Written by: Lovina Nova Sukra a/p Lorganaden
Editor: Siti Norasikin binti Ariffin
BANGI, 23 Nov - Eight newborn puppies found abandoned and neglected without a mother, shelter or a caretaker at Kolej Dato’ Onn, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) recently this month after the estrous cycle for dogs.
The stray puppies are about 4 to 6 weeks old and still in need of breastmilk and guidance from their mother but she is nowhere to be found which leads the newborn puppies to suffer in starvation, hunger and feeling of lost.
These newborn puppies are in desperate need of an owner, proper accommodation and a safe environment to live in with no exposure to dangerous weather such as the storm and heavy rain, wild animals like the monkeys at UKM and also the possibility to get ill treatments from some humans who do not like dogs.
Melissa Michelle a/p Michael Gnanam, a materials science student from the Faculty of Science and Technology who has seen the abandoned puppies voiced out her concern on the newborns and said “I am feeling very worried and pity for these little puppies because someone might make a report to the management and they will for sure call the dog catchers to capture these innocent babies and put them down”.
Vienna Oni Samudra, an outsider student out of UKM who was a temporary caretaker to the stray puppies and seldomly fed them in her free times stated that after a few weeks, there are only three puppies left out of eight because one has died due to health problems and improper environment condition they were living in meanwhile four puppies is missing with unknown reason.
“Not many people around the KDO area is willing to feed them some food because a lot of people don’t like dogs and are afraid of them which is very sad because they could be malnourished and die out of dehydration and also starvation”, said Vienna Oni Samudra.
Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) has posted a statement on Facebook giving awareness on these stray puppies and opening up an adoption for them to a wider scale audience in hopes these little canines would get rescued.
Nowadays neglection of puppies or any animals in general has become a norm and predictable thing to happen in Malaysia even though it is known that these animals will get captured and put to death by the authorities if no one is willing to adopt or give them a home.
According to the Veterinary Services Department, the number of cases involving stray animals such as dogs and cats are rising every year in Malaysia due to unneutered pets reproducing which leads to some owners having to neglect the newborns in the streets.
There are some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (SPCA) Selangor that has rescued many stray dogs and cats throughout the years by taking care of them in a safe shelter while they wait to be adopted.
In 2017, SPCA has successfully found adopters and brand new homes for 500 stray animals and also neutered 1092 cats and dogs under Stray Free Selangor.
“Neutering your pets is so important because it can control the reproduction of dogs and cats and this can prevent so many animal lives from being neglected, homeless and tortured in the streets”, said Melissa Michelle.
“I think one of the main causes of stray animals is that our policy is not that strict yet in terms of how many pets we are allowed to have and has your pet been neutered yet, which can cause over reproduction of animals that leads to them being thrown in the streets and become homeless because taking care of too many pets is a high cost”, said Vienna Oni Samudra.
“Nowadays with so many shelterless dogs and cats in the pound, we should adopt them instead of buying expensive rare breeds because stray animals deserve love and care too”, said Melissa Michelle.
Stray animals could also contribute to a human health hazard which is very dangerous because it could spread diseases such as rabies, leptospirosis and other parasites so remember to always adopt, don’t shop!
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