POSITIVE LIVES! NEWSLETTER #2 ON ITS WAY!

GOOD NEWS EVERYBODY!

The final proof-reading stages of our brand new Positive Lives! Newsletter is now over.

By the time you read this, our quarterly will probably be well on its way to the print shop.

Our latest issue which is from October to December 2007 will be a special one as it will include a 2008 planner on the inside pages.

The cover and back pages will be loaded with PETPOSITIVE news and events that took place in the last quarter of 2007.

You will get to not only read but also see pictures of our highly successful maiden animal-assisted therapy activity with FRIM and be introduced to all our AAT specialists at the event.

You'll also get to read about our Deepavali and Xmas activities, as well as find out what PETPOSITIVE did on International Disabled Day which fell on December 3 last month.

So do keep a lookout for our Positive Lives! Newsletter coming out before long.

Positive Lives! is made possible through the sponsorship by Mr Tan Teik Poh of K9 Pets SdnBhd and Diamond Pet Foods.

Mr Tan was also our VIP Mystery Guest at our Mid Valley Xmas party last month. Pictures of that event will also appear in our upcoming Positive Lives! Newsletter.

Wait for it!

PET+BLOGSPOT

POSITIVE LIVES GETS WELFARE DEPT AND MID VALLEY HOTELS' HELP

The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association [PETPOSITIVE] would like to express our warm "Thank You" to the following two individuals for helping us distribute our POSITIVE LIVES! Newsletters.

1. Cik Norani Hj Mohd Hashim, Director of the Department for People with Disabilities at the Welfare Department Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. She has kindly agreed to help distribute 100 copies of our Newsletter to her contacts which include heads of disability departments in our other states in Malaysia. By doing so, Norani will greatly assist PETPOSITIVE in our objectives to raise much needed awareness about the positive effects of animal-assisted therapy for disabled and the elderly Malaysians. Norani, who is on our PET+BLOGSPOT LIST was PETPOSITIVE'S VIP Guest at our Official Launching and Fundraising Dinner, called "Positive Living Through The Power Of Pets" at the Legend Hotel in July of this year. She is one of the few able-bodied persons I know who is very well versed about disability and our rights issues.
2. Mr Huang Chia Ming, Communications Manager of Boulevard Hotel & Cititel Mid Valley of Mid Valley City in Kuala Lumpur for agreeing to distribute 40 copies of our Newsletter to their contacts. Chia Ming was instrumental in sponsoring a Xmas Party for 60 disabled and elderly persons in his hotels and in Mid Valley. Details of this coming up soon .

POSITIVE LIVES! Newsletter, Final Page

HI FOLKS! Here is the fourth instalment and final page of POSITIVE LIVES! Newsletter for your reading pleasure.

PETPOSITIVE is most grateful to Mr Tan Teik Poh of K-9 Pets Sdn Bhd and Diamond Pet Foods in Penang for printing 2000 copies for us free-of-charge.

His support will go a long way in helping us raise awareness about the immeasurable benefits of animal-assisted therapy in the lives of the disabled and the elderly in the country following the phenomenal success of our Valentina Project at the Kepong Botanical Gardens recently.

If you want extra copies of our PLN in order to distribute to our target groups or other key persons who will be helpful to Petpositive in future, kindly contact us at 012 220 3146 (aNt) or mailto:petpositive@yahoo.com

Kindly note that the current PLN is our July - September 07 issue. Our October - December 07 issue will be out in January 2008. Work on that PLN, which is also being sponsored by K-9 Pets and Diamond Pet Foods, will start in December next month.

Once again, Petpositive is PROUD to present POSITIVE LIVES! for your reading pleasure.

Enjoy everybody!

STORY ONE:

COMING UP IN OCTOBER: A Jungle Walk With Our Pets And Other Animals. May include a surprise visit from a VVIP!

Hey, what’s going on here?
Petpositive taking us all on a jungle trek with our pets?
Get outta here!

Some of the intrepid gang who went on a fact-finding excursion to check out the area. (The man with the cowboy hat is NOT Garth Brooks but Capt Karim.)

Not satisfied, a second trip was made to scrutinize the landscape and check for wheelchair-friendly conveniences.

Pet+ volunteers Sally Addington & Lynda Merican discussed with FRIM experts Elango and Norsham about issues to the latter.

Leave no stone unturned.

Especially in the loo!

With everything finished it was off—by car—to the nearest watering hole for ice-cream!

Our outing in FRIM will be made possible by a donation by the Association of British Women of Malaysia. The excursion will be led by Pet+ Special Adviser Lynda Merican.
During our walk, will we get to encounter these lovely creatures?

STORY TWO:

CAT CALL

HERE’S A BAFFLING tale to tell of a truly incredible cat: A cat in a US nursing home is said to be able to sense when its residents will die.
And the phenomenon is greatly puzzling doctors in Rhode Island where the nursing home is located.

“Oscar” the feline has a habit of curling up next to the residents in their final hours.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the two-year-old cat has got it right in 25 cases so far.

So much so that the staff of the home now alert families of residents when he sits down next to their ailing loved one.

Oscar was adopted as a kitten at the nursing and rehabilitation centre.
The cat is said to do its rounds just like the doctors and nurses at the home, but is not generally friendly to the patients.

When put outside the room by their relatives, Oscar is said to pace up and down, meowing in protest— BBC ONLINE.

Oscar the cat

“Cats often can sense when their owners are sick or when another animal is ill”
- Thomas Graves, Feline Expert.

STORY THREE:

LOCAL COUNCILS MUST BE SENSITIVE TOWARDS THE ELDERLY AND THEIR PETS

The incident, which received wide coverage in the media, carried PET+’S call on all local councils to exercise great sensitivity when relating to the elderly — especially in cases where AAT was obviously at work in the lives of older persons.

PET+ subsequently took part in two animal forums related to the dog killings and other forms or cruelty to animals in Malaysia.

The first was held in Sept 2006 at the Pure Life Society, KL with Pet+ adviser Dr Chandra Muzaffar speaking on the topic of “Animals and Islam.”

Dr Muzaffar enlightened the audiences as to how very caring the teaching of Islam is towards animals of all kinds, including dogs.

The second event was at the SPCA Seremban forum in December 2006 in which the role of guide and service dogs for the disabled was highlighted.

CLICK FOR PAGE ONE


CLICK FOR PAGE THREE





End

POSITIVE LIVES! NEWSLETTER PAGE 3

BUT FIRST, don't forget: Tune in to TraxxFM on Thursday to hear Petpositive's 'live' interview about our Valentina Project on October 30, 2007. DETAILS.

Here now is Petpositive's Positive Lives! Page 3. Click HERE for Page 2. Click HERE for Page 4.

Enjoy!

PAGE 3

Story One:

THE ROAD TO THE LEGEND HOTEL: Tough But Rewarding

WITH 750 invitation cards printed and only 60-days till show-time; the clock ticked away feverishly.

To make matters even more challenging, AAT was a totally new and untested field.
The biggest boost, initially was when Ramli Ibrahim accepted to perform FOC followed by the other artistes and emcees.

TraxxFM also made a crucial role, not just in helping Petpositive distribute our tickets but more importantly in raising awareness about AAT.

For more than two weeks everyday aNt appeared live on the national broadcaster for 10-minutes in the mornings to talk about the subject.

Our unique message reached as far away as Penang, Sarawak, Singapore and even Australia. Some of it through the newspapers on the Internet.

The Legend Hotel itself decided to construct a first-ever ramp to the stage of its Ballroom. It will now be made available to other patrons in wheelchairs in future.
Thanks to all in the organizing team with special mention to Dr VJ, Capt Karim, Fasidah, Andrew, Dr Jon & Indran from Legend Hotel.

“The smiles that I saw on the faces of the disabled and elderly guests said it all!”
- Capt Karim, Event Organiser

Story Two:

PETPOSITIVE CREATES HISTORY; JUMPS INTO ACTION

Malaysia’s very first national Society to use animals to empower and raise the quality of lives of persons with disabilities — and the elderly — became a reality on June 7, 2006.
The epoch-making moment which was heralded by scores of disabled Malaysians, the elderly and pet-lovers, came about with the official registration of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association or PETPOSITIVE by the Registrar Of Societies (ROS) in Kuala Lumpur.

Ironically, news of PET+’S establishment had coincided around the same time when many Malaysians were reeling over the shocking news reports about a local council breaking into an elderly brother and sister’s home and cold-bloodedly shot-dead 13 of their dogs.
Pet+ joined forces with other animal-rights NGOs at once to condemn the action.
The groups also initiated legal action against those responsible for the extremely cruel act. (Go to page 4)

“Animals have feelings and rights too. Let’s make the world a better place for all living beings.” - Anon

Story Three:

SEPTEMBER 5, 2006: Pet+ First AGM

CRUSADERS on a mission to combat loneliness with a lending paw from pets:
(Back Row): Dr Chew; Andrew; Dr Vijay; Dr Jon & Dr Kathi.
(Front Row): Dr Malinee; Stanley (Internal auditor); Dr Padma; Dr Amara & Sara.
(Seated): aNt. (Tired of posing): Soo the Golden Retriever.
(Not in picture): Dr Roohi.
Note: Dr Chew resigned in July 2007 and was replaced by Dr Anna.

End

Positive Lives! Newsletter Page 2

ABOVE IS PAGE TWO OF OUR FOUR PAGE NEWSLETTER. Kindly save the picture and enlarge it to view it. Below is the script for the whole page for your reading. Click HERE for Page One. Click HERE for Page Three




Please help Petpositive: If you can distribute our print copies to some key persons whom you think will be helpful to our cause and Society, kindly contact me for copies of our Newsletter. Our Newsletter is available free of charge to everyone thanks to the kind support of K-9 Pets Sdn Bhd and Diamond Pet Foods. It would be good if you could arrange to collect the copies from my home in Petaling Jaya. Please email me for details at petpositive@yahoo.com

aNt

STORY ONE:

THE CLIMAX of the evening was unmistakably the brilliant dance performance by the famed Doyen of Dance himself: Ramli Ibrahim and his one dozen Sutra Dancers. They kept audiences spellbound for a whole hour. Even the blind were seen tapping their feet to the rhythmic steps of the performances.

The Deaf said they were dazzled by the colourful costumes and artistic movement of the dances. Even some of the learning disabled who have difficulty with their attention span were seen watching the show with great curiosity. One elderly poor said that she had never dreamt that she would one day have a chance to watch Ramli in action.

STORY TWO:

TWO VIDEO CLIPS were aired as part of Pet+’s launch.
The first was a 3-minute clip to singer Bette Midler’s song, “Wind Beneath My Wings.”
The video showed how the President’s service dogs provide daily AAT for him. His canines went on to inspire him to set up Petpositive and use all types of pets to help the disabled and the elderly.

The second video produced by compliments from Big Pictures Sdn Bhd demonstrated how aquarium therapy had brightened up the lives of a spastic quadriplegic young woman and her single mother.

The aquarium therapy was Petpositive’s first official project in late 2006. It began in October and ended in December.
Our Society helped set up the aquarium and fishes for Wong Lee Foong and her mother Roxanna Lim (inset)). Roxanna is now adviser to Pet+ for the learning disabled.

More Petpositive Info:

• GET INVITED TO PETPOSITIVE'S DEEPAVALI GATHERING ON DECEMBER 2 NEXT MONTH. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.

• TUNE IN TO TRAXXFM'S 101 INTERVIEW SHOW ON THURSDAY TO DISCOVER HOW OUR VALENTINA PROJECT WENT. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.

End

Introducing Positive Lives! Petpositive's First Quarterly Newsletter

PETPOSITIVE, The Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association is pleased and proud to loudly introduce to you to our very first quarterly Newsletter called POSITIVE LIVES!

Please save the picture on your computer and then enlarge it to view the Newsletter.

Positive Lives! is made possible by K-9 PETS SDN. BHD and DIAMOND PET FOODS.

For a print copy, please email your name and address to petpositive@yahoo.com Your contact details will be kept confidential. The Newsletter if free of charge. However, donations to "Petpositive" are most welcome!

STORY ONE:

PETPOSITIVE’S OFFICIAL LAUNCHING AND FIRST FUNDRAISING CHARITY DINNER: A Big Hit and Sell-Out Event!

“NO MORE lonely lives—only positive ones; thanks to companion pets!”
This was the strong and highly motivating message of hope that was delivered to some 200-disabled and elderly Malaysians and their caregivers in Kuala Lumpur recently.

The occasion was Petpositive’s Positive+Living Thru’ Pets Launching cum Charity Dinner Nite that was held at The Legend Hotel on Sunday, July 29, 2007.

Joining them were another 500-non disabled guests comprising, among others, a number of healthcare and veterinary professionals.

The function noted that thanks to Pet+, handicapped and elderly persons can now look forward to living more fulfilling lives through their special friends—whether they be the furry, feathered, finned or four-footed kind.

The historic launching of the very first animal-assisted therapy (AAT) Society in Malaysia was officiated by YB Dato’ Wong Sai Hou, the MCA Selangor state Vice Chairman on behalf of Event Patron Dato’ Ir Donald Lim Siang Chai, Deputy Minister of Tourism of Malaysia.

The Pet+ evening was marked with two exclusive video clips on AAT, as well as a sterling classical dance performance by Ramli Ibrahim.

Emcees for the evening were popular TraxxFM’s DJ The Jezza and Newsreader Pei Lee.
The event started at 7pm and ended just before midnight. It was the talk of town for weeks!

(YB Dato’ Dr Wong and Pet+ Patron Tan Sri Datuk Paduka Dr Saleha Mohd Ali with aNt behind the copper-tooling logo of the Society. Pix courtesy by Dr Chung Tze Yang.)

STORY TWO:

Best Disabled Event Ever! Says Tetraplegic

Echoing the sentiments of many disabled and elderly persons that night, Dixon David, 27. was, just like most people, all praise for the Charity Dinner.

“It’s the best disabled event I ever attended,” he told Positive Lives Newsletter.

“Able-bodied volunteers were everywhere ready to help; at the toilets, near the lifts and even in the car parks,” raved the resident from Taman Maluri in Cheras who was invited by Pet+ along with two of his able-bodied volunteer friends to offer him assistance.

Dixon became paralysed from the neck down after being involved in a car accident six years ago.
“For first-timers, I thought that Pet+ really outdid themselves. “Great job guys and congratulations!” He concluded.

Dixon, has an eight-year old mixed breed dog named “Prince” who offers the electric wheelchair-user love and companionship.

“Kudos to Petpositive for their exemplary effort” Dixon David

STORY THREE: (Sidebar)

Notable Facts:

• A cross section of disabilities was present: The physically disabled to stroke survivors, little people to the elderly and many more.
• There were more disabled VIPs than able-bodied Big Shots.
• More disabled and elderly guests grabbed lucky draw prizes than the non disabled.
• Parking for the handicapped was a priority.
• All performances were absolutely free of charge for Petpositive.
• Braille material was provided for the blind.
• Sign language provided for the Deaf.

For more, click on Wheel Power.

Page 2 of Positive Lives! Newsletter coming soon! Click HERE for Page 2.

The 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.