Aslee (Asli) is an 11-year-old stray Telomian, whom Janice Shun rescued from Cameron Highlands while on holiday there.
Their meeting was incredible. “While chatting with a friend I bumped into there, we suddenly noticed that a dog had seated itself quietly between us, staring intently at a packet of keropk lekor I was holding.”
Janice remembers her instant fascination at the dog’s quiet nature and the patches of white fur on all four legs as if she was wearing socks. Even her tail has a white tip.
“We asked her for ‘hand’ and she lifted her paw. We were even more amazed at how clever this stray dog was.”
Janice learned from a vendor nearby that the dog once belonged to an Orang Asli person, who took off without her. She was told the dog was tame but was always shooed away by the other vendors.
“Most heartbreaking was being told she had littered twice and that all her babies had been taken. I kept thinking, ‘oh this poor thing, they took all her babies and she’s all alone here, and such a smart dog’,” Janice says.
Feeling sorry for the dog, Janice decided to buy her some “goreng pisang” from a nearby vendor. But by the time she paid for the snack and turned around to feed the dog, it had disappeared.
Despite looking, the dog was nowhere to be found. Crestfallen, Janice decided to head home without feeding the dog.
However, after a few minutes, Janice spotted her in an abandoned shack. “She was huddled up on a pile of sand. I gave her the goreng pisang but she wasn’t interested. Just curled up as if very scared.”
Janice remembers feeling immensely sad. Then the friend she was with, said, “Take her home la”. Torn between wanting to save the dog and dealing with her furious parents back home, Janice finally decided to take her friend’s advice.
As expected, the family were up in arms over the dog. “There was much drama,” Janice says, but adds that she fought to make Aslee a part of the family.
“Guess what? one month after that, my dad started taking Aslee out for morning walks. After their walk, they’d have breakfast at the kopitiam. He would even order a special bowl of meat balls for her. Everyone at home loves Aslee now,” Janice says.
“I never had to toilet-train Aslee. She never pee-ed or poo-ed inside the house, only on grass outside. She doesn’t bite things she’s not supposed to. She doesn’t bark unless necessary.
“She is extremely friendly to everyone,” Janice says, joking however that Aslee is not a good guard dog because of her super friendly nature.
“But I don’t need a guard dog, I want a family member. She’s extremely affectionate and ‘manja’ to everyone she meets. A social butterfly who socialises well with humans and dogs,” Janice adds.
Aslee is afraid of thunder, Janice says, most likely because of her days living as a stray outdoors. She also suffers from separation anxiety, probably from being abandoned by her previous owner.
“When I take her out but leave her line of vision for a while, she’ll just sit and stare until I come back. I try to take her wherever I go because she is at home alone most of the time now that I have moved out.
“I take her to dinners, parks, outings, even to my fit-camp classes. Of course, she enjoys all the human interaction and even goes from table to table begging for food – she’s very good at it!” Janice says.
“I only found out much later that Aslee’s a Telomian but I am not bothered what she is. To me, every dog is beautiful, regardless of their breed.
“I would definitely pick a mongrel to be my dog. I hope more people would learn not to breed indiscriminately and adopt strays from the shelters.
“Do something meaningful for our society and stop buying your pets from breeders or pet shops, Janice says.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to lifestyle@freemalaysiatoday.com. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.
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