From Pauper to Duke. (From Sharpei to Duke)

We didn’t think to have another dog, at least not just yet. Rex (almost 5 yr old yellow Labrador) would be the only dog until we return to Australia. That, of course changed when Duke happened.

Duke a.k.a Sharpei

Reading about Duke’s (aka Sharpei) plight on the blog and several correspondences with the volunteers, I had the pleasure of meeting him and Bear when they were at the vet for their health check. I was amazed by his sweet and calm disposition. Truth be told, I wasn’t prepared to meet a dog with such rough experiences to be so well-mannered. Apart from his skinny frame, he is actually a fine-looking, goofy lad.

Things escalated when Duke was attacked by some stray dogs the following day. Seeing the extent of his injuries, Rob and I decided to foster him while he was on the mend. He was mostly very considerate and polite with us, even with Rex. In the beginning, his consideration did not extend beyond our home. Little did I realize, this boy could hold his fight. During our initial walks together, it’s his way or the highway – which meant carrying this injured 23kg boy, wearing this big Elizabethan collar all the way home. Looking back, we would have made quite a sight since I looked as battered as him after each walk.

Duke (Sharpei) attacked by stray dogs (Picture taken from Hp)

This is Rex, my big bro. He used to wish for a Sharpei - his wish came true!

The initial reception from Rex was a little lukewarm. That got us very concerned until we uncovered one of the issues – Duke’s weapons, which is the Collar of Oblivion (having his side vision blinded by the e-collar) and his whipping tail. Rex had his untimely moments when he was at the receiving ends of slaps and accidental “bangs”. They both had their silly and laughable episodes. Needless to say, we were won over, including Rex.

Duke and Rex - best of buddies!

 I'm a pet, not a stray anymore! And I love swimming!

 That's my Daddy and Mommy and my big brother, Rex.

In a short time, Duke had made a difference to us. For Rex, he is a happy and bossy big brother – having Duke following him in almost everything. Even when Duke has no clue why he might be doing it, he is just happy to follow suit. The mornings have been rowdier with two big boys banging and bashing away with their happy tails. For us, they are simply a joy to be awakened to, having 2 happy faces greet us every morning.

Rex is a blood donor for Zeus Communications

Today, Duke has transformed from a lost and sad dog to a happy and affectionate boy. He has found a home where he can sleep soundly every night, without any more fear. My validation is his loud and deep snore most nights. He never has to go hungry again unless Rex finishes his food (not that Rex is a bully but he is an absolute greedy foody!). He now knows where home is and is happy to walk home each time. He loves people, walking up to them each time for some rubs and pats. And he can be very relentless and unabashed about wanting more – that’s why he follows daddy like a bad smell. Most importantly, he wears a beautiful smile that tells us adopting him was a right decision after all.



Living the life he truly deserves

Daddy and his boys

Thank you to Lynda and Fiona for rescuing Duke and making it possible for him to be part of our family.
Photographs and story courtesy of Rob & Stephanie

Feed The Factory Dogs (And Cats)

Almost a year has gone by since Zeus Communications was formed, and we have seen many dogs and cats come our way. You have journeyed with us and witnessed the different street animals suffer from various injuries, illnesses and even great emotional turmoil. We always do our utmost best to help them but we know there are still many others needing our attention and kindness. We can't possibly do it all on our own.

Their food bowls are often filled with dead leaves, ants and rain water. 

 

 Leftover food thrown by workers. You can't imagine the stench which can be smelt from afar. The bad sour smell was so awful, yet that is the only food these factory cats have. 



Help us fill their food bowls and their little tummies

You may think that street and factory dogs are similar in many ways, but they are slightly different. Street dogs lead a very sad life. They have absolutely nowhere to seek shelter in, having neither food nor water for days and have no caregivers at all. No one would know or recognize these dogs even if they were to pass away. On the flip side, factory dogs are able to find refuge from the weather in factory buildings, away from the sweltering heat of day and the chilling cold of night. If they are lucky enough, factory workers or guards may keep a lookout for them and might even give them daily scraps of food. Dogs are known to repay kindness shown unto them and are likely to start guarding the factories from intruders and provide companionship to lonely workers.

Little Joe now lives in the same factory with Venus

The workers take good care of Little Joe and Venus

There are some factories that have workers staying at the factory 24/7. These workers accept the factory dogs as their friends and kin; trying to feed and care for them even with their meager salaries. Despite most of them earning less than $800 a month; an amount barely enough to support themselves or their families, they try their best to share with the dogs whatever food they have. We want to and will help these people because of one main reason – they CARE. We, as volunteers, often do not have much time to go around feeding all the factory dogs, as our time is spent on other doggie stuff, but with the help of these kind factory workers, these factory dogs are able to get their stomachs filled.

Venus now has a factory she calls home and the workers take good care of her.

Tiger is temporarily living at a boarding kennel, waiting to be adopted

Zeus Communications’ ‘Feed The Factory Dogs’ programme aims to provide food to security guards and workers who have dogs or cats living on their compounds. By providing the food, we hope to see more workers befriending and caring for these factory dogs. Our volunteers will send the food to the factories on a monthly basis and when a dog is injured or unwell, the workers can contact us to get the needed medical attention. When the dog recovers, we will take them back to the factory to recuperate. From past rescue operations, we learn that some factory workers even go the extra mile to give the recovering dog their daily medication after they have been discharged from the vet!

 

Literally rubbish food fed to the factory dogs. The foul smell was overpowering. We have been providing food to the workers for the cats and dogs in their compound, and could do with your help too.

Is this the way man's best friend should live? Every dog or cat deserves a decent meal.

                                       

 An old factory dog, too weak to stand and eat. Sweet as she is, asking for someone to take her home and love her might be asking too much, so we'll just be contented with feeding her proper meals. And this furry one loves cat food!


This doggie gets the head of a roasted suckling pig, remnants from a wedding dinner!



Factory cats. Help us help them, and many more like them!

This programme yields many benefits. As the workers feed and care for the dogs daily, they develop a strong human-animal bond and become friends. This way, the workers can care for the animals, in turn gaining friendship and extra security for their factory. Also, with the help of the workers, it will be easier for us to catch the dogs to undergo sterilization under Zeus Communications' Street Dog Sterilization (S.D.S) program. Another plus point is that the workers who have formed a relationship with the dogs can help to protect them from people who may attempt to attack the dogs. It is unavoidable that some humans have a strong distaste for dogs and may want to harm them, but with strong kinship between man and dog, fewer dogs will suffer from abuse and injury.

Rein Biotech kindly offers Zeus Communications a one-for-one food deal. When you buy a bag of dog or cat food, Rein Biotech will sponsor another bag of the same item. This donated food will be directed to dogs like Little Joe, Venus and Tiger who were rescued from the streets and now live in factories where they have caregivers to feed them, as well as other factory dogs, whom we know have caregivers caring for and feeding them. We kindly appeal to you to contribute to this programme - the factory animals need your compassion.



Care-givers who care for and feed the factory dogs and cats



Life is hard enough for them. Let's try to help them in every little way we can.

The launch of this programme doens't mean that we will neglect other stray animals who have nowhere to call ‘home’. We are merely trying to save time – only by entrusting some factory dogs to the workers, thus allowing us to devote more time to wandering strays who are in dire need of our help - a proper meal and a friend who cares. 



This is a ‘one for all and all for one’ effort. Please help us feed the factory dogs by buying the dog  or cat food. We will deliver the food to the respective security guards and factory workers whom we already know, as well as others who are willing to genuinely care for their factory animals. Similar to this saying, 'a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step', we make this small step forward to help these factory dogs. You may not think your contribution is much, but eventually, everyone's pocketful of kindness can snowball into a wonderful outcome for these unfortunate animals. Help us to help them please.

They need help. We are trying our best. Will you help them too? Yes!

ORDER FOOD HERE

Article written by volunteer - Jo-Ann Teo

Editor's Note :

Dear readers, I would like to introduce you to our young writer, Jo-Ann, who is all of 16 years old. Not only is she able to juggle her studies and help us write articles for our blog, Jo is also a wonderful writer who is extremely passionate about animal welfare. I hope you enjoy reading her regular contributions as much as I do and I would like to thank her for helping us in our work.

A Dog With A Job

Blackie remembers his puppyhood in a canal and being brought to our factory where he has called home for 9 years.

At our factory he plays an important role, and because of him we have a unique corporate culture. Blackie feels that he is very much part of the team, being particularly proud and appreciated when all his colleagues would introduce him to new faces. He comes to work in the office with us in the day, and stands guard for the factory by night. In the mornings he would wait faithfully at the entrance to greet and see us to our desks. At meetings, he goes round to all participants to acknowledge every one of us. In the evenings after work, he would escort us by running alongside as we pull out of the driveway.

Over and above these small gestures, Blackie considers his main purpose as being the catalyst for happy vibes around the office, to be by our side, to comfort us from our work stress.

He has seven favourite colleagues in the office, whose desks he can freely roam about and laze at our feet. With each one of us, he has a special relationship. Among us, we have unspoken roles in bringing him his home cooked meals, showering him, and even jesting with him around the office with his favourite milk sticks. Of all, the person he likes best has to be the boss who would bend over to whisper encouragement into his ears for the job done well all these years.

Probably the only dog with the best of both worlds, Blackie is allowed a fulfilling corporate career with his human colleagues in the day and the life of a free dog in the night.

He is known to his doggie friends as the good Samaritan who would always fight for a good cause, perhaps because he knows that he would be treated and well taken care of should he be hurt in the process. Blackie has a notorious record with the vet, for the cuts and bruises inflicted for nosing around on his nights off duty.

We were in a happy state of mind when we were first invited by Fiona a couple of months back to pen the glorious life of our beloved Head of Security. Lynda and Fiona came into Blackie’s life when we approached the ladies for expert advice when we noticed Blackie behaving differently – he started to cough excessively and breathe heavily. The ladies went beyond their call of duty to take him to their regular vet, which has since taken good care of him.

Blackie was then diagnosed with an enlarged heart, a condition that must have been brewing but would not show until symptoms could be recognized clinically. In spite of which, we were sure that he could overcome this episode with consistent medication and reviews, just as well as he would emerge victorious from his regular street adventures.

In a matter of 3 months, Blackie has checked in and out of the vet for a fast deteriorating heart and we saw his demeanor reduce from a charismatic alpha male to becoming helpless and resigned. We are wrought by worry and heavy hearts about Blackie as we tell his life story.

Blackie is so well-loved that the staff at the factory even took him to the studio for his picture taken!

Sadness is apparent in his eyes as we take Blackie regularly to see the vet these days. As we keep vigil, we are conscious to keep our spirits up as well so as to encourage Blackie to go on. Blackie reciprocates by holding on for us, simply because being part of our team means the world to him, and he believes that he still has a job to do.

 We cannot thank Blackie enough for his unconditional friendship and companionship. He has touched many of us in more ways than one. We are fortunate to have Blackie as much as he is lucky to have found a good home with a family that cares for him. We are comforted that he has enjoyed a happy and contented life.

Blackie may not return to his pink of health, but we want him to be the fighter he has always been.

Written by Pey Pey, Blackie’s colleague.

Editor's Note :

Not all factory dogs are this fortunate. Blackie is possibly one in a thousand that is loved, appreciated and cherished by the people working at the factory.

There are dogs that live on the factory compounds and are considered a nuisance by the people there. These people kick the dogs, beat them with chains, ride their bicycles and try to run over the dogs or call in the authorities to have all the dogs removed. We have personally witnessed these acts of cruelty. So these dogs that live in the factory may just be there for the food scraps left behind by the workers, or for shelter from the sun and rain. They may not necessary have a care-giver feeding them or caring for them.

Care-givers could either be people working in the factory, or the security guards there. On our feeding rounds of the street animals, we have come across workers or guards who do feed the animals on their compounds, and with their measly earnings, buy food and share them with the strays. These are the people that Zeus targets to help; these are the people who do call us when the strays are injured or unwell and they help us catch the dogs and cats for sterilization too. These are the people who make the difference in the lives of the street animals, giving whatever little they can afford to give.

Stay tuned to our next blog post where we share more about Factory Dogs and how you can help us to help them.