitchen where she would normally be after doing her morning business..
I heard her painful cry and i opened the windows to see them dragging her bloody body towards the main road..my house was the second so they left a trail of blood behind..
I woke my brother and we both ran outside to stop them from taking away my dead dog..i shouted "BERHENTI" as loud as i could but one of the man just smirked at me and called the driver to "Jalan-jalan" ignoring both me and my brother..
We went after them in our car but they were nowhere to be seen..
Our poor dog was with us for 6 years..she was a stray went she came into our house seeking for shelter to give birth to her puppies..we then took her in and gave her a collar and tag hoping that this incident will never happen to her..but to our dismay..it still did..
I have heard many similar stories from many people concerning the MBI shootings of dogs..some even have to witness the shooting right in front of them while others begged on their knees for their dog's life but to no avail..they still simply run around killing tagged and untagged dogs..whats the point of our tags if it doesnt even secure our dogs' safety??
I wrote to The Star about this issue but they never published it..nor did SPCA reply me..i am very heartbroken to see so many beloved dogs get killed over the inhuman MBI..they laugh at our loss when they have caused it..not a tiny bit of remorse over their cruel act..
I condemn them with all my heart and i really hope this animal cruelty will stop!!
UPDATE 2: PETPOSITIVE has issued a press statement this morning to the media on the therapy dog-shooting by MBI. We hope to see our statement on print very soon.
Please keep your comments coming in. Thank you!
UPDATE 1:
A close friend of our elderly member, Martin Jalleh, writes to PET+BLOGSPOT on his thoughts about the shocking dog-shooting incident:
The senior citizen whom you have highlighted in your story dear Anthony is a very close friend of my family!
In fact I visited her this morning after hearing from her son that she was distraught and depressed over the shooting of her beloved dog.
Till now she cannnot understand the logic of the shooting of her dog who has been a faithful friend and companion to her and gave her the security which even the police in the area cannot provide.
It is very irresponsible, insensitive and to say but the least "idiotic" of the Ipoh City Council to shoot the dog -- which was wearing a licensed tag. The fact that the dog had a tag meant it was not a stray dog but it has an owner.
If the Council's dog shooters are itching for some action why not go on their rounds and threaten to shoot the council's workers who laze and lepak most of the day instead of doing their work!
Thanks for highlighting this merciless act by the Ipoh City Council!
Martin (Jalleh)
PETPOSITIVE BARKING NEWS!
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DATELINE IPOH, PERAK:
An elderly woman is still very much in a state of shock, grief and disbelief this evening since her animal-assisted therapy dog was shot and killed by the Ipoh City Council (MBI) on Saturday.
The incident happened in Taman Merdeka just before eight in the morning.
The 75-year old was about to take her ten-year old companion dog named Spunk for his daily walk when she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to bring a roll of toilet paper with her.
The tissues were to promptly pick up the poop after Spunk had defecated - a responsible pet practice that she has been faithfully observing since she first got her canine.
She told Spunk to wait at the gate - which he obediently did - whilst she disappeared into the house for a moment.
When she came out, Spunk was gone!
She rushed out to the gate only to see Spunk fleeing for his dear life from the MBI's dogcatchers in their lorry.
The dog and the vehicle soon disappeared out of sight.
Then suddenly to her dismay and horror, the elderly woman heard an ominous gunfire ring out in the neighbourhood.
All she found afterward was a pool of Spunk's blood on the road.
The dogcatchers had taken away her beloved dog.
"My darling Spunk was a wonderful companion to me over the years since my husband passed away and I have been living alone," the elderly woman told PET+BLOGSPOT.
"He has been a joy to have around and was a super watchdog not only in the house but outside as well during our exercise walks," she added.
"What the council did to my therapy dog and me as a senior citizen was downright insensitive and cruel," said the woman almost in tears.
"I don't know how I am going to face life now that my companion is no longer with me," she added.
The elderly woman who is a PETPOSITIVE member suffered a spate of sad happenings recently.
Her only daughter passed away last year.
Another companion canine that she had, besides Spunk, died in her sleep two months ago.
The senior pet owner had never failed to license both her dogs since she had them.
Spunk was wearing his license when the MBI dogcatchers cruelly hunted him down.
"Shooting and killing my aunt's sole and special companion who took care of her and which she took care of was an act of cowardice that has no forgiveness," said her niece to PET+BLOGSPOT in a telephone interview from Petaling Jaya in the state of Selangor.
PETPOSITIVE condemns the MBI's action and calls on the Mayor Dato' Haji Roshidi Bin Haji Hashim to outlaw all dog shooting activity in the city at once.
Meanwhile, a check with the Ipoh Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has revealed that the NGO's attempts to stop dog-shooting in Ipoh has only fallen on deaf ears.
PETPOSITIVE has made a complaint of the incident to M Kulasegaran, the Member of Parliament of Ipoh Barat where Taman Merdeka falls under.
Please write a polite letter to the MBI's mayor to express your outrage over what had happened to our member and demand for the end of dog-shooting in Ipoh immediately.
Kindly write a similar note to the Acting Director of Health Encik Mohd Alias B Kamaruddin.
The email to write to is: aduan@mbi.gov.my
You may also call up the MBI's hotline: 05-255 1515.
The MBI Webpage address is:
http://www.mbi.gov.my/web/guest/maklum_balas
We also encourage all our readers to write to the media calling for the end to dog-shooting at once.
You may also comment your reactions in our Blog. Please note that only polite and constructive messages will be published.
Thank you for your support!
PET+BLOGSPOT
PET+BLOGSPOT is the ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive). Our reports and stories are CURRENT, ACCURATE and RELIABLE. 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 now 70,000 and going strong! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Sometimes even twice or three times a day. 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 You can also find us in Facebook as PETPOSITIVE EMPOWERMENT. Please sign up as a FOLLOWER of this Blog if you haven't done so already in order to show us your kind support. Thank you!
