Relocate dog shelter, urge villagers

Villagers gathering outside the dog shelter at Bagan Belat in Butterworth, Penang.

They want the shelter, set up about 10 years ago and now home to 95 strays, relocated.

Bagan Belat Mosque Committee secretary Shamsul Shahabuddin claimed the dogs were a nuisance to the residents.

“The dogs are frequently running into the mosque compound and chasing children, frightening them.

“The mosque committee wants action to be taken,” he told reporters during a visit by Teluk Air Tawar assemblyman Datuk Jahara Hamid recently.

Bagan Belat Federal Village Security and Development Committee chairman Ishak Abdullah said Seberang Prai Municipal Council officers visited the area in November last year after receiving complaints over the dog shelter.

“No action was taken against the shelter. We now urge the state government to relocate the shelter as the 1,600 residents here are all Malays,” said Ishak.

“The dog shelter is not suitable to be in this area.”

Trader Naina Mohamad Sultan claimed he often saw about 10 dogs running outside the shelter when he was returning home from work at night.

He said the shelter owner has to be sensitive to the feelings of the residents due to the inconvenience caused by the stray dogs kept at the shelter.

Jahara said the authorities should act fast. “The villagers have tolerated enough and I hope the owner will relocate as soon as possible,” she said.

Dog shelter owner Ken Ken Jong said the animal home would be relocated to Juru when the building there is completed.

“All the holes in the shelter’s fencing have been sealed and only one dog has the ability to jump over the fencing. She will be moved elsewhere. “I hope residents can be patient and I thank them for their tolerance the last 10 years,” she said.

Council president Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif, when contacted, said the council had recently approved plans for the dog shelter in Juru.