Maternal Instinct

My dogs, Chocho and Doggie, have five adorable 3-months-old pups (well, six, actually -- one died). It's wonderful to watch our pets have a loving family of their own.
But I also surprisingly learn something from watching this family of canines interact among themselves.

On one occasion, I was cleaning up the kitchen and burning soiled newspaper on the backyard. I let it burn on the ground, and out of curiosity, the puppies came rushing to it: barking, approaching, and surrounding the burning newspaper. I saw their mother watching from afar.
Then, all the sudden, she ran into the scene, and snatched the flaming thing away.
"Doggie! What are you doing?!" I shouted. "It's on fire! You can burn yourself!"
But she ignored my yelling and carried the burning newspaper to a safe place by a shadowy tree, far from her pups.

I was entirely dumbstruck.
It was pure maternal-instinct!

From that incident, I learned that:

1. A mother's instinct of protection toward her young is far greater than her instinct of survival -- or even fear.
2. Naturally, even animals instinctively know how to recognize the cause of the problem, and act to solve it. Perhaps humans have already become too artificial to see and realize the core of problems in our modern civilization.

It's marvelous how nature can teach us many things, even the things our latest high-tech discoveries can't offer.

Chacha's Last Day with Us

They were born in the woods. Their mother was a mongrel-jackal, shot dead by a ranger when they were barely a month old. The ranger took the pups, all four of them, and handed them to a friend of ours who lived in the nearby village.
The eldest and the youngest pups died, while we adopted the two remaining ones, provided them our house as shelter and gave them names: the brown one we call Chocho, and the black one we call Chacha.
Chocho grows into a handsome dog, tall and well-built, with soft, velvety coat and very sweet disposition. Chacha, on the other hand, was stunted, with coarse black coat, and since their early days we can tell that he did not possess the stamina and stoutness as his brother has. And I spotted signs of jealousy in him.
A month ago, we were given a grown-up bitch, and -- as predicted -- she became Chocho's mate instead of Chacha's. Soon, I noticed that Chacha was into some kind of depression and he began to grow ill.
Finding a vet is a very difficult matter out here in the villages. And, when we finally found one, he was diagnosed with chronic pneumonia and enlargement of the liver. I took care of him for the whole week, even feeding him with a spoon to get the food and medicine into him.
I tried all I can, but God has another plan. Just as I thought he was recovering, God took him away. I started the first day of the month with a mournful loss.
Above is the last picture of Chacha, a few hours before his death, and Sarah's only chance to hug and pet him.

The Loyalty of Dogs

How do we respond as faced to the presence of a dog?
Many people who visit our house shiver as knocking the door and instead of saying hello to me, they would say, “Could you please lock the dogs away?”
One out of a thousand chances, I would hear a guest comments, “What nice pets you have! Here, Boy! Here, Boy!”
It is perhaps due to the fact that most of our people are Moslems, who regard dogs as unclean animals. But for me and my family, dogs are not simply house-guards and pets. They are also our friends, and probably the most loyal of all friends!
Sometimes I am amazed at the loyalty of canines. They can forget their mates, mothers, fathers, pups and friends, but they can never forget their Master/Mistress.
A long time ago when I was a little girl, a friend of my brother moved out of town and gave his dogs to us. Even when they had been living with us for years, there were times when they seemed to be reluctant to obey our commands. Nevertheless, whenever their previous owner came for a visit, they would cling to him and did everything he said. They thought they were on transit in our house, and would never stay for good!
Dogs do not take the idea of changed-ownership. They are faithful to their Master/Mistress till the last breath.
Shouldn’t we feel ashamed at the example these four-legged creatures exemplify?
Most of the time, we humans are not loyal, either to a friend or spouse.
We cheat or lie. We don’t always keep our promises. When times are good we stick around, but when things get bad we leave our friends to their calamities.
Dogs aren’t like that.
A dog doesn’t care whether you’re rich or poor, a king or a beggar, a saint or a scoundrel. You’re his friend, and that’s enough for him.
If you want to learn God’s lesson on faithfulness and loyalty, look up to a dog. You’ll be amazed at how natural the value of loyalty is embedded in their character!

Dog Adoption

What cute little dog displayed on today’s blog picture! He’s so sweet and cuddlesome, with big, sad-looking eyes and long ears, you might even want to take him home as a pet right this instance!

You might have seen this kind of dog somewhere. Yes. It’s on the logo of Hush Puppies. If you love shopping for shoes, you will certainly know what a brand Hush Puppies is! This adorable little fellow, that becomes the logo of the brand, is called a Basset Hound.

And, take it from me: you WON’T want to take a Basset Hound home, especially when you live in a flat!

Really, you cannot judge a dog from its appearance, as much as a book from its cover. It’s not for naught that the Basset Hound gains the label “hound” as its family name.

Dogs are classified into six groups: the working dog, the toy dog, the terrier, the multi-purpose dog, the sport-dog, and the hound. Now, the hound family has many members, from the huge and tall Afghan Hound to the slim Greyhound, and it includes the sweet, sad-looking Basset Hound as well. Being a hound, the Basset Hound has remarkable sense of smelling as a natural great hunter. And you do know what a hunter does, right? He hunts! He won’t stop sniffing, chasing, scratching, and turning the house upside-down until he finally finds what his nose is looking for!

So, it’s a bad choice for us who live in flats or apartments. Basset Hound belongs to the country house or farm, where their natural instinct can properly be used to hunt down foxes or chase deer.

How do we know what kind of dog is most suitable for us?

Well, you will have to explore and get as much information on dogs as you can, then match it up with your type of personality and the kind of residence you’re dwelling in. For instance: you can’t have a Dobermann when you are a calm and fragile type of person, especially when you live in a small house. But a Pekingese or Shih-Tzu will do great. So, get the type of dog most suitable for you.

Mongrels make great companions as much as the pure-blooded dogs. The bright side is: you don’t need to empty your wallet to buy a pet when all you need is a dog to accompany your family, be a friend, and guard the house. Nevertheless, it is also important to note the parents of the mongrel itself, since a mongrel is a mix-breed between two or more breeds of dogs. Most of the time, the parents’ character and disposition are also handed down to the pups.

If you’d like to adopt a dog, make sure that the one you’re adopting is truly appropriate to your needs, personality, and residence. There’s always a perfect type of dog for every type of person. And you can always contact Dog Adoption Network in Indonesia whenever you want to adopt a dog or have others adopt the ones you presently have.

Good luck!

Animal Welfare in Indonesia

As a pet lover, one of the things that make me envious of developed countries is the way they care about animal welfare. In some parts of the world, people have animal shelters and establish laws to prohibit cruelty to animals. They’ve got adoption network to help uncared-for canines and felines find new homes and caring families. They’ve got animal hospital where dogs can donate their blood for other dogs in surgery.

How fascinating!

It is not so in Indonesia. Lately, I was having difficulty finding homes for five young puppies. Their mother was shot and slaughtered while they were still three-weeks-old. I asked all my friends if there were any who would want to adopt those poor pups. No one opened the door. Eventually, they all died.

I wonder why it’s so hard for people to cherish pets as members of the family. Perhaps the Indonesian’s perception on animal welfare is completely different from other nations. Recently, my husband showed me news on a murder in the newspaper and suddenly it dawned on me. If people’s life doesn’t value much in this country, how much would they value the lives of animals?

It was a very saddening realization indeed. As thinking about it, I wished one day there will be such shelters where volunteers would care for the sick, old and wounded animals in Indonesia.

And what a surprise! A few days ago I found a link on Facebook, called www.adopsianjing.com. This website contains information on a group of volunteers and pet lovers in Jakarta who strive to provide shelters and care for neglected animals. They are establishing a new shelter and medical center in Pejaten Barat. Any pet lover who would like to donate or take part on the effort of saving animals’ life is welcome to contact them. They are also open for sheltering neglected pets, and find them new owners who would take them in.

Alright! Now I know who to dial when there are puppies in need of adoption in my neighborhood! What great and relieving news!

Feline Delivery

What good news! THIS queen-cat of ours happened to deliver her firstborns yesterday at dawn: two bi-color and one tri-color kittens. A natural mother at her first delivery experience, she is now extremely protective and hisses at anyone who approaches. I’ve provided a cozy box in our garage where she can nurse her kittens safely and comfortably. It’s what a pet-lover can do to her beloved feline.

“Look, Darling,” I said to my husband. “Aren’t they sweet?”

“Yes, they do look sweet. But, Honey,” protested Octavian. “How are we going to take care of so many cats? There are five of them now!”

Oh… well. Anyone care to adopt?