A kind samaritan fed the dogs! =)

Today I went to the park again to look for the doggies. This time I brought some dog food, left it in my car while I searched for the mommy dog and her puppies.

To my delight, I saw the mommy searching for food around the same old area, and the happy puppies scattered around looking for food. Having found my "target" I quickly went downhill towards my car, and grabbed hold of the dog food.

As I turned around heading towards the park, I noticed a man wearing a farmer hat heading towards the park. He was one of the weird joggers there. Well, he had the right pants and shirt and socks with sports shoes on, but he was carrying something which most joggers do not have - a bag of things.

I was curious. Thus I followed him, all the way uphill. There he stopped and whistled. The mommy dog have gone downhill in search of food. But the puppies were already gathering around the man. Then he poured out the content of the plastic bag - dog food.

I smiled. Great! At least a kind samaritan felt for these dogs. I really appreciated his thoughtfulness and willingness to carry the dog food up the hill. His simple act of kindness have lifted up my day!

Thank God for him. Perhaps I'll visit the dogs there some other days. Pray that they'll be safe, or at least adopted. I pray also that council ppl will just leave them alone.

ALL ALONE.

Found puppies at a NO-Dog park - please be okay...& safe.

Last week I went jogging at a park nearby. While strolling along the hills, I noticed something peculiar - fourlegged creatures, running and jumping about. I stepped closer and found a mommy dog with three puppies. I remembered the "NO DOG" signage at the park entrance.

The puppies and mommy were gleefully playing and teasing one another unaware of the joggers around them. Perhaps watching the joggers up and down the hill were super boring, and tiring to the neck and eyes.

As I stepped closer, I noticed that they were all very thin. A while later the mommy went down hill, presumably to look for food from the nearby town for the little ones. Looking at her dentation, I believe the mommy was no more than two years old.

I had this heavy feeling within. Was there something I could do to help? What could I do? Will one of the joggers report them to the authority? Will the council know of this and eliminate these innocent God-created creatures?

While my mind searched for an answer I know that there's one thing I could do for sure - pray. I know that God hears my prayer - all the time.

A friend of mine reminded me of something, which is of God's character, "Love the sinner, hate the sin."

How true and righteous God is.

What happened? How can a commoner / snatch thief have a pistol? Where did he source it from??

I thank God for the American's gut, and I truly thank God for preserving his life.
---

American who helped snatch theft victim shot
PETALING JAYA: An American engineer was shot in the chest when he went to the aid of an elderly woman who was struggling to prevent a thief from getting away with her handbag at Plaza Mount Kiara.
The 42-year-old engineer had spotted the 70-year-old woman struggling to hold on to her handbag which was being pulled by a man on a motorcycle at a car park at around 12.30pm yesterday.
He ran to help her and fought with the thief. During the scuffle, the snatch thief took out a pistol and fired at the engineer before fleeing.
The engineer was rushed to the Hospital Kuala Lumpur and is said to be in stable condition.
Brickfields OCPD Asst Comm Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid confirmed the incident and said police found 9mm bullet casings at the scene.
He added that police are currently studying the CCTV footage of the car park in an attempt to identify the snatch thief.

source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/27/nation/4794533&sec=nation

The Blessing of Storms - God is our refuge

Today's Truth

Psalm 46: 1 (NRSV) "God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble."

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He feverishly prayed for God's rescue, but with every day that passed, his hope weakened.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. Everything was lost.

Stunned with grief and anger, the man cried, "God, how could you do this to me!"

The next morning, he woke to the sound of a ship approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

"How did you know I was here?" the weary man asked.

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

-Mary Southerland.

How to look and be professional

How to look and be professional in the Malaysian society (or K.L.)



I have learned that to look professional.

I must have high E.Q.

Clients don't always have to be right, but I always must make them feel right.

I have to deliver my points without shaking the "little man" within them.

I have to look ten to twenty years older than I actually am.

Looking professional lies in the eyes of the beholder.



I have also learned how to be a professional.

I must listen more and speak less.

When I speak, choose discrete, few words. Because the more words I speak, the more "market-like" the scenario will turn out to be.

I must speak only facts. Plain facts. No opinion should ever be shared.

Whatever and however clients do or react, I must remain calm and steady.

I must remember the individual words I've spoken, to defend myself for possible attacks even up to a month or a year later.
Being professional lies within the attitude of one self.

When You Fail, Fail Forward - EQUIP

When You Fail, Fail Forward

Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly. Matthew 26:74-75

Everybody fails, errs, and makes mistakes.

You've heard the saying "To err is human, to forgive, divine." Alexander Pope wrote that over 250 years ago. And he was only paraphrasing an ancient saying that was common during the time of the Romans.

Recently I came across something called "Rules for Being Human." I think several of these describe well the state we're in:

Rule #1: You will learn lessons.

Rule #2: There are no mistakes - only lessons.

Rule #3: A lesson is repeated until it is learned.

Rule #4: If you don't learn the easy lessons, they get harder.

Rule #5: You'll know you've learned a lesson when your actions change.

You see, writer Norman Cousins was right when he said, "The essence of man is imperfection." Failure is simply a price we pay to achieve success. If we learn to embrace that new definition of failure, then we are free to start moving ahead - and failing forward.

Failing Forward - by EQUIP.

Understanding maggot's life cycle - what is maggot?

Understanding maggot's life cycle - what is maggot?

Since we have been spending time together understanding about our pet's maggot wounds, why not spend some time now to understand the gist of a maggot's life cycle? =) It's interesting, i bet ya.

Maggot is the larval stage of the fly's life cycle. The term maggot is also used to refer to the larval stage of any insect.

Maggots are generally 4 to 12 mm in length depending on their stage of growth. Most maggots range from an off-white color to a light brown, though some can be a yellow or reddish color.

Maggots removed from a gaping myiasis wound of a dog, now trying to escape from the kidney bowl.

Maggots have one pair of tiny hook-like parts to aid in feeding and have no legs. The fly life cycle is composed of four stages: egg, larva (commonly known as a maggot), pupa, adult.

The eggs are laid in decaying flesh, animal dung, manure (in this case, dog/cat's wet/moist wound/skin) - whatever has ample food for the larva, generally in a moist area. After 8-20 hours, the egg hatches and the fly enters the maggot stage.

It begins to feed on whatever the egg was laid on. The maggot gorges itself with food until it is ready to enter the pupal stage, at which point the maggot travels away from the food source to a moist spot.

Treating maggot wound in dogs/cats

Treating maggot wound in dogs/cats

How to treat the maggot wound?

Frankly speaking, everytime I smell maggots walking into the clinic, my eyes will close and my lip smile cheek-to-cheek. I like it! Not that I like the sight or smell of it, but I like it because I know that the wound will surely heal - given a few days.

It is one of the easiest, most straight forward treatable "sickness". Usually the cause is always "negligence" and the treatment is almost always the same - remove the maggots!

Removing the maggots is fun in itself. Often I feel like I'm in a competition - clocking how many maggots can I find and remove in how many minutes. It's such a thrilling challenge!

A "raw" ear after eaten by maggots for a week. Is healing rapidly.

However, after all the fun, I do have a price to pay. I have to live with the maggot stench - both on my hands, and body. Everywhere I go, I can smell the Maggoty Aroma trailing after me. From the corner of my eyes, I can almost always sense the people around me pinching the nose of their hearts. Hey, exhaust fan - you're not doing your job good enough!

How to recognize a maggot wound early?

How to recognize a maggot wound early?

Most of these maggot wounds started out as small wounds, which owners often neglected. A five-cent wound on the elbow. Three days later, *gulps! It's turned into a fifty-cent open wound with many holes in it!

How did such invasive, aggresive wound take place? A small wound, emits wonderful odour/fragrance (you name it!) to our friend Mr. Fly. Yep, the busy busy annoying irritating often-zapped fly. They are so attracted to the smell, they close their eyes and found themselves swept onto the "land of milk and honey" and aaaahhhh.. this is where I shall build my family. So they lay eggs - on the land of milk and honey aka your dog's little wound.

A day later - the owner starts to notice perhaps a one mm hole. Often they'll lift their eyebrows, "Hmm.. what's tat?"

Second day. The owner wonders why the dog keeps licking on the little hole. He shooed the tongue off, and found a five-mm hole glaring at him, "Hey, what did you do to yourself? You idiot!" He started to apply some antiseptics.

Third day. The dog is now licking more profusely, and even goes aggressive whenever the owner touches the wound. The owner manages to take a small peep, and to his horror, he's now looking at four holes of different sizes!!! He quickly brings the doggie to the vet, and the diagnosis is fast - MAGGOT WOUND!

How to treat a maggot wound?

to be continued...

Wet, rainy weather transition in Malaysia

I remembered last month many of my friends were twittering and facebook'ing on "How hot the weather is!" "I'm soaked in sauna" "It's sizzling out there..." "Get me out of sahara!!" lolz... Malaysians are creative (or I'm the creative one here? :P)

Yup, last month was indeed a hot, sunny, hazy month in Malaysia. I suppose as an answer to most Malaysians' prayer - this month of August turned out to be a beautiful one! Haze was absolutely reduced, sky was almost always clear blue... to make the hot afternoon cool, it almost always drizzle in the noon. And evenings? Thunderstorms! Which is good in a way - we can all have a good, cool sleep through out the night. =) yeah...

Good news to homo sapiens do not always do the same to the canines. Of late, I've been looking at similar cases - again and again.. almost everyday. Dogs with maggot wounds! Anywhere - you name it. Ears. Elbows. Carpals. Paws. Back. EYES! FACE! MOUTH! where else? ok, ANUS! (ouch! such pain...)

to be continued...

The box of joy n sorrow

I have in my hands two boxes,
Which God gave me to hold.
He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box,
And all your joys in the gold."

I heeded His words, and in the two boxes,
Both my joys and sorrows I stored,
But though the gold became heavier each day,
The black was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black,
I wanted to find out why,
And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole,
Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused,
"I wonder where my sorrows could be!"
He smiled a gentle smile and said,
"My child, they're all here with me.."

I asked God, why He gave me the boxes,
Why the gold and the black with the hole?
"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,
The black is for you to let go."

You can’t fry the egg unless you first break the shell

Source: NO HOLDS BARRED.
http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/26513/84/

...... You just can’t fry the egg unless you first break the shell. So things are going to get much worse in Malaysia before it gets better. Revolutions can never start on a full stomach. People with full stomachs are fat, lazy and lethargic. You need to be lean and hungry before a revolution can start.

As long as the economy is good and people have plenty of money in their pockets they will never clamour for change. They need to be desperate before they will take to the streets to demand change. So we are not scared of whatever happens to the economy. So the economy collapses.

We are looking for a new dawn. But before the coming of dawn there must first be darkness. So let us go through a period of darkness if need be. Only after we see darkness can we see dawn, a new beginning.

It is like the mother who was told that her fourth son has just died in the war and she cried on hearing the news. When she was told how sorry they were to have to bring her the news about the loss of her last son, she replied that she is crying not because she has lost all her sons but because she no longer has any sons to give to the cause.

Yes, no mother can endure losing her children. But when the cause becomes more important than yourself then even the lose of all your children is a worthy cause.

There are many who fear turmoil and chaos. I too fear that but I still endure. And I do so not because I am brave but because I am scared. It is not bravery but cowardice that makes me do what I do. I am scared of what is going on in Malaysia. I fear that if we do nothing then Malaysia is doomed. And because of this fear about what awaits us over the horizon it makes me face whatever may come my way in striving for the greater cause.

So, yes, I am a coward. And the cowardice in me makes me scared of doing nothing. A brave man would say come what may and I will face it. But a coward like me says I can’t bear to face that kind of future and instead I fight to change the course of history.

And if this course of history involves chaos and turmoil and a collapsed economy so be it. This is because I believe that, the way xxx xxx is mismanaging our economy, the economy is headed for doom anyway. It is merely a matter of time. If we wait for the eventual collapse then there will be nothing left to salvage. This way, if it collapses now, at least there would still be something left to save.

So Ahmad Husni’s threat does not frighten me. We must first destroy to be able to build. Before we can plant we must first cut down the forest and burn the trees. Only then can we plant the food that will save mankind. Those who believe in the religion of Abraham will testify that the Holy Books tell us that even God Himself destroyed many times so that mankind would have a better future. Even God was not against destroying to rebuild.

Pet/dog rehabilitation - where's the trick?

[continued from previous post]

Pet/dog rehabilitation - where's the trick?

That was one of the successful stories on how we managed to tame and befriend apparently fierce dogs in our office. Many a times, gentle, loving, and kindness does the trick.

Aggression and violence begot aggression and violence.

Gentleness, loving and kindness begot gentleness, love and trust.

Dogs are made of flesh and blood, and above these, they're just like us - emotional beings. Creatures with brains which thinks and understands.

To gain their trust, we must first trust them. Understand their inner being.

Then, given time and patience, both of you can be the best of friends you ever had. ;-)

Successful taming of a fear-stricken (Frightened) dog

[continued from previous post] - Successful taming of a fear-stricken (Frightened) dog

Mimi looked at the nasty person in front of her. Could she be trusted?



"Mimi, come.. open your eyes..." Mimi obeyed and she could feel some stinging cooling water dropped into her eyes. She shook her head a little, but was immediately comforted with gentle assuring strokes on her forehead.

Yes.. I can trust her. "Come on Mimi.. eat something... you've not eaten for days.. c'mon.."


She could smell a fragrant aroma blown into her nostrils. Cesar! She widened her eyes. Could it be true? She sniffed at the source of the aroma. Hmmm... sure it tastes good. Then the thoughts of "Doctor" hurting her clouded her mind. No... this can't be true.



"Doctor" patiently waited, palms opened wide, serving Cesar (one of the top quality food in the market!) right underneath her nostril. Mimi looked away. "Doctor" pursued. Mimi looked the other way. "Doctor" pursued again. Then slowly, Mimi felt her upper lips lifted, and some really cheesy creamy stuff was gently pushed in-between her teeth. Wow... this tastes splendid!


She looked at "Doctor"'s hand. There were more. Slowly she tasted the food, then licked, and ate it. Hmm.. this food is better than mommy's! She ate more and more.. sometimes she saw "Doctor" inserting some small round seeds into her food. Often when she happened to bite the "seeds", gosh, it tasted bitter and bad! But quickly the bitter taste was covered by the cheesy creamy Cesar.


When she finished her last bit of food, she looked up at "Doctor". She could see a sweet smile looking down at her. Perhaps we can be friends. Mimi lifted her left hand as a sign of friendship towards "Doctor". Expectantly, "Doctor" shook her hand and cuddled her.

Life looks like haven here....

What Malaysia is obviously & severely lacking now.

The police should come up with a standard procedure or guideline to deal with demonstrations and protests to show that it is consistent and fair in all its actions, said minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon....

... “The police must not give an impression that they only take action against certain parties. We must be consistently fair and they must be fairly consistent in handling of demonstrations,” he stressed....

credits: Choo Choy May

... He pointed out that the people have started questioning why the cow head protesters were not arrested on the spot during the demonstration but 16 people were arrested at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday for carrying out a candlelight vigil.


“People who carry out candlelight vigils and people who are sitting in mamak shops wearing black clothes are arrested. I think that is not correct,” he said, drawing laughter from the delegates....



points highlighted & quoted from : http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/6/nation/20090906161506&sec=nation

Taming/ rehabilitating a fear-stricken dog

[continued from previous post] - Taming/ rehabilitating a fear-stricken dog

She trembled in fear. What's going on? Mommy, where are you???

The "thing" had managed to lift her up, and she was now outside the cage. Everywhere was bright. She could see things clearer now, but somehow, her vision remain scarred. She trembled in extreme fear.

"Mimi..." Instantaneously she felt the "thing" touching her back and she immediately retaliated with compulsive jumps and biting the air and every single object that got into her way. Silence. She waited for the next move by the "Doctor" - her enemy.

"Mimi.... how are you?" The voice remained soft and gentle. It was not mommy's, but somehow she started to familiarize with the soothing voice. Can "Doctor" be trusted? Will she do me any harm?

Mimi looked up. "Doctor" was looking at her. Face-to-face. Eyes-to-eyes. "Mimi?" The stare continued.

Slowly she saw "Doctor"'s finger slowly approaching her collar. Mimi waited anxiously. The next moment she could feel a gentle stroke on her forehead. Mimi closed her eyes. It was a very comfortable, trusting stroke. The finger had not feared her bite.

"Mimi... look at your eyes.. it's so painful isn't it?" Mimi felt her eyelids pulled open, and knowing that she could begin to trust "Doctor", she allowed her eyes to open. The gentle stroke on her forehead reached to her nose, and gently around her eyes. Mimi looked at the nasty person in front of her.

Could she be trusted?

to be continued...

Venturing into Dog Psychology

[continued from previous post]

Mimi was not a fierce dog. She was a lost dog. A dog whom perceived that her parents had abandoned her into the hands of a nasty human who poke really painful stuff underneath her skin. Her parents called the nasty person, "Doctor". She was placed into a cage, and her mommy bade her goodbye. What does that supposed to mean??

She tried to look and listen to some familiar faces or voices, but all she retrieved were those of this "Doctor"'s. To make things worse, the ulcers on her corneal had blurred her vision. With each straining of the eyes, the pain pangs her entire face. She hid herself in the corner of the cage. Eyes closed tight.

"Mimi...." She heard a gentle voice calling her name, but the voice belonged to the "Doctor".

"Mimi, it's okay... you'll be fine..." The gentle comforting voice continued. "Mimi, come... let me look at you..."

At the instance she felt something touched her back. Shocked and frightened, she turned around and tried to bite the "thing". She cried, warned, and growled all her might to warn off the impending hurting. Unknowingly, her anal gland and urethra gave way and she could smell her urine and anal juice everywhere.

She trembled in fear. What's going on? Mommy, where are you???

to be continued...

Corneal ulcer victim

Mimi was a quiet shih tzu, a very obedient one that follows all instructions that the owners gave. When I first saw her, she was a rugged, old-looking puppy with matted hair all over her body and face. I shaved her bald on the consultation table within 30 minutes, without a single act of rebellion from her. Good dog! or, sickly dog?

Mimi had really bad corneal ulcers which required surgery. However due to cost constraint, the owner was not able to afford it. Thus we gave Mimi a conservative try - with medicine. As the owners were busy, Mimi had to stay with us in the clinic for the next few days.

This was poor Mimi, the head trapped in a device we called E-collar

(Elizabethan collar)

A few minutes after the owners left, I tried to approach Mimi. To my surprise, the gentle puppy have turned into a repulsive monster! She yapped, barked, growled and tried to bite me. Onlookers were whispering amongst themselves, "Wow! So fierce, that dog!"

Deep within, I knew the reason behind her act. I understood that Mimi was not fierce afterall.

to be continued...