it is very intriguing to see the multitudes of our beautiful local dogs. They come in a myriad of shapes, sizes, colours. But one thing remains constant - their fierce loyalty - be it to their family pack or to a human being they've accepted as friend and leader.
Loyal brothers
We have shared earlier, Project JK started out from the sole desire to help another fellow human being, an elderly lady who has been on the streets, looking after the strays for half her life, a good 30 years. Isn't it time she enjoys the autumn of her life?
We had wanted to offer her that gift, the precious time of our short life on earth where she can rest her mind and soul knowing that her dogs are safely off the streets.
However, we over-estimated the dimension of the issue.
Our wish then was to sterilise and relocate all the dogs along this stray feeder's route to Noah's Ark in Johor. We targeted to move about 50 dogs. As of today, we have sterilised 38 dogs and relocated 18 dogs to Noah's Ark. Out of these 18, 3 had passed on (Mommy Dog, Romeo and Charcoal) and one escaped (Abbie, now staying with his own pack around the perimeters of Noah's Ark).
We are unable to relocate anymore dogs to Noah's Ark as we have not been able to garner sponsorships for all our dogs there. Monetary support for our 14 dogs there come in irregularly and it is not easy to have a committed supporter willing to sponsor a dog each month for the rest of the next 10-15 years. We understand that. Thus, we have stopped relocating anymore dogs.
Anyone who've spent some time on the streets, in the farm areas, will see the reality of our stray issue. It is impossible to rectify the stray issue under a come and go 'project'. Quite impossible. And Project JK was never set out to eradicate the stray issue in any particular area. If that can be done, many areas would be settled by now way before our involvement. We declare that we are unable to. What Project JK started out for can be read from the very start of this blog.
Pregnant female out of our reach.
In a pack of say 5 stray dogs, you will be fortunate if 1 or 2 of the female dogs are friendly enough to be caught and sterilised. But in reality, you may only be able to get the males but the females remain out of reach. No matter how long you have fed them. And it only takes 1 female to be pregnant and your numbers of sterilised vs unsterilised dogs will very soon even out again.
The unreachables.
How then can we say that our area has almost been done. It is not. Far from it. In a seemingly manageable area, there are still forested areas with ample hiding place for dogs we may not even have encountered during the past years. Puppies born and dogs dumped. It has been stated that unless a area is more than 70% sterilised, if not, in a short span of 1 year, the stray numbers will bounce back again.
How then can we say that our area has almost been done. It is not. Far from it. In a seemingly manageable area, there are still forested areas with ample hiding place for dogs we may not even have encountered during the past years. Puppies born and dogs dumped. It has been stated that unless a area is more than 70% sterilised, if not, in a short span of 1 year, the stray numbers will bounce back again.
Talking about financial support. Project JK has been running somewhat like an independent entity. We are not a registered society. Thus we are legally not allowed to solicit funds from the public. When we started out, we partnered Noah's Ark and was raising funds under their umbrella - the funds raised for Project JK was then channelled to our dogs in our areas of care. We appreciate that partnership as it enabled us to garner much needed support for needy dogs like Abbie (severe mange), Ming Ming (hit-and-run), Lucas (abandoned).
It was mentioned in the Dec06/Jan07 newsletter of Noah's Ark Cares that Noah's Ark Cares "will be winding down Project JK by end of this year (2006) as most of the animals have been sterilised but more importantly, we (Noah's Ark Cares) have been approached by several caregivers at Punggol and Jurong to help in their sterilisation efforts..."
From now, Project JK will manage our own fundraising for cases that come along our way. For dogs requiring boarding at established facilities, we will request for donations to be made out to that boarding facility. Similarly for dogs requiring veterinary care, cheques can be made to that vet clinic. For cash donations, we will accept from those supporters who have been following through with us and understand intrinsically what we do.
We are not the only people who are perservering on the road for the welfare of our strays, there are many out there, silently doing their bit which matters so much more than mere talk and discussions on what is right or wrong. Support them if you come to know about them. Lift their spirits where they may have been misunderstood for what they do.
Where there is a need, go meet it. When you witness something improper, try to resolve it, else report it to the police. Do not procrastinate or ponder.
Support any animal welfare societies out there who have demonstated their heart for the needy animals they have set out to rescue, heal and rehome. Many have done a wonderful job for our animals and they deserve all your support.
Support any animal welfare societies out there who have demonstated their heart for the needy animals they have set out to rescue, heal and rehome. Many have done a wonderful job for our animals and they deserve all your support.
In the heart of true giving, no pie is too small to share.
1 comment:
let me strat by congratulating you for your beautiful work. We are trying to do our bit for Bangalore "stray" dogs and I think we can learn a lot from your experience.
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