I thought I would try Bentong town for supplies for a change. Who knows, it might be cheaper there. But no, it’s cheaper at Carrefour, Subang Jaya!!
Anyway, I got to explore Bentong town a bit, to hunt for supplies. Surprisingly, the wet market was closed today, so I had to buy carrots from the Pasar Tani (it’s still cheaper at Carrefour!) and potatoes, vege oil, etc. from two other shops.
I also brought with me, five packs of the vege dog food (kibbles).
When I arrived at the farm, the farm dogs came running to greet me, as they would all visitors. They were so happy and friendly. In the photo above, you see the farm dogs going for the vege kibbles.
They just loved it so much! One went straight for the whole packet! Yumm, yumm…
Our 13 dogs are ok. But they were a little scared when we (the workers and I)first entered the enclosure and quickly went up to their platforms for safety. Poor things… Some are still quite traumatised by the mere sight of people.
Mr Mariappan (the Indian gentleman you see in the fifth photo) is the person who has been looking after all the dogs. The other workers need to work on the farm, so Mr Mariappan is solely in charge. He cooks for them, feeds them, and cleans their enclosure every day. And he certainly knows them very well by now.
He could even tell us each dog’s temperament and character, and he has trained them where they should “do their business” within their enclosure. I heard him calling the dogs “Karpee”, which I guess must be an endearment in Tamil, for “doggie”, and they respond to him!
Here’s Meta. She is the one who was photographed eating the carcases of the dead dogs over on Pulau Selat Kering last time, and according to an animal communicator, she still feels remorse over that.
Well, Meta still looks very sad. And from my observation, Meta is the only one who still looks thin. The rest look very well-fed and healthy, especially Cuddly. But Meta was the first to go for the food when we laid it out today. And she ate a lot too, from bowl to bowl.
Mr Mariappan says he has released four of the dogs now, to roam freely outside the enclosure. He does this based on their behaviour. We trust his judgment completely, since he is the one looking after them. I told him it’s ok to release the rest as well since they are all calm.
Later, Bro Sui came back, and showed me the new enclosure he is building. It seems SPCA has negotiated for the rest of the Ketam dogs to be sent to LLLF, and LLLF’s HQ has agreed, so looks like the entire “clan” of Ketam dogs from SPCA will have their forever home here, on LLLF!
Bro Sui also told me that many people from Bentong have come to see the dogs and are interested in adopting them as pets and guard dogs, but he did not dare release without our consent.
Oh dear, I forgot to tell him that it’s perfectly ok to get them adopted! Isn’t this what we had been trying to do over here, but in vain?
So I assured him to please go ahead as long as he knows the dogs will be pets and guard dogs.
I trust Bro Sui’s judgment. He told me point-blank he will only release to people whom he knows will look after them well. And he knows the people of Bentong. He said even after they have been adopted, we could visit their homes when we come up.
I trust this gentleman. He’s about the kindest man I’ve ever met, as far as animals are concerned. He also told me that these dogs must be allowed to live out their natural lives, certainly not euthanised.
Hear, hear…
We agree, we agree!
As I was about to leave, I asked Bro Sui and Mr Mariappan about the supplies, and if it is enough for the dogs.
So here’s roughly how much is needed per week:
70 eggs
1 pack of vege kibbles (until the dogs switch completely to the natural foods)
The carrots, potatoes and vegetables are supplementary. Their staple food is rice and eggs, plus the vege kibbles for now.
So, I went out to Bentong town again, and bought more eggs for them.
Finally, a goodbye pat to the farm dogs, and I left this beautiful place.
Such a beautiful place, with beautiful people, and beautiful animals.
May they all be blessed!
Comments
One response to “Trip to LLLF (5th visit)”
Great going Kah Yein. The doggies have found an Anathapindika in you.