26th May 2008

Ok at least no animals died today :) Radio show for this Friday, 7pm-9pm on the Teen Show confirmed so tune in on http://www.radio101.headplug.com/ and you can hear how rubbish I really am. Good point though is that I can squeeze a zit on air...whose I can't tell you yet!

Looked at myself in the mirror this morning and it could be one of mine. My body really is against me! I have grey streaks in my hair and teenage acne.... how did that happen? I am 32 years old...I am supposed to have neither! Oh well..such is life!

Not much happening on the animal side as I have been swamped trying to write reports Decided this morning that it is more important to get the animals rehomed so I have abandoned my reports..they are boring anyway...and started nagging my volunteers..I really pity them having to deal with me sometimes! However, I couldn't do what I do without them and tell them on a regular basis how much I luv 'em! Very important in a relationship!

If you can help to rehome, adopt or foster an animal, give me a call/email. The more animals I move, the more I can help. I seem to have had a poisoning today but I am reserving judgement til i speak with a vet as it is only one puppy out of 7 and the mum. If it is poisoning, that will be another huge bill to pay! The money I spend trying to save one dog can sterilize two dogs..come on people...killing one pup does not solve the stray population. Let me use my budget where it is needed and not solving the problems of one person's IRRESPONSIBLE actions. Out of seven pups and a mum, they have killed one animal. The rest will still father or mother more pups so while I try to save this pup, it cuts into my budget for sterilizing the mum and the female pups. There are an estimated 15,000 stray dogs in Brunei (cats too many to count!) so please...give me the money you spent on the poison..it can be put it to better use! I just wish people would THINK first. If they asked the car showroom who reported the pups, they would find I am on the case...that aside, to poison an animal is cruel and inhumane. Won't detail it here but if you have ever seen an animal poisoned and the slow death that ensues, well let's just say you wouldn't sleep a night!

Trying to end on a positive note so let me finish with Portsmouth FC won the FA cup :) :) :) Play up Pompey!!! Not a huge football fan but as my son and my husband are born and bred Pompey fans...no choice lah! Despite the protests of my good friend Paul, Portsmouth must now be classed as better than Aston Villa! Who isn't (only kidding Paul...Aston Villa must be better than someone...Southampton maybe???)

25th May 2008

Sorry for the gap! Been a very hectic and a sad week! We have lost one more of the six puppies found on Serasa Beach and one of the four kittens dumped at the Serusop office :( So sad but won't stop me!! I try my hardest for the animals and very occasionally I lose the fight. At times like this, I can only remind myself how many animals I have saved and that is why it is important I don't stop.

On a happier note, guess who made her first appearance on the new radio station in Brunei....yep me! Only a telephone interview for now but I was soooo nervous. When the guys called me back, the phone line was so bad...bet I sounded like a right idiot.

Anyway due into the studio later this week so will need to practise some relaxation techniques. Haven't confirmed when I will be on but you should listen anyway! It's all community based so you can find all sorts of local info on there. You can listen online at http://www.radio101.headplug.com/. The teen session is cool and they gave me a mention as well so I personally thank them for their support for the cause even if they are Aston Villa supporters :)

19th May 2008

Just a quick note to update you all on the pups. Sadly, one of them had to be euthanised this morning as it was so weak it had no chance of survival. Another one went the same way this evening so now only four left. We are just keeping our fingers crossed!

I am now worried about the mum of course cos she may also be ill...wish I knew how to find the people who have her so I can make sure she is ok.

On a happier note, the kittens are getting stronger and should be ready to move out in a few more weeks :)

18th May 2008

Well we have come to the end of a long weekend...not the nice kind where you get three days off of work but the other kind...so busy you didn't even notice it was the weekend.

Spent most of the day yesterday in meetings and when I came home, had the regular housework to get done. Stayed up late to watch our hometown team (Portsmouth) in the FA Cup final and thought it's OK cos it is Sunday tomorrow - my first meeting wasn't planned until 2pm so no problem to sleep late..right? WRONG!

Got a call that there were 6 puppies, only a few days old, dumped at the food stalls on Jalan Serasa beach. My first thought was that the mother had disappeared because it gets busy down there on a Sunday and she was too afraid of people to get her pups but no, when I got there, these pups were filthy, in a wet and disgusting box and there was no sign of any mother dog or whoever had dumped them there. Apparently, there originally were 8 puppies but someone took two. Hope they know how to care for them as they will need bottle feeding every 3-4 hours for the next few weeks.

Anyway, I managed to find them foster care with one of my ever-dependable friends and I am sure they are going to be fine. It just amazes me that people think this is a good way to get rid of the unwanted animals...however did this person think they were going to survive? I'll tell you how...hoping others will take responsibility where he/she failed and I am willing to bet this person will still fail to sterilize the mother.

I understand in most people's eyes you can't compare animals to humans, but if you accidentily got your wife pregnant, you wouldn't (ordinarily) let her give birth and then dump the child..right? Honestly!! Anyway I will keep you posted on their progress :)

On a happier note, during a meeting today, one of myf riends asked if I had really gone for a swim in a drain whilst rescuing some pups so I promised I would post an 'after' picture as proof...so Sandeep...laugh it up!!!!

13th May 2008

So there I was, hoping for a day without any rescues...feet up and watching American Idol and I hear my own two babies freaking out in the Simpang (that's my two dogs...not actual babies!). So being a kinda nice person, I abandoned Syesha and went out to investigate what was making my babies so upset.

They were pacing around a bush and my first thought was a snake. At this point, I should point out two things. My first encounter with a snake in Brunei involved my dogs barking at something under my car...ahhh poor pussy cat (she says) and I got on all fours and stuck my head under the car to find a spitting black cobra in the strike position, flaring its hood in my direction. My other point is, like most people and anyone who knows me will agree, bugs and reptiles I will not touch or have them touch me! Ohhhhhh Nooooooo.

Anyway, after a few minutes of 'beating round the bush' - literally, no snake was coming out and attacking me so I pulled apart the bushes and found....wait for it......a tortoise! Yep a tortoise. OK I tell myself...I can do this...it is already retracted into its shell so I won't actually be touching the slimey bits...unless it pops its head and legs back out while I am carrying it...was it worth the risk...absolutely not!

So I came back into the house and prepared myself for carrying a tortoise. How - I put on my son's football gloves, rubber gloves on top of them and finally three carrier bags on each hand and I went back out into the Simpang and picked the thing up. I carried it (at the longest possible arms length and placed it over a fence back into the jungle.

And the dogs...not very smart my dogs...they were still in the original bush looking for it...and I missed the end of American Idol...oh well!

9th May 2008

Just a quick update on the kittens...they have been formally adopted today but I will keep them in foster care firstly to make sure they survive, and if they do to make sure they are fully nourished and ready to move on.

I have also has a kitten returned and readopted today and four other kittens adopted - one of which was fostered by my good friend Tina. The cat is called Splodge and she had a really hard time letting her go! Can see why from the photo!

Good day for cats...hopefully the dogs will follow suit :)

8th May 2008

Just had four kittens dumped at our office. They are less than 3 days old and may not survive. We have volunteers working round the clock to make sure they have a fighting chance but these kittens should be with their mum. I will say it again in case you haven't heard me say it before - STERILIZE YOUR PETS. If you do not, at least take responsibility for the offspring that you failed to prevent.

It is obvious this person knew I help animals and decided just to pass the responisbility onto me. There are approx 15,000 stray dogs and countless stray cats...pet owners need to be responsible so I can take care of the strays. How can anyone address the stray problem if they are constantly spending money on cases like this.

Come on...they guy didn't even leave money for the kitten milk...has anyone ever noticed the price of it??

I personally want to thank the volunteers who have helped with this case. I couldn't do half as much as I do without you guys so thank you from me and our furry, four legged friends.

2nd May 2008

Well today was a day to catch and sterilize some female dogs. I went to catch one dog with my trusty sidekick Rick as I knew the dog's habits quite well. Really hot day as usual and the dog seemed to know we were coming! We ended up chasing her for an hour or so and decided to come back for her later. By this time, I had ended up sunk into a drain up to my knee and yes I was wearing light coloured jeans...will I never learn?

Rick successfully caught two other dogs without my help and we all returned to get Casey, the wonder dog. I call her this because every time we thought we had her cornered, she would appear somewhere else just watching us. I think she was having fun but we certainly were NOT. She had us running through the same piece of jungle for another hour and a half. We were all exhausted but she just wanted to play some more!

We decided enough was enough, we would try again another day so we packed into our respective cars and she appeared again. So, we get out again and start tracking her again. Thirty minutes later we were back in the cars, turned the cars around and she came again...one last time...gotta catch her sooner or later...right??

Wrong. After another chase we have left her to catch another day but catch her we will...even if it's the last thing I do!

This is a prime example of why just killing stray animals will not control the street dog/cat population. You can't kill a dog you can't catch and this dog typically has 6 or 7 puppies with each litter and with two seasons a year, that's 14 puppies a year from one dog. If she has female puppies (which she has before), if they all have 14 puppies a year...do you get the point! Sterilization is the way to go...that's why we keep trying and chasing and getting stuck in mud drains whilst being eaten alive by mosquitos...not for the fun of it...trust me!

If you have pets...please sterilize them. If I have to keep chasing stray dogs and cats, I won't live to see my next birthday!!!