Jessie Yee and her friends made the dogfood delivery to Meiji's Doggie Paradise yesterday. She was so overwhelmed after meeting Meiji that she came back immediately and wrote this wonderful account of her visit and how she felt.
I could not blog it yesterday because of some computer incompatibility but the problem has been solved now, and wait no more, folks....here it is!
Jessie calls it
The Adventures of the City Sakais to Doggie Paradise
We, my good friends Corinne & Hoe Leong started our journey from PJ at around 9.30am. The drive to Bentong was very pleasant and I was very surprised that it wasn’t far at all. We reached Bentong town at around 11 am. Meiji gave me excellent direction and we reached the waiting point by about 11.30 am. Little did we know that Bentong is a town of Jotun signboards. We later realised that we were waiting at the wrong Jotun signboard.
Alron’s lorry driver is EXCELLENT with punctuality. When I called Meiji at around 11.301 am, the lorry drivers were off loading at the foothill. 11am was the ETA specified by Alron’s driver. As they were off loading the dog food, we waited for Meiji at the Mutiara Gemilang commercial centre. It has a large Jotun signboard across but this, unfortuntunately was not the right location. Meiji rushed to meet us and lead us to the foothill.
We hopped onto Meiji's Suzuki Jeep to make our journey up to Doggieland. The ride itself was quite an experience. I must say that besides being such a good hearted person that she is, Meiji has a driving skill that is better than anyone I know, me included haha. She manoeuvred the JEEP through the terrain like a professional off road driver.
Me giggling like a little girl – I was already excited riding at the back of the JEEP (being a bonafide city sakai that I am) although the ride was extremely bumpy.Hoe Leong being the heaviest sat in front to equal out the weight haha. Our 50 bags of dog food & an anonymous donor's sardines on pallets that we dropped off at the foothill- up to where the lorry can reach. The smaller bags of dog food donated by an anonymous donor have already been loaded onto the JEEP. We stopped at his point and loaded a few cartons of sardines which were really heavy. Meiji says that dogs love sardines. They get variety at times too J. Just like what you wrote in your trip, we had an entire welcoming committee greeting us as we were about to reach the top. They were very excited and happy to see Meiji’s truck driving up. The good looking white dog looks like a Labrador . Here’s a close-up They were very hospitable. Look at how excited they were. I like the brown dog on the right. He’s got the cutest little button brown nose. Here’s a closer look at the cutie pie This black doggie looks like a Labrador too and he’s got the most beautiful silky black coat.
We off loaded the smaller bags of dog food & the few cartons of sardines that we managed to squeezed into the jeep.
A whole group waiting anxiously for the gate to open.
This manja here was waiting to be sayanged.
This macho boy was barking incessantly but he meant no harm. Occasionally sneaked over to sniff my pants.
Meiji with a cute dachshund that apparently has back problems. So manja, wanted Meiji to carry.
This is the cute spitz. I had a good time giving them snacks. I fed them with my hand and they were all very well behaved & gentle.
Look at how well fed & beautiful their coat are. I think the black dog with the brown paw is called “ham sap boy” haha because he loves hugging people. There were some really handsome fellas in here too.
As we walk around, Meiji will tell me the names of each dogs and their stories. Yes, she has a fantastic memory. This is the breath taking million dollar view from the guest house.
When we finished the tour, it was slightly past lunch time. Just like you mentioned, Meiji is overly hospitable. She offered to cook us noodle. I didn’t want our presence to inconvenient her so we said we would grab lunch at the town centre. Meiji also made a trip to the Melawati the day before to pick-up a dog that was down with tick fever – he’s ok now. Knowing how busy she was (and she hasn’t had the time to answer your sms yet ), we excused ourselves. Meiji also said her sister is not around to help her currently so it’s a little harder to manage the tasks. Our parting shots with Meiji. As we reach the foothill, it started to drizzle. We said our goodbyes and Meiji had to rush back to get a canvas to cover the dog food.
Though the stay was short, I had such an enjoyable time. I think the biggest reward is to meet Meiji. She is a genuine person with a heart of gold. Truly god sent – to the dogs & to us human too. I believe all of us can learn from Meiji – her sacrifice, patience & perseverance, qualities that are so lacking in today’s society. She inspires me and I hope she inspires a lot more people out there.
It was very touching when Meiji told us that we were all Buddha in some ways too by helping her to help the dogs. I totally agree with her. Most of us cannot give up our lives & the material stuffs to do what she is doing but we should at least help in whatever ways we can. So if we can help pave the way, why not?
I gained so much from this trip & most from meeting Meiji. However, my biggest regret is not being able to help her move the heavy load of food up to doggieland. In fact, my heart aches when I look at the pictures of the heavy load of food & the thought that she has to load-off load and drive them up to doggieland alone. Meiji also said that she recently injured her shoulder and she shouldn’t doing all these heavy chores to aggravate it. I only hope she is able to get some help. I blame it on bad timing on our end too.
So, I am determined that for the next trip I will get a pick-up truck by hook or by crook and I will complete the delivery journey….door-to-door.
I want to thank you, Dr Chan so so so much for this experience. If it wasn’t for you, your blogs & your efforts I would not have had such an opportunity to meet this beautiful kind soul and see a doggie heaven on earth with my own eyes. Meiji speaks of you with great pride & love. I can already tell how much you’ve done for her.
If I were a dog, this is definitely where I want to be, without a doubt. I only wish that more people can be as inspired as much as I am.
I’m already missing Meiji and all the dogs in Doggieland. These photos are so precious that I smile & tear at the same time when I look at them.
In this experience, my biggest gain that is so priceless to me is the emotional & spiritual lift and connection. My way of saying that when we help we gain in ways that are intangible which make it so much more priceless than any tangible rewards.
Oh & lastly a message to the anonymous donor of the sardines – Meiji says the doggies that you mentioned have already found homes.
See? I told you it's a story to die for, right? Thank you, Jessie, for the wonderful sharing from your heart.
When we first visited Meiji in 2009, we had every intention of helping her rehome some of her dogs to homes in the Klang Valley, but after seeing how much love and how well-cared for the dogs are (pedigree or otherwise), we knew then and there that we could not possibly find a better home for them than where they already are.
Meiji taps rubber to sustain the sanctuary. She has no water or electricity supply save for the mountain water that has been channelled to her house. She looks after 125 dogs all by herself, and sometimes times are so hard, yet I have never once heard her complain. She does ask for help, but has never demanded or whined.
While in some shelters or even sanctuaries, you may see animals, sometimes in dire straits, but sometimes in reasonable states, I have NEVER seen happier dogs than I have at Meiji's Doggie Paradise back in 2009. My second visit in April 2011 confirms this.
It is the happiness and joy on the faces of these dogs (not to mention how well-fed they are) that creates no doubt in me that Meiji is so worthy of helping.
As I've announced upon our registration with the ROS that AnimalCare will not be doing anymore food donation for needy rescuers, we will be more than happy to help with the education component and publicity should anyone wish to help any rescuer in need.
Jessie Yee has pledged to help Meiji again for the next round. I'll publicise that when it's time to do so. Meanwhile, this 1000kg of dogfood should last her for more than a month.
Thank you, Jessie, and thank you to all donors who had contributed to this round of the dogfood donation!
The Donors:
Jessie Yee
Hoe Leong, Hoe Min & Andy
Chee Sun
Cass Yee
Ping
Benard & Corinne
Irene Ng
Claire Lim
Kang Wei
Kang Hean Kiam
Ho Geok Keng
David Chu Yuan Han
Dr Veeranoot Nissapatorn
One anonymous donor
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