When Chong Sue Ann, a communications practitioner working in Kuala Lumpur, went to collect a dog from the pound, she didn’t expect to pick up an extra set of paws. In fact, Chong was only recently a dog lover.
“I was never a fan of dogs but a few years ago I felt sorry for some strays,” Chong explains. “One of them was really friendly. I called her Lucy and she converted me.”
Lucy’s friendliness found her a home with an expat living nearby. Chong’s interest in dogs blossomed and she got her own dog, Milo, a West Highland white terrier. She also saw Lucy from time to time, and continued to support strays.
But a year ago, she got a worrying message. “There was a dog catcher in the area, and they took Lucy,” Chong says. “Her dad had lost his temper with them, so I went to the pound to bail Lucy.”
Looking through the cages to find Lucy, Chong came across a sick husky. He was just a puppy, clearly lost, and out of place. Chong felt sorry for him, and bailed him out too.
“He was really aggressive at first,” Chong remembers. “If you went near his face, he would lash out and bite. Finger pointing in particular was a trigger.”
Chong took him to the veterinatian and was patient with him. Thankfully, it worked.
“He had to stay at the vet for tests, and I visited him. On the third visit, he let me touch him.”
Charmed by the big puppy, Chong called him Mocha.
Clearly, the poor dog had some bad experiences. It’s not a stretch that Mocha thought that finger pointing would be followed by violence. He trusted Chong but he was still nervous.
Sad diagnosis
Worse news was to come. After extensive tests, the vet found that Mocha has Evans syndrome, an autoimmune condition where the dog's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys its own red blood cells and platelets. It is a very rare, affecting just 0.01% of dogs.
The disease makes dogs very weak, so they can collapse when exercising. It also causes bleeding, from the nose, in the stool and more.
Thankfully, there are medicines to manage it. It was an expensive process, and it’s taken a year, but Chong has transformed the weak abandoned pup into a feisty young adult dog.
Even better, now he’s restored to health, and has had good experiences with people, Mocha is no longer terrified of people. The big dog is slowly coming out of his shell.
“When we go to the clinic, he gets on so well with the vet and the nurses,” Chong says proudly.
“They rub his face, and he asks for hugs. They draw blood easily too. And at home, I bathe him and cut his claws, no problem at all.”
Mocha is now a big dog, weighing 22kg, but he walks beautifully on a leash.
“He loves being out and about but he doesn’t pull,” Chong says, adding, “My little Milo pulls more!”
Mocha also loves playing with other dogs.
“He is super high energy because he’s a Husky,” Chong points out. “He loves to play and will whack you with his big butt.”
However, Mocha is a big dog and he plays rough. “As huskies are mouthy, he will put his mouth over you, but he doesn’t bite. It’s just how they play,” Chong says.
It’s not a style that every dog appreciates.
“When older dogs tell him off, he doesn’t take it well,” Chong says. “He doesn’t like being told what to do. It might be trauma – or it might be his natural self.”
Rough and tough
Mocha is not a docile pet; he is a fun-loving, rough, tough husky, built for an outdoor life in the Arctic Circle. All Huskies need special management, because of their size and huge energy.
In Malaysia, Mocha also needs air-conditioning, carefully timed walks and someone who understands how he thinks.
For now, he also needs some medication. It took Chong’s vets some time to figure out what was wrong and to manage it; a process that has cost RM10,000. Thankfully, that eye-watering figure is now coming down rapidly.
“Mocha is coming off his main meds and doing well,” Chong observes. “We’ll know next month if he can be off it completely. Then we start reducing the second medication.”
“At present I’m paying RM200 a month for tests, but within three months, we’re looking at just RM10 a month for his medication,” Chong says.
With Evan’s, some dogs can come off all medications entirely. Others may need a low dose of a secondary immunosuppressive drug for life. With or without meds, many dogs go on to live a normal, happy life.
However, Mocha will need regular monthly checkups. Now that he is better, Chong is looking for a home for him.
Mocha can’t stay with Chong, because Milo, her little Westie, is not fond of other dogs. “My Milo doesn’t know how to give dogs space,” she sighs.
For now, Mocha is boarding at KL Pooch Resort and Rescue resort in Kalumpang, Selangor.
“Mocha is safe and fed, but he is a bit lonely,” Chong says. “He needs an owner who understands huskies and other large dogs who have had a rocky start.”
Chong will share ongoing medical costs with whoever adopts him. But finding someone who has the skills to live with a husky is not simple.
As for Lucy, the dog who led Chong to Mocha, she is happy with her dad. Even better, she was spayed with help of F5-Filbert's Foundation for Furry Friends (F5Strays), so there will be fewer pups looking for a home.
Lucy led Chong to Mocha, and now this once-terrified Husky is waiting for someone to lead him home.
