Cats again? Aren’t there more pressing topics to write about? Well...
Cats have ruled the Internet since the dawn of social media. On every platform, you see cats! Even when searching for cooking advice, somehow a cat video sneaks onto your screen.
But don’t worry. This is not just another story about cats.
This is a tale about three unlikely teachers: a cat, an elephant and a dog.
It was 2001, my first year as a teacher at Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School. Before stepping into the classroom, I had spent 11 years as the school’s library assistant. So technically, I had already been “teaching” students one important lesson: how to keep quiet.
One late afternoon, after marking a mountain of exercise books, I walked home. Fortunately, home was only five minutes away.
“Meow. Meow. Meow.” Three urgent little meows behind me.
I turned around and saw a tiny head peeking from the open window of an abandoned car that had been sitting there for nearly three years. Inside was a three-month-old kitten with a tiny pink nose and a beautiful black, orange and white coat.
A tricolour cat. I knew immediately she was a girl. Almost all tricolour cats are female. Thank you, genetics!
I meowed back. She meowed again. That was how I met Nana.
I named her Nana because... well... she looked like a Nana. Some names are carefully planned. Others simply arrive.
Nana stayed with me for eight wonderful years. She was incredibly clever, perhaps too clever. Every morning at exactly five o’clock, she became my personal alarm clock, kicking me with her powerful hind legs until I woke up.
Forget snooze buttons. Nana did not believe in delays. Then came another “three”.
In 2007, my students rescued three three-week-old kittens from inside the engine compartment of a parked car. They brought them to me, and Nana immediately accepted them.
She had never been a mother, but nobody told Nana that.
Looking back, I smile at the power of three: three meows, three-week-old kittens and one cat who taught me unconditional love.
People often say I rescued Nana. Yes, I gave her a home. But she gave me something much greater. She taught me that love does not keep score.
In the end, I was not Nana’s saviour. She was mine.
In 2003, during my third year as a teacher, the prefect board invited me to join their field trip to Danum Valley.
There, I saw Borneo pygmy elephants for the first time.
Photographs cannot capture the feeling of seeing them in their natural habitat. They were small compared with other elephants, but they carried themselves with incredible dignity.
Little did I know that this encounter would return to me more than 20 years later.
In 2024, I worked with my three-member Junior 3 team for the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. We created an innovative elephant alarm system to help reduce human-elephant conflict and raise awareness about the challenges faced by Sabah’s endangered Borneo pygmy elephants.
To our surprise and delight, we were the first runner-up. Looking back, I realised Danum Valley had planted a tiny seed in my heart.
Sometimes, the most important lessons are not learnt in classrooms. Sometimes, they begin in a rainforest.
Before Nana came into my life, there was Dumpil.
During my third year working in the school library, my aunt told us that her dog had given birth to six puppies. She asked if we wanted one.
Since he came from Kampung Dumpil, we named him Dumpil. Creative? Maybe not. Meaningful? Definitely.
We expected an ordinary kampung dog. We were completely wrong.
Dumpil grew into the most unusual-looking dog. He had short legs, huge paws and a golden-brown coat. He looked like a combination of a Dachshund and the Hush Puppies mascot.
He was wonderfully funny-looking.
Dumpil filled our home with laughter and happiness. For three years, he was my constant companion.
Then one day, everything changed. I was rushing to school for my afternoon shift and did not realise Dumpil was following behind me. A speeding car came along, and I lost him.
For a long time, I carried that guilt. But when I remember Dumpil now, I do not want to remember only how I lost him. I want to remember how he lived.
The little dog with the short legs, big paws and enormous heart. The dog who taught me that love does not need words.
A cat, an elephant and a dog. Three animals. Three stories. Three lessons.
Nana taught me that love can find us in the most unexpected places.
The elephants taught me that one small moment of connection can inspire a lifetime of responsibility.
Dumpil taught me that even the shortest friendships can leave the deepest footprints.
Animals enter our lives quietly: a meow behind us, a pair of gentle eyes in a rainforest, a puppy waiting for a home.
They teach us kindness. They teach us compassion. They remind us to slow down and appreciate the simple joys around us.
After all, the greatest gifts in life do not always come wrapped in boxes.
Sometimes, they come with four paws, a trunk, a wagging tail or a tiny pink nose.
