Seeing is Believing!

Sat, 5 March 2011 – I started the day at 6am. Left Ampang and headed out to the North South Highway where I picked my pal Evelyn. We were off on to Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter in Pekan Nanas, Johor.

This was our maiden trip to the Ark and we were really excited while at the same time nervous. Why? We weren’t sure what to expect when we got there. The both of us are completely dog mad, and we spoil our poochies (all of ours have either been adopted or rescued) rotten. And while we knew that the fate of the dogs in Noah’s Ark was going to better than those that were roaming the streets and probably even better than alot of those who actually have “homes”, we weren’t prepared for what we witnessed when we finally got there.

So 4 hours after our journey began, we finally arrived at Noah’s Ark, or NANAS as it is more affectionately known. As we drove up the dirt road leading to the entrance, we were greeted by several dogs that ran up to our car and just trotted alongside us till we parked.

We were taken in through a set of double gates, and we were soon greeted by a din of barks and howls. We were quickly ushered upstairs into the main house where Mr Raymund lived. There were quite a few dogs and a couple of cats in the house that were obviously very comfortable with their living arrangements.

Mr Raymund proved to be a charismatic person who clearly loved all his animals, and what struck me most was his statement - “If you adopt a dog from me, don’t make promises to me, make promises to your dog”.

Anyway, we finally made our way into the Ark. The initial experience of stepping through the gates was exhilarating! We were greeted by at least a hundred dogs! There were all sorts of dogs there, big dogs, little dogs, three legged dogs and even lots of pure bred dogs.

The sanctuary was huge. Much larger than we thought it would be. There was so much space for all the 850 odd dogs, 500 plus cats, several horses, a few snakes and some rabbits and hamsters. The dogs were all free to roam wherever they pleased, while the cats had a beautiful cattery.

What was interesting was that all the dogs seem to have formed small packs and they would remain within their own territory in the sanctuary and not cross over to another. It was as if there were invisible boundaries in place.

The grounds were surprisingly clean, and there were food bowls every few feet which were literally overflowing with food! And this phenomenon I am sure was not a show put on to impress us visitors because the dogs there were all certainly well fed as most of them were “fat” and you could count the skinny ones on one hand. Because food was abundant and there was more than enough space for all the 800+ dogs, there were very few squabbles between the dogs. And to our surprise, we didn’t find a single tick or flea on any of the dogs that we played with while we were there, and we can assure you that we played with alot of dogs!!!

Every dog there has its own story... Alot of them were abandoned or given up by their owners because they became a burden after the initial excitement of owning a dog wore off or because they developed some medical issue or other.

One dog in particular caught our attention and affection - a beautiful German Shepherd there by the name of Shalom. He was huge and powerful yet gentle. Shalom was apparently given up after he developed mange and his owners were more concerned about getting a compensation from his breeder instead of looking after him and nursing him back to health. And so Shalom ended up in NANAS. Shalom, however, seems to be thriving here. He was clearly the Alpha Male as he roamed freely throughout the entire sanctuary without a care for the invisible boundaries between the various packs.

Shalom’s story is just one of the many heart-breaking stories that you will hear at NANAS. We cannot understand how people can just give up their animals when it is no longer convenient for them or when they deem that the animals have become a burden. Do they not understand that animals are living beings with feelings and emotions? Do they not understand that a pet is for life?

                                                        Me with Shalom (GSD)

But at the end of the day, every dog seemed genuinely happy there. And we sincerely believe that their lives at the sanctuary are far better than their previous lives.

We are very glad that there is a place like NANAS where these poor “unwanted” animals have been given a second chance at life.

By,
Natasha Fernz