During the fair at my college recently, one my colleagues came by and we started talking. She told me about her cat. She rescued this cat at Walmart’s while she was studying in the U.S. and when she came back to Malaysia, she brought the cat back. Along with this cat, she also had a dog, who also came back with her.
“There was no way I was going to leave them behind”, she told me.
Here are photos of Peanut the Cat and Isaac the Dog. Peanut is 7 and Isaac is 6:
I requested her permission to write this story because we know of many cases where pet owners give up their pets because they are moving house (landed property to an apartment) or they are migrating overseas. Just today, someone called me asking if I could help rehome her 6-year old pedigree dog. I asked her why, and she said it is because she is moving to an apartment.
She asked me what she should do, and I said, matter-of-factly, that she should take her dog along with her. Then, she said she would be migrating out of the country soon.
Well, my answer is still the same – take your dog along with you.
But she wasn’t keen, so I told her to advertise for adopters at PetFinder.my or send me a photo and a write-up and I’ll put it up here.
So, there you have it. It boils down to priorities and values – just how precious is your pet to you? If only people practised and embraced unconditional loving-kindness where their pets are treated as their own children, we would certainly have fewer cases of people giving up their animals when physical or financial conditions are no longer favourable. And when their pets grow old or fall sick, we hope they will think of their pets as their grandparents. One does not euthanise one’s own grandparents, I hope?
Comments
13 responses to “The rescued cat from Walmart”
I would always ask these ppl back..Would you leave your child if you migrate or move????
So what makes the life of an animal so cheap and easy to unburden off???
SICK!
We are applying for migration too, and it will cost us RM3000++ for each of our cats. We have 4. Me and hubs have decided…We will not leave until we have saved enough to bring the whole family. NO ONE gets left behind. It is so UNFAIR of pet owners who choose the easy way out or just because of the $$$ factor. Don't be so selfish and think of yourself and your human family only…Your pet IS family too!
Very true and well said, Dr Chan! These so-called people who intend to leave their pets behind should firstly put themselves in their pets' shoes (paws?)- try trading places with their pets to get a 'feel' of how it hurts! Your colleague is a 1st class example of a true human being – my ex-boss also brought his horse and dog back to England upon his retirement.
mk
I rescued many cats while I was in the US. I lost 3 of them. When I moved back to NL I moved the remaining 13 cats along with me. When my husband and myself moved from Singapore back to NL we took along our 3 cats.
It is all about responsibilities. Some time I look at our world, I wonder what has gone wrong? We have more money, more food, more materials things than 50 years ago when I was growing up in Malaysia, YET, we have so much less compassion for others, especially the less fortunates such as animals.
Cindy
I got my cat while I was studying in US. When I came back to Malaysia, I brought my cat back with me. When I told my friends I was taking my cat back with me, they all thought I was nuts. My ex housemate even offered to buy my cat coz she loved my cat and thought it was better that I left him behind in Hawaii. But I refused. My cat is like my baby and I can never abandon him. Now my cat lives a pampered life and my mom calls herself grandma. She would introduce my cat as her grandchild. So I can never understand how some people can just leave their pets behind.
Noreen
While I agree that one must be responsible to keep the pet forever, at times, it is the law that stops one from keeping the beloved pet. I live in an apartment and have a beloved parrot. Recently, the law was changed and I cannot keep the parrot in my apartment. What do I do? I'll rather die than give him up. He's my beloved baby. Yet, the authorities will not give me a license to keep my precious baby who has been with me for many years. Without a license, the authorities can take him away. So how?
Is it my fault if I find him a new home?
You may move in to another place but dont leave your dog behind. Find another place if the apartment management doesnt allow pets.
And if it really necessary for you to migrate, get your dog a ticket too. Dont abandon him just like that. Its a cruel thing to do.
I adopted an abused puppy in Melbourne & brought him back to KL with me. Of course he has passed on from cancer at 13 years of age. Now I that I am moving back to Melbourne, I am bringing my 9 year old dog with me. The problem is not only with owners, some pet relocators don't even bother to revert with quotations because my dog is considered 'old' & it's a waste of their time. They are assuming that I will not go through relocating my dog after knowing the hefty cost which is around RM15,000.
My best friend moved to Dubai and she had her cat, which was a gift from her hubby for her birthday. She made all the necessary arrangements to get him migrated with her.
There was some hiccups at the airport and she cried her eyes out when she thought that she couldn't bring him along … I was on standby to adopt. Thankfully, all went well and he is now a happy 6 year old in Dubai.
On a personal note, when I was studying in KL, I found a kitten under a car behind KotaRaya shopping mall. I adopted him right away. At 6 months, I completed and went back to Sarawak. I brought him back via MAS (at that time it was not so strict) – paid RM16 for 'excess luggage' (he was considered 'excess luggage') and he followed me safely back to Kuching. My Mom ADORED him and he was my Mom's companion in crime.
I don't understand how people can leave their pets behind either.. But then again, maybe it's the way society has brought them up? I got my dog while I lived in Canada, and at the time, I had no plans to move back here… But there came a time when family matters forced me to pack up and leave. My dad insisted that I give my dog up. Now, maybe he was raised in a different society or generation, I don't know. But I fought tooth and nail and spent the next 6 months doing research, paperwork, getting my dog shots and everything done so that I could bring him home with me.
It was NOT cheap, but I scraped through. Instead of going through expensive pet relocation companies (for people who are lazy to go through the hassle of paperwork), I did all the research myself and made sure that everything was in order. It cost me something like CAD$1000 to get everything done, but it was still 1/3 of the price quoted to me by the pet relocation company.
If there's a will, there's a way, I like to say. My dog was there through thick and thin and he's made my life SO much better. There was no way in hell I would have given him up. I think being able to give a loyal pet up easily, without even trying, says a LOT about who a person is, and what their moral values are.
such perfect pets!!
I'd carry those two anywhere if I'm the owner!
although, this got me thinking of some of my other pals who had to give away their pets. especially when they move to a relative's house/spouse's house…if it's just a stranger you can shove them off and find a new home. but when it comes to sister or mom who can't tolerate pets…and you had to choose between them and the pet, obviously you'd choose the family first. Sad truth, but happens.
on another note we did bring our pet along when we moved out, it's just a local trip from one city to another so no big deal 😛
when my husband decided to work at SG after he got an offer…i decided to stay here…i would love to go there to work too, but i can't bear to see my dog go through the 6months quarantine…she is weak and picky eater, i don't think she will be like her usual self anymore after the 6months quarantine in SG…finally, my husband received a better offer here…and we are now happily staying together…never separate 😀
Peanut is gorgeous. He looks like a really laid back kittie. Isaac is a dog. (what else can we say?)
People, please be a little more understanding about families moving, though. Sometimes, moving a pet is not easy. Some places have breed-specific laws that banned certain animals. Others have extreme quarantine restrictions.
For example, England (Scotland?) seems to require all cats brought into the country have to be microchipped and have a rabies shot at the same time. Mozart & Gonzo's Mom didn't even know she was planning to go move to Scotland when she had them vaccinated. They would have had to be fostered or boarded for most of a year before she could even try to bring them over.