#Undecided's Story: Kalista and SDTC and all things in between

Hi everybody.

Missed me? I know you do *grin*

Anyway, I started writing this entry on 10 May 2013 (yes, almost a month ago LOL), but finally just finished it today. Well, like I said… baby steps… Hehehe...

As you know (been repeating this a lot on my entries, I'm such a broken record, sorry :p), I'm a dog person, so this entry is about an issue that is close to my heart. With this hopefully I can move you in some ways to treat dogs better, so then I'll know that I've done my part, albeit little but it's still something, right... :)

So please read it through to the end and let me know what you think, okay! Pretty please :)

Here goes!

So yesterday was a public holiday here in Indonesia and obviously the lazy me was ecstatic about sleeping in the whole day, BUT since I am also a responsible dog owner, I decided to spend the day with Kalista.

Kalista and I

I haven’t had the time to write about this, but we had to send our dogs (Kalista first, but then Jerome and Inez followed, but that's a story for another time) to a “boarding school” because one of my mom’s maids hit Kalista with a broomstick and caused her to bark nonstop at the slightest sight of her. Yes, this story has stupidity and ignorance on that maid’s behalf all over it. No, I am not being racist, judgmental or anything, as a matter of fact, she’s NOT a Moslem and my sister did catch her in action (and luckily that one time managed to stop her before the broomstick hit home).

And FYI, that incident happened when everybody was in the house (yes, some nerve, right!!). If she dared hitting her with her employers around, I can only imagine what else she would do during the day when nobody was home.

My sis called me and I rushed home (I was on the way back to my apartment after a night out with #Pink but we quickly took a detour). I called her out on her action and told her that if she dared raising a hand at one of our dogs once again, I would kick her out of the house so fast it wouldn’t matter what my mom said (it is quite difficult to find good house maids these days and my mom tends to hold on to the ones she has). Yes, I was that pissed.

However, the damage was done. We tried patching things up between Kalista and the maid, but she wasn’t having it. In short, Kalista wasn’t happy. She wouldn’t touch her food if it was given by the maid. She lost weight. Kept barking during the night and we were at a point when we just had to get her out of the house for her own sake. Had she live with hubby and I, this stupid story would have ended differently I’m sure *sigh*.

So the search for her new home started and after several phone calls we managed to find SURABAYA DOG TRAINING CENTER (SDTC) in Kenjeran (its location is near our apartment – so it’s super convenient for us to visit her as much as we want to). After a quick browse and a meeting with the owner (the lovely Miss Jenny), we decided to keep her there.

Jenny - the owner of SDTC with the agility field in the background

It wasn’t an easy transition for Kalista. She was super clingy to hubby (very normal since he was the only person she trusted at that time) and was terrified of other dogs (she even refused to play with the 2 Golden Retriever puppies there – avoided them with all her might).

Charlie - one of the two Golden Rets which Kalista avoided.
Funny how a 7-month-old German Shepherd was scared of two adorable 3-month-old puppies, right.

But I noticed how quickly the 2 kennel boys there got her attention. I always knew that Kalista sees people right through them. And she was always more attracted to men. Hmph. LOL... I remember how during her homecoming ride she refused only my friend's A’s touch  – she knew that A was the only person in that car whom is not a dog person LOL.

Now almost a month after that day, Kalista is one happy dog. We visit her regularly and are following her progress closely. She gained weight, aces her obedience and agility materials, being social with the other 20 something dogs there (she’s bff with a male Rottweiler named Brino), only barks to alert the kennel boys when someone’s at the gate, and we couldn’t be more proud of her!! Our once skittish dog is her old self no more. I am forever indebted to Miss Jenny for what she’s done for my dog.

Brino - Kalista's BFF

This brings me to basically the reason as to why I’m writing this entry. If you think that abuse, abandonment, ignorance and neglect only happen to mutts and mongrels, well you can’t be more wrong. Kalista – albeit what happened to her for a small period of time – is one of the lucky ones. I cannot say the same to the other pure breeds (yes, pure breeds!!) dogs there and I would like to share some of their stories with you.

Goldie - look at that face *swoon*

Goldie is a one handsome Golden Retriever. He was one of Jenny’s trained agility dogs before he was abandoned by his owner in his old house. Deep in debt towards his neighbors, the owner ran away leaving Goldie unattended. One of the neighbors said that they should just sell Goldie and split the money amongst themselves. Jenny got wind of the news and decided to take Goldie in before he was placed in the wrong hands. He’s now one of the residents in SDTC.

Rambo is another Golden Retriever living in SDTC. His owner left him there after purchasing another dog, saying that she can only house one dog. Yes, I also wonder why she purchased the new dog knowing that she already had one in the first place!! The owner – however – insists that Rambo is to remain in SDTC saying she would pay for his accommodation fee. But when she pays, she only pays little by little and currently has a substantial amount of debt to SDTC. Rambo got ill a few weeks ago and had to spend 18 days in a clinic (he’s now well, thank God), and not even once did she visit him to see how he was doing. Some owner, right…

Alpha and Cheryl are two of the 4 Siberian Huskies in SDTC. Two different owners, same abandonment case. They simply didn’t want them anymore and left them in SDTC.

Alpha

Cheryl and her newborn pups

They are only a few of the 20-something dogs that are now SDTC’s responsibility. Jenny is doing whatever in her power to keep them safe, healthy, well-fed and loved, but she is only one person. You guys are more than welcomed to come and visit (scheduled visits, okay, just contact me if you want to drop by and share some love towards our four-legged friends), and a helping hand (yes, even though to just play with them) is always appreciated.

Now let’s ponder for a little while. Dogs are living beings. They are not just some products to trade. They’re not disposable once you find them no longer cute. They’re not to be discarded once you find them problematic. Once you decided to buy or adopt a dog, you’re in this 10-15 years long relationship. So please, do not buy them just because they’re cute. Do not get a dog just because… but get a dog if you are sure that you can be responsible for them.

No, I’m not talking only about financial responsibility, even though that’s also majorly important. You also need to realize that you cannot just drop food in their bowls daily, you also need to train and get them the exercise they need (yes, dogs need daily walks no matter how big your yard is); their regular vet care (vaccinations, etc.); and last but not least: your time and affection.

If you cannot be that responsible person, please please please, do not buy or adopt a dog or you’ll end up being the very reason as to why they’re unhappy and unhealthy.

Please... There are way too many abandoned dogs... You can help their case by not adding to the statistics... If you just want to play with them, just visit local shelters. Lend a helping hand... as much as you can...

I’m gonna leave you with two things: first a link to a youtube video if you want to know more about what SDTC is all about. And finally, a quote that gets me every single time: 

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”

"You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion"... Think about it.

#Undecided, Jerome, and Inez.