Skip to main content

Guest Post: May your kids treat you the same

The sight of a poor abandoned dog she calls Scruffy gets guest blogger JEHAN MOHD all worked up and wishing divine justice for his heartless owners. Here is her plea.

Scruffy trying to hydrate himself from a small 
puddle of water outside Jehan Mohd's house.


FOR the past several weeks, whenever a car pulls up in front of my terraced house or that of the opposite neighbour's, a scruffy lanky brown dog would come running out of nowhere to greet the occupants — whether he’s welcome to do so or not.

More a nuisance than a delight to the residents here, the mongrel seems to have taken a liking to our little area — never mind the fact that he’s often shooed away — and he guards his territory like the loyal pet he used to be.

His collar — once a proud symbol of belonging — is now a sad reminder of how easily pets like him can be discarded.

While I'm very upset that he runs loose outside and tries to enter our compounds once in a while, the real culprits in this situation are his former owners.

His ribs are visible through his malnourished skin, he drinks whatever water he can get from puddles on the road and fights the neighbourhood strays for whatever scraps of food good Samaritans give him.

On an almost daily basis, there would be fierce snarling and gnashing of teeth as he fights for survival.

Sometimes, he would be defeated by the strays used to the hard life. A few days ago he was cowering under a car while an old white and brown homeless dog was trying to get at him to tear him apart.

Luckily, a couple of humans shooed the bigger dog away and Scruffy (as he looks like he might be called that) could come out from under the car.

Unluckily, he still remains on the streets fending for himself.

Is this your dog?

Because, if it is, you should be ashamed of what you have done to him and punished for how you have abandoned him just because he’s old/no longer cute/a burden/too expensive to care for.

May your kids and their kids treat you the same.

Just because they’re cute when young and they can’t ever articulate themselves in human-speak doesn't mean animals have no feelings when they are discarded in their later years.

Comments

Unknown said…
what an interesting way describing a stray.. it sounds almost like a neglected senior citizen which isnt uncommon these days. But yes! pet owners have to be more responsible than this.
Unknown said…
This is a very nice little review.I have few experiences with my dogs and i learned that the more they get old,the more they get scared and need the owner.
"Sometimes.some men are worse than the beast." - the animal lovers of Switzerland.

Popular Posts

Who am I?

Malaysian artist Jeganathan Ramachandram will be exhibiting his paintings in Singapore if a deal with a company to display Human Watching: A Visual Poetry on the Science of Human Watching in the island republic is successful. The intuitive artist told Survey that the move is still under negotiation. Human watching made its debut at Galeri Petronas in March, 2009 and was well received by both art critics and art lovers. Fourteen portraits representing females and males born on each of the seven days in a week were put on view. The depictions (acrylic on canvas) were based on his observations of human behaviour for the past 14 years. Images of seven females and seven males inform viewers through symbols of their strengths and weaknesses and their relationships with other people. Those who have seen Human Watching identified with their profiles almost immediately. Admit it: you are curious about yourself! Males, who were born on Sunday ( bottom picture ), were pleasantly surprised to dis...

Jehan bagged it!

Journalist Jehan Mohd is 30 today. I thought she would like a mer? original handbag so I invited Ice to design one that would suit her charming and vivacious personality. Ice did not disappoint and I am very happy with her creation. I think Jehan likes the stylish tote ( see picture ) too. Happy Birthday Jehan and enjoy the bag!

When a card came out of the blue ...

This post is prompted by a remark made by my good friend Wei Lin. She saw me reading a card I had received from a friend recently and said: "Traditional cards are so old-fashioned." I wondered if that was true and decided to probe into the issue. A Google search revealed numerous articles on the debate between traditional paper-based cards and e-cards. Tracey Grady's examination of the pros and cons of each type is informative. In my opinion, e-cards are not substitutes for the real (traditional) ones and they shouldn't be. I treat e-card e-mails with suspicion because spammers could be using them to download viruses and software onto my computer. I have never sent anyone an e-card and I don't plan to; I dislike the cold impersonality of conveying greetings electronically. I have always liked sending and receiving cards the traditional way. The ritual of going to a bookshop, browsing at the card section, picking a suitable one for the recipient and then walking to...