Swamp-Dog Millionaire

My name is Hope. I'm a dog that has been rescued by Sabrina Yeap of Furry Friends Farm. That's me in the middle of the picture, held by my saviour. I was dumped at a mangrove swamp by villagers, about a half an hour's boat ride from the main island known as "Ketam Island" off the West Coast of Malaysia. Why ? I guess they didn't like the sight of me wandering along the streets, shedding fleas.

I was christened Hope, since I was rescued in time, after I managed to survive many hours trapped in the swamp mud. I thought my death was approaching, notwithstanding my terror when my friends turned foe tried to bite me, in an attempt to satisfy their hunger. (Yelp !) We have not eaten for days, weeks even, and the only source of food we had, were our dead friends.

One day, one of the dogs tried to swim accross the swamp to reach the main island. We never saw him again. We don't believe he made it alive. Yet, that has not stopped some of us from trying to escape the inescapable.

Still, to some of us, death by drowning seems like a welcome breath of fresh air, better than death by slow starvation.

....even the eagles look temptingly sumptuous, but are far, far out of reach.

When the rescuers came, I was the only dog out of many who was brought to safety. The rescuers didn't allow the other savage dogs to touch even a hair on my tail.

That's why I am the swamp-dog million-hair. For the rest of my friends, who knows what lies in their fate. The rescuers have left food for them on the mangrove island, but who knows how long that would last.

Thank you, Furry Friends for giving me a new lease of life. Please give my friends hope too.

If you are unable to help directly, please help by forwarding this appeal to other compassionate folks who you feel might be able to make some monetary contributions. Apart from boat hire, we need money to buy cages, to pay people to help catch them, to hire land transport to send the rescued animals to veterinary clinics, pay for vet fees, send the recovered ones to the shelter and to feed and house them for life. To donate or help, e-mail TV Smith at tvsmith@mycen.com.my or Sabrina Yeap at yeapwen@yahoo.com or

The Rescue Mission Secretariat at +6012 378 3730 (Janet) or +6012 320 8090 (Zalina)

For more background to the story, go to:

http://furryfriendsfarm2006.blogspot.com/