Pardon Me But I Love Dogs

Blind Muslim woman with her guide dog

I was reading the local news this morning and came across an article indignantly reporting a Muslim actress cuddling what looked like a puppy schnauzer.  There's no denying that schnauzers/puppies are absolutely irresistable creatures.  The report also included a few photos showing a woman (face blurred) cuddling her cute doggie.  The writer went, "I am shocked!  She is shameless! She is too much!  I don't want to say anything anymore!  OMG!!"  I was amused by some of the comments she received.

Dogs are taboo to Muslims and I really wanted to know why.  I searched the net and from a simple thing like why dogs are a no-no to Muslims, it became heatedly religious and political (yes, political) so I stopped reading.  I did learn that some Muslims love and own dogs, especially outside Malaysia.  The blind woman in the above photo overcame strong family opposition to own her guide dog.  Good for her....:) 

Muslims are allowed to touch dogs as long as it is not wet and body parts that get dog drool have to be washed 7 times.  Dogs, I gathered, can be kept for working, not so much as pets.  Thus if a Muslim needs a dog for farm work, guarding property and in the above case, as a guide dog it is perfectly okay.  I particularly like a comment by a Muslim in support of dogs.  Her name is "Nur" and she said, "I am a Muslim and I love, love, love dogs."  She posted this passage, probably from the Quran:

Allah's Apostle said, "While a man was walking on a road, he became very thirsty. Then he came across a well, got down into it, drank (of its water) and then came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst.  The man said to himself, "This dog is suffering from the same state of thirst as I did."  So he went down the well (again) and filled his shoe (with water) and held it in his mouth and watered the dog.  Allah thanked him for that deed and forgave him.  The people asked, "O Allah's Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?"  He said, "(Yes) There is a reward for serving any animate (living being)."

Muslims love cats - well, most I know.  The dog is as much a creation of God as the cat.  Even though the Quran exhorts Muslims to show kindness to all living beings (dogs included), most don't practise this law.  Please realise that shunning is not kindness.  Neither is shrieking and dragging your children away from dogs like they're plague.  Children learn from adults so they end up throwing things at dogs because they sense that dogs are bad, should be avoided and shooed off.  It's just too bad.  Ah well...let's hope they will grow up and out of this prejudice towards dogs and heed what Allah's Apostle taught.

Brindle Dogs & Calico Cats (And Oh, Mary Shit)

I learnt 2 new things recently.  Something that is probably common knowledge to seasoned pet owners.  First, I learnt what a brindle is.  A brindle dog is what I have been seeing everyday for the past 1 year and 9 months in my working place without realising that it is called a brindle dog.  It is none other than....Wawa's natural mother!  I used to think that her coat looked rather messy and a good bath will proabably make her look better.  I am now beginning to appreciate the rarity and finer points of a brindle coat.....:)

I also learnt what a calico cat is.  I have seen such cats all my life but only knew them as "three colour cat".  My mother used to tell us that they are very rare, are leaders and will kill all other cats.  Well, calico cats are everywhere these days and especially in the vicinity of my home and I don't think any of the above is true.  There is a stray calico cat which is being fed by my neighbor.  Lucky cat - she's living like a queen in his carpark and having fish everyday (I suppose).  It's no ordinary carpark, mind you - my neighbor has planted a lush garden and has filled up the empty carpark with deck chairs and table and even his books. I wonder whose carpark is that but oh, never mind.  He'll read his papers there and the cat will be lounging in relative luxury.  God bless him for his kindness.  I have also learnt that people who love animals can be brutal with humans.  My neighbor isn't brutal but he's not exactly a nice person. 

Yesterday I called a certain "Mary" about the stray dogs in my office.  The axe has finally fallen - these dogs are beginning to get aggressive with the public and especially children and the problem had to be addressed.  I offered to take care of it rather than let it go to someone else who'd loved to see them shot. For 2 days I made call after call to the "relevant" authorities.  I was passed around like a potato until this "Mary" finally picked up her handphone and oh boy was she rude.  "Who are you? Which Mary are you looking for?!!  I am Mary the lawyer!!! Growl, bark, snarl!"  She was SO rude I saved her number as Mary Shit.  Eventually, Mary Shit mellowed after she talked for a while and inspite of her attitude she was the one who gave me a relevant contact.  She even asked God to bless me for being concerned about the strays. So there you are, people who love animals can be rather nasty to humans.  After being passed round for the final time, I finally contacted the president of a certain animal society and there seems to be hope.  Light at the end of the tunnel.  Let's see if he will do what he promised to do -- send a team over to relocate the dogs or if that's not possible, to neuter them.  That will reduce the aggression, at least.  He even thanked me for feeding the dogs.  Hmm?  That's very nice of him.

Thumbs Down For Secret Recipe

I had lunch at a place called Secret Recipe 4-5 days ago. Comfortable but pricey. Cakes are ok but the meals? Um, I think my cooking taste better. Don't get me wrong, I am not a good cook. They are just worse than me. I had grilled fish with butter sauce or something to that effect. ALL their fish recipes use cheap (before it reaches Secret Recipe that is), lousy-tasting dory fish. I know white fish, red fish, tenggiri, kerapu, bawal, pari...but what on earth is a dory fish. It's everywhere in the supermarket minus head, tail and bones so it is unidentifiable. I do know that it doesn't taste good. I usually try to give thanks for everything but this dory fish meal has given me a bad case of diarrhoea. Did they cook a fly with it or what? I had to take 2 days off from work because the best toilet in the world is still the toilet in your home. The toilet at my workplace reminds me of my grandmother's toilet -- wooden, non-flushable (careful, careful, flushing will make things float) and on rainy days it is visited by frogs and snakes. Snakes I have not seen but a black frog jumped out right after I used the toilet one rainy morning. I jumped and shrieked and dislodged the sink all at once.

I felt better today so I decided to bring the dogs for a walk. 3 pm, I told myself. And I prayed for dark, grey clouds to block off the sun. No one will be jogging/walking at such an hour. Not even stray dogs. I can let Wawa run free and wild. Coco can sniff, schnoofle (?) and furtle (?) for as long as she likes. My prayer was answered with an extra blessing. It rained as soon as we reached home. What better way to cool off!

Days Of The Week (And A Nice Dream)

My moods pick up on Thursday because the next day is Friday. I like Fridays because of its very long lunch break (11.30am to 2.00pm). It is for Muslims to pray at the mosque but we non-muslims also benefit from this privilege....:) I go home, eat, let the dogs out of their grillingly hot enclosure, close ourselves in the air-conned study and blog. Exactly what I am doing now. And of course, Friday is much loved because the very next day is S*A*T*U*R*D*A*Y! Come Sunday my mood will plunge. Don't know why, it has been like that since my school days. I never liked Sundays.

To make up for the nightmare with Yadah Blah I was blessed with a dream of my Mom this morning. My sister and I are always very pleased when we can dream of Mom. That's the only way we can be with her again, for now. I remember driving through very narrow and congested streets and mumbling "if you people don't move away my tires will go over your toes". Then instead of driving I was walking with a cane (my knees have been aching of late - old age) and going down an extremely zig-zagged staircase. I turned around and saw my Mom trying to make her way down. As usual she was dressed in her sarong kebaya. As far as I can remember, my mother never wore any other attire except for sarong kebaya nyonya style. I offered her a helping hand and she told me with a smile that she isn't a child anymore. Now, that's strange because when she was alive, she always needed a helping hand due to poor eyesight. After my Mom passed away I dreamt of her almost every other day and in all my dreams my mother never uttered a word. She was there but always a silent figure. As years went by she spoke in my dreams like a normal person. Has it ever occured to you that in all your dreams you can never see yourself? But I had one dream where I saw myself standing a short distance away.

An Emptiness In My Heart

The ending of a day has a way of making you feel like somebody's missing. Today, after all the day's activities and busyness, I thought of Ping Ping. From the moment he was born, his growing up and growing fat down to his growing thin and going blind and groping about on his stomach weakly for the food I placed in front of him. My heart felt so very heavy. Weighed down with an uncomfortable emptiness. I had just finished watching a K-drama called "49 Days". Traditional Chinese believe that when somebody dies, the soul remains on earth for 49 days before entering the other world. This drama is a far-fetched story about a girl who had an accident, went comatose and her soul was given 49 days to collect tears from 3 people (family excluded) who loved her. If she succeeds she will live. Being a kind and friendly person while alive, she thought that would be an easy task. To her dismay (and mine), it took her more than 10 episodes to find those tears. Ping Ping would've easily collected tears from 2 persons who loved him - me and my sister.

3 + 6 = Dog Meat

This is Wang Qi, a dog-lover who stopped 520 dogs from..........

......ending up in a pot like this. He is labelled as an "activist". I don't quite like that word because it conjures up images of mobs and demonstrators and unrest. To me, he's just a person who cares about dogs. Enough to save a truckload of them. Eating dogs must be illegal in my hometown because as far as I can remember, nobody tells anybody I-want-dog-meat-for-lunch or how-about-dog-meat-tonight? It's always a hush-hush thing and people will say so-and-so-is-cooking-3+6-tonight-sshh-sshh-hee-hee-hee-let's-go! 3+6 = 9 (kiu) which sounds the same as "dog" in the hakka dialect. So if anybody tells you to go have some 3+6, it means lets go eat dog meat. I used to have Korean neighbors years ago and their son happened to be in my Sunday School class. I noticed that puppies came and went in their house and it was rather disgusting to find out from the boy that Mom is the one who does the killing and how did she do it? Oh, she uses a string (rope, I think) to strangle the dog, said the little boy. I gulped. A new neighbor just moved into the apartment below mine a couple of weeks ago and I was VERY curious about who they were because he complained about my dogs BEFORE he moved in. I now know that he is a Korean and his friends have moved into the apartment next to his. Gulp...!

Most Chinese have no qualms about eating dogs (or cats, or rats). I remember a classmate who hated her brother. One of the things he did was force dog meat into her mouth when she resisted. She's a dog-lover. She should've kicked below the belt. I have just deleted a big chunk about the way dogs are killed for the pot - it's too cruel. To Wang Qi and his friends, I salute you for your courage. He must've gotten a lot of hate mails and death threats (one netizen said he will kill a dog a day for what happened) for his act.

A Girl And Her Cat

In appreciation of the comments on my previous post.....here is another doodle. I noticed that my neighbor doodled a lot on kitchen things and I couldn't help complimenting her on her excellent doodle of a papaya. So life-like.

Frustrating Encounter

I had a frustrating encounter at the car service centre yesterday and I felt like giving the woman at the counter a bite in the face. Like Wawa. When you buy a national car in Malaysia, you get 3 "free" car services. Sounds good? Not really - only the labour is free and then you pay 3 times more for the oil, filters etc etc. You also get 4 years' warranty on spare parts. Sounds good? Not really. It applies only when they get to service your car (at exorbitant charges) or else the warranty becomes invalid. You may also have to wait months for a spare part and a MINOR service can take as long as 4 hours. Yesterday's conversation went like this....

Me : I think I've got a problem with my absorbers. Can I get them inspected today?

Her : Our technician is not in.

Me : When will they be in?

Her : We can't say for sure.

Me : Can I leave my number with you. As soon as they come in give me a call and I will fly over.

Her : Oh no, we can't do that because they come and go.

Me : (?) How about tomorrow? Can you fix the time so I can come when they are free?

Her : Oh no, we can't do that! We do not know when they will be free! You have to make an appointment.

Me : Ok, just let me know what time the appointment is and which day they are free.

Her : Oh no! We cannot tell you what time they are free! Come early and we will give you a number.

Me : Ok, can I come, get the number and return later so I don't have to waste time nodding off in your office for 5 hours?

Her : Oh no, we can't do that!

Me : ?? I don't mind being the last car serviced, you know. You can give me the last number for the day and I can come then.

Her : Oh no, we cannot tell you the exact time!

Me : How about a rough estimate of the time?

Her : We can't do that either!

Me : (Snarling and baring my teeth by now). Ok, miss, in case the absorbers have to be changed, are the parts available?

Her : Oh, we will have to check first.

Me : Can you check now?

Her : Ok

Me : (Happy at last, she said ok! Finally!)

Her : Yes the parts are available.

Me : (Oh, wonder of wonders, light at the end of the tunnel!) Can you make sure the parts are ready when I come then?

Her : Oh no, we cannot guarantee that! I can only tell you the parts are available today or tomorrow! But we cannot service your car today because we are full for the day!

Me : ??!!?? Ok I will come tomorrow then.

Her : What time would you like to come?

Me : You should be the one telling me.....after all God knows when you guys are ever free. Or perhaps even God doesn't know.

One Of Those Days

I am coping better with the incessant work that comes with caring for 2 dogs and 6 hamsters (on top of a full time job) but today is one of those days when I felt like kicking the dogs. As I was mopping the floor (for the 100th time) I was wondering what is the best way to live in this world. Natural disasters have a way of making us contemplate. I thought all the way to the bathroom and as I was soaping myself I decided that the best way to live is to do so with love. I have often asked myself what I'd do if I could live my life all over again. I would do so with more love. Well, I can do that even if I'm 88. I am a firm believer that love turns things around, including a troubled earth. I believe in a God of Love so that is my priority in life -- to be like Him. Not easy at all. Didn't I say I felt like kicking the dogs??!!