Furry friend: Myza cradles in her arms one of the FFF goats.
KLANG: A chance meeting and promise she made to a friend on her deathbed were the two key reasons why a public relations practitioner gave up her glamorous job to take on an entirely new role of an animal activist more than a decade ago.
It all began in 2009 when Myza Nordin, who was then the corporate communication department head at a hotel in Petaling Jaya, stumbled upon a dog that had given birth to 11 puppies.
Taking pity on the stray and her puppies, she reached out to a canine welfare project – Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) – for help.
“MDDB did not have a shelter at that time, so it contacted Furry Friends Farm (FFF) founder Sabrina Yeap and directed me there,’’ Myza said in an interview.
During their meeting, Yeap agreed to help care for the canine family but with a condition that Myza volunteered and helped out with FFF promotions and events.
Without a second thought, she agreed and began volunteering at FFF during some weekends when her services were needed.
But that arrangement changed in the blink of an eye when Yeap died of leukaemia in 2012.
She was unaware that she had been suffering from the disease, resulting in her sudden death.
Due to her quickly deteriorating condition, Yeap had not made any plan for the several hundreds of dogs and cats to be cared for upon her demise.
“When I went to visit Sabrina in the hospital, she was already in a coma. I could sense that she was not going to make it.
“I also had a strong feeling that she could be clinging on to life because there was no one to take care of her cats and dogs, as she ran the farm single-handedly,’’ Myza said.
She also recalled how she had held Yeap’s hand and told her to go peacefully and that she would look after the farm and the animals there.
Yeap died less than 10 minutes after that, Myza said.
“I knew I had to keep good that promise to help her go with peace of mind.
“I took a big gamble as I did not know much about managing a shelter, since I only helped Sabrina with promotions and events in the past,’’ she said.
Myza also recalled the difficulties she faced following Yeap’s death, as several other shelter operators wanted to shut the farm down.
She learnt that a complaint was lodged with the Veterinary Services Department, claiming that the animals in the farm were neglected.
“Sabrina was terminally ill then, so she was not able to give her best to care for the animals in the last few months of her life.
“I stood my ground and slowly managed to convince the authorities that what was alleged is not the case.
“I also knew how important it was to keep the farm running as it was Sabrina’s life and passion.
“Initially, it was tough but I managed to turn the farm around to what it is today with the help of two permanent volunteers,’’ she added.
Myza is now managing the farm – which has dogs, cats, goats, chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits – full-time with five workers.
She reckoned it must be her calling to serve and contribute towards animal welfare.
“It must have been fate which brought me to FFF, meeting and becoming good friends with Sabrina and now, continuing her selfless deed,’’ said Myza.
She added that just like most animal shelters, FFF also runs on public contributions.
