Strays go from streets to a new home in US

MDDB general manager Derene Lee with (left) Daisy and Ronaldo before they were put into their respective crates.February 8, 2014. Rohaizat/Star.

PETALING JAYA: A dog that ended up on the streets after its elderly owner died is one of two canines starting life afresh in the United States.

This was made possible by canine welfare project Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better that had taken care of the dog named Ronaldo since its rescue about six months ago.

MDDB general manager Derene Lee said Ronaldo became homeless after its 70-year-old owner, who lived alone, died suddenly.

“Ronaldo was not street smart,” she said. “He was mauled by the neighbourhood dogs. Some stall owners who were feeding Ronaldo asked for help,” said Lee, adding that Ronaldo was probably about three years old.

Ronaldo was first sent to a veterinarian where the dog stayed for several months until his gaping wounds healed.

Ronaldo’s travel companion is four-year-old Daisy, a lanky female dog rescued along with her three puppies Odie, Scrappy Doo and Sir Mutley. They were loitering around a multi-storey car park in Klang in 2012 and were rescued by MDDB project manager Melinda Joy Gomez.

Both dogs left Saturday night.

“Daisy is a very special dog due to her extremely loving nature and we wanted her to have the best. That’s why we sent her overseas,” Lee said, adding that Daisy’s three puppies had all been re-homed.

She said Daisy was born at the carpark and was the sole surviving puppy from her mother’s litter.

Her mother and the rest of her pack were caught by the municipal council dog catchers.

“According to a car park attendant, who fed the dogs there, all of Daisy’s siblings were run over by cars.

“He also told us that Daisy managed to free herself from the dog catcher’s noose on two occasions,” said Lee.

Lee added that it took some time to rehabilitate Daisy, as the dog could not be leashed due to her phobia after being looped by the neck and dragged by the dog catchers.

“She’s okay now, and is ready to start life afresh,” said Lee.

Both Ronaldo and Daisy will be arriving in Chicago, Illinois, where they will be under the care of the International Street Dog Foundation (ISDF), which will re-home both dogs.

MDDB and ISDF embarked on a collaboration to relocate Malaysian dogs to the US last year.

ISDF re-homes street dogs as well as dogs rescued from the dog meat trade in Thailand.

Besides Ronaldo and Daisy, four other Malaysian street dogs have found homes in the US.

“We will continue seeking homes for Malaysian street dogs in the US and are also currently working on making inroads into Canada and several European countries,” said Lee.

Of the four earlier dogs, two live in San Francisco, one in Chicago and the other, in Arizona.