A Visit To Kelly & Jacinta�s Shelter In Tanjung Rambutan

Dear Kah Yein,

When Kelly and Jacinta travelled from Ipoh to come to KL just for the day to visit Max, I was really touched by their sincerity and concern for Max. I promised them that I would visit their shelter and also bring Max to see them.

On New Year’s day we drove to Ipoh as promised. Without Max, because he is a little behind on his vaccinations and has not completed them as we had to delay due to his treatment for tick fever.

Ipoh, here we come!

When we arrived in Ipoh we first went to Kelly’s home. Here she’s looking after several rescued dogs who needed a bit more care than the average. Then Jacinta and Ms Lee came to meet us and join us for lunch before heading off to their shelter. They really gave us a warm welcome and we traded stories over lunch. We also visited a vacant house where a few dogs are also kept. The family who owns the house has very kindly allowed Jacinta and Kelly to house their dogs there in the meantime without charging them a cent. We later met the kind Looi family at dinner. Mrs Looi has also been supportive of the shelter in times of need. At this vacant house we met Max’s sister and fell in love with her and will consider going back to take her to KL for rehoming hopefully after she has been vaccinated in Ipoh.

Then we began our journey to visit the shelter. The ladies say it can take them almost an hour to get to their Tanjung Rambutan shelter as they make stops along the way to feed some strays familiar to them.

We made another stop just before the shelter to feed some dogs who were taken care by a very kind caretaker but who is left with little resources to care for the dogs. Jacinta and Kelly helped to clean out the dogs abode and wash their food dishes and gave them fresh food.

Feeding dogs at neighbour’s place.

�The unpaved road.

Then we reached the shelter which is situated on the river bank. Water for washing is taken from the river and water for drinking comes through a pipe tapped from uphill. The shelter has no electricity and Kelly and the helpers at the shelter are used to working with little resources and work into the dark each day often leaving the shelter at 10pm. Kelly’s full time work is for their shelter and starts her day by going to the market to get chicken parts to cook soup for the dogs. Jacinta holds a full time job so she helps out in the weekends and employs a helper to put in her part during the week.

The entrance to the shelter.

�A warm welcome.

�Guardians at the entrance.

�Adjacent river.

�A view of the river from the neighbour.

We found the kennels quite spacious, and the dogs well fed and happy. For most of them, their health was evident in their shiny coats except for a few with persistent skin issues.Kelly says she does not believe in locking up the dogs all day so within her intensive busy work day, she lets them out twice a day for a walk. It’s like a scene from the Pied Piper where she opens several kennels at a time and lead them down the remote path for a walk and they all happily follow her. When it’s time to return, the ladies stand at each gate and holler for the dogs and they return happily or some with a little gentle coaxing

�What’s wrong, Sweetie?

Sweetie was a dog we spent some time with that day as she was not looking too well and was almost too weak to walk. When she was rescued she had one of her legs cruelly chopped off by someone. Sadly we heard the news the next day before we left that she had passed away during the night. I’m sure it broke the two ladies’ heart but they continued their duties to the dogs tirelessly. We left the shelter when dusk came in.

That night we also visited Ms Lee’s “cat house” where she takes care of her 40odd rescued cats. Ms Lee was very welcoming and asked us for ideas for her cat house and I hope to share with her some ideas for a large colony of cats taken from the experience of others who have gone before us.

The next morning we met another animal lover at breakfast. Ling sister is an faithful reader of Animal Care’s blog and she was instrumental in getting Max on his path to better health and his life in KL.

We met so many good people in Ipoh on this trip and Max brought us all�together! There is always much goodness that�has come out of what we might at first have thought was sad and a misfortune for Max.

We left with promises to visit our Ipoh friends and the dogs again!!

Best regards,

Lydia

Rescues in Kelly’s home.

�Kelly’s place.

�Max’s little sister and friend.

�Max’s sister.

�All in a day’s work.

�Bright centre courtyard.

�Discussing dog needs.

�Each kennel has open and covered spaces.

�Harvesting Mo Fa Quo to brew herbal tea.

�Inner enclosure.

�Meal time preparation.

�One happy resident!

Kelly & Jacinta are regular applicants of our Food Fund. Currently, we supply them with dogfood on a monthly basis. We will also be fully sponsoring the booster vaccinations of all their dogs (as it is already due, and the rate offered by their vet is within our subsidy rate). The first batch has already been vaccinated and another batch will be done soon. Our sponsorship will be paid out as soon as Jacinta sends the receipts, forms and photos. Our subsidy offer for medical treatment of their dogs is also ongoing.

A text message from Jacinta, received today:

Good morning, Dr Chan. This is a good year. Our dogs get their vaccinations! The vet has already done 60 dogs yesterday and will do the rest on Sunday when a new stock of vaccine arrives. He also gave 13 dogs and 5 pups jabs for mange and related skin problems. Thanks, Dr Chan and AnimalCare and thanks to Ms Lee too. God Bless.