Woman houses dogs in laundry shop after sighting dogcatchers

KLANG: When the municipal council dogcatchers were on their rounds catching street dogs in her area, laundry shop owner Leah Rosli was overcome with concern.

She is one of the people who care for and feed the stray animals in the area around her shop, Rea’s Laundry, in Puchong.

Leah, 35, was especially worried for the five dogs that she feeds daily.

“I feared the dogs would be caught and euthanised by the local council.

“If this were to happen, I don’t think I would be able to handle my emotions," she said.

Overcome with a strong desire to save the dogs lives at any cost, Leah, did the unthinkable and kept them in her laundry shop.

She also placed a notice on the door saying that there were dogs in the premises.

The notice read: “We are currently saving these innocent dogs from the dog catchers since they will be put to sleep/killed if they are caught. We understand that you will feel uncomfortable with this situation and you are welcome to go to other laundries. Thank you."

She said she was willing to lose customers, as her priority was to save the dogs.

According to Leah, as a Muslim, it was her responsibility to protect the lives of the dogs, which would have been killed if caught by the authorities.

“My religion does not say that I cannot go the extra mile to save animal lives.

“Furthermore, it is easy to sertu or samak (do ritual cleaning) as there are readymade clay soaps available in the market for that purpose," she said.

Her act of compassion was widely praised on social media, especially Facebook.

“We need more kind souls like this owner," said Siew Lan Kang.

“Really...really salute the compassionate person/owner...you’ll be blessed many...many times for your kindness," said Ivy Khoo.

“Oh wow! God bless this owner. He’s (sic) prepared to lose money by protecting a dog," said Ratna Packerisamy.

“God bless this business," said Siti Kamariah, while Dayang Mazlinah Lakim wrote, “Beautiful heart."

Meanwhile, Leah said she was currently looking for a piece of farm land.

“Once I get the land, I will take the five dogs there with me," she said, adding that expected her plan to materialise within the next month or so.