Donation From Culture Club @ Transfer Road, Penang

Every single RINGGIT counts, your contributions will draw us 1 STEP closer to our goal. Thank you, Mr Peter & Staff from Culture Club at Transfer Road, Penang.

Snap A Good Shot

Saturday September 29, 2012

CAPTURE monochromatic and poignant snapshots of stray dogs or cats anywhere, and stand a chance to win some prizes as well as having your photographs featured in a public exhibition.

Save Our Strays (SOS) Penang’s ‘Life of a Stray in Black & White’ photo shooting competition is currently calling for entries. It is open to everyone.

SOS spokesman April Sham said entries can be sent to saveourstrays2012@gmail.com or SOS’s Facebook page before Oct 25.

Each contestant is allowed only one entry, and photos must have a minimum resolution of 300DPI or file size above 1MB.

Winners will be selected based on marks awarded by a panel of judges (60%) as well as the amount of ‘likes’ amassed on Facebook (40%). There will be prizes for the top three, as well as most popular submission.

She said the contest is aimed at highlighting the plight of strays and hopefully spark a change in public mindsets and empathy towards them.

“When people go around our streets to take pictures of these strays, they will have a better appreciation of the travails these animals face in their daily struggle for existence.

“Nobody knows if there is a tomorrow for them because there’s no guarantee they’ll survive for another day. Their lives are always at risk and they are constantly on the run from people who discriminate against them.

“Each day, they long for a full meal and not having to sleep in the cold with an empty stomach. How they long for a cosy bed where they can snuggle in and take a good rest.

“As humans, we can make a difference in their lives. The Earth belongs to all living things, and strays also have a right to live,” Sham told a recent press conference.

In addition to the winners, between 30 and 50 photos will also be selected for a two-week public exhibition at the Unique Penang Art Gallery in Love Lane, from Nov 11 to 25.

To vote for your favourite black-and-white stray animal image, look up SOS’s Facebook page under Save Our Strays (SOS) – Penang.

Link: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/9/29/north/12094628&sec=north

Donation From K9 Pet Shop Sdn. Bhd.

Thanks to K9 Pet Shop @ Macalister Road, Penang for donating a bag of pet accessories to Save Our Strays (SOS) - Penang.

Sin Chew - 22 September 2012

Press Conference: Photo Shooting Competition

PRESS STATEMENT : 21^ST SEP 2012, 4PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHOTO SHOOTING COMPETITION OF STRAYS IN BLACK & WHITE

Capture strays anywhere in B&W and stand a chance to have your shots to be premiered to the public at a famed art gallery

Save Our Strays (SOS) Penang would like to officially announce the launching of our photography competition, entitled “Life of a Stray in Black & White”. The competition begins on 25^th September 2012 and ends 25^th October 2012.

The main objectives of this competition are to highlight the lives of strays and their fight for survival daily on the streets.

Nobody knows if there is a tomorrow for them.

No one can guarantee if they can survive for another day on the streets.

Their lives are always on high risk. They run from humans who discriminate them and chase them away. They run from dog catchers who are always out to get them.

How they longed everyday for one full meal and not to go sleep on somewhere cold with an empty stomach. How they longed for a cozy bed where they can snuggle in and take one good rest.

As humans, we are obliged to help them make a difference. 

Do you care enough to make change?

We encouraged the Public to take part in this competition and not let our ignorance stop us. Start snapping photos of strays on the streets in classy black and white and the best shots will be exhibited at the Unique Penang Art Gallery, which is curated by award winning artist, photographer and cinematographer duo Clovis Leong & Joey Lim.

Picture minimum quality requirement – 300 DPI, 1 MB

After the best pictures are selected, an announcement of the winners will be made on Facebook and notify via email.

###

If you would like more information about this, or to schedule an interview with Ms. April Sham, please call 012-470 8308 or email at saveourstrays2012@gmail.com.

Taking Bite Out Of Stray Problem

17 September 2012 | last updated at 12:20AM

ANIMAL lovers were delighted when the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan) announced that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would meet animal rescue groups in a first-of-its-kind session this month.

This is timely as many cases of animal abuse and ill treatment by local council workers have surfaced.

Penang's relationship with strays has not been cordial.

In May last year, Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) workers culled stray dogs using guns. Some were shot in the middle of the street, shocking and infuriating the people. MPPP was criticised for being callous and inhumane.

This forced the council to resort to a more humane way of catching dogs by using tranquillisers, after getting the green light from Bukit Aman federal police headquarters.

In April, a special team of five was formed to handle the tranquilliser guns.

A hostel caretaker in Jelutong recently complained that she saw a truckload of council officials entering a private hostel and "snatching" eight two-month-old stray puppies a few months ago.

The woman, in her 40s, said she cried when she saw the officials chase the puppies around the garden and stomp on them before shoving them into a gunny sack.

"I will never forget the babies (puppies) wailing, probably in pain.

"They said they had received complaints from residents that the dogs were making a lot of noise and were taking them away."

Who could forget the dog-catching competition in 2007, organised by the Selayang Municipal Council in Selangor? They offered over RM39,000 in prize money to residents who caught the most dogs over a period of six months.

Save our Strays (SOS), a coalition of seven animal rights groups in Penang, are campaigning for the spaying of female dogs and cats.

They presented a slide show to MPPP on July 19 to propose a neuter-and-release programme. They were promised a favourable reply from the council "soon", but nothing has happened so far.

A follow-up letter by SOS coordinator April Sham was sent on Aug 24 to state Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow and another to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

The tireless animal rescuer only received an acknowledgement receipt from the Chief Minister's Office.

Sham had suggested, through the coalition, that the council should channel funds used for putting down dogs towards a spaying programme instead.

She said, this way, there would be less of a burden on animal shelters on the island. She also stressed that the council should educate the public about the need to spay their pets.

"Our request is not too much -- catch strays and spay them with the money allocated to put them to sleep."

Now, it is left to be seen how these two state leaders will react.

Through scientific research, years of failed attempts and evidence from animal control personnel in many countries, international animal rights group Humane Society International (HSI) has concluded that the "catch and kill" method is not an effective way to keep the stray dog population under control.

It also found that having animal shelters or pounds are not effective if there was no regulations or methods to control the dog population, as more and more animals would start pouring in from the streets.

The results were approved by the World Health Organisation and World Organisation of Animal Health.

HSI is certain that spaying, proper regulations on animals, registration of dogs, animal control and humane euthanasia (putting to sleep), performed by qualified officials, are more effective in keeping the stray population under control.

It is learnt that HSI has sent a letter to the MPPP's Urban Services, Public Health and Licensing Unit director Dr Judy Shoba and offered to help them out with the programme.

Let's hope they act soon before the situation gets worse.

Link: http://www.nst.com.my/streets/northern/taking-bite-out-of-stray-problem-1.144519

Injured Dog Behind Gama Supermarket

[Appeal from Ron Lim]
Extremely urgent. 
Auntie behind Gama supermart rescued & fostered a female adult dog from the street and is appealing for medical help. 
The dog has a very bad exposed wound on the front right knee as the skin was worn/ torn of probably due to accident. 
Hind legs are weak and appetite poor. 

Auntie is begging for people (vet or no vet) with the knowledge & experience in treating such cases to come around her house and help.
For directions/ details sms me at 016-4151038 or directly contact Auntie at 016-4887348

Updates: Dog is currently being taken care by feeder. Our Independent Rescuer, Esther will be sending the feeder some medicine and guide her on how to care for this injured dog.

4 Kittens For Adoption

Very gentle girl with bluish yellow eyes

Tri-color active girl

Fluffy girl with long tail. Very sweet.

Left-boy, right-girl

For more photos, please click here. 

You may also contact fosterer in regards to adoption via Facebook.

Injured Dog At Kek Lok Si

[Appeal from JacqueLine Yap] - Anyone nearby there who can go check out on that dog now? (It's now too late to bring the dog to a vet and may need to wait til tomorrow. If you happen to be in that area and able to check on him, please bring some negasunt powder to apply on him. Will help keep the maggots off him 

Top Urgent!!!

Hello ~ I am a dog lover from JB. I'm travel 

to Penang on last week and when i reach to the Kek Lok Si Temple on September 6, I saw a stray dog wandering there. When I look it closer i was get shock that it has a very serious wound! It is a very deep rotten hole at the top of it head, deep even can see the bone! I was speechless and do not know how to do during that time. Two days later when i passed by the foods stall at Jln Air Itam which is located at Kek Lok Si Temple, I saw it wandering at there again! It looks has very tenacious vitality! I hope that you can send someone to save it as soon as possible! Besides, I already email to SPCA Penang. Thanks~

Updates: An Independent Rescuer has since removed the dog from the streets and took him to the Vet. His deep open wound will need time to heal, otherwise he is a healthy boy. 

Help Needed For Strays At Noordin Street Ghaut

[Appeal from Ron Lim]
Geraldine spotted 2 dogs and 2 puppies at Noordin Street Ghaut opposite a big warehouse. 
They have skin blemishes and appear neglected, starved and puppies are fearful of human. 
Geraldine is appealing to dog lovers n

earby or passers-by to help feed these puppies & dogs and hope that they're rescued, spayed, fostered or adopted as they risk getting killed by vehicles.
For further details/photos pls whatsap/sms Geraldine at 012 4747800. 


2 dogs and 2 puppies spotted at Noordin Street Ghaut opposite a big warehouse. Anyone can help to bring the female for spaying? Any volunteers to adopt/foster the puppies?

Again, we would like to stress on the importance of SPAY & NEUTER. No other method is more effective than ending the re-production cycle of the strays. 

Dog Lovers: Spay, Not Slay

Monday September 10, 2012

MAN’S best friend took centre stage at a night club in Penang when models with cute stray puppies in tow paraded on stage during the ‘Save Our Strays’ (SOS) charity project to save stray dogs.

The event held at the Boom Boom Chambre in Upper Penang Road saw the attendance of animal lovers and party-goers, who came to adopt cute stray puppies and at the same time, raise funds to spay strays.

The event was aimed at educating the public on the importance of spaying strays and discouraging the practice of putting such animals to sleep.

Five NGOs namely Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (Northern Region), Malaysia Independent Animal Rescuers, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Sungai Petani, Penang Animal Welfare Society (4PAWS) and Penang Humane Society came together to initiate the SOS project to highlight the importance of spaying strays.

The event on Friday also saw models wearing sponsored outfits by Malaysian fashion designer Ranndy Goh.

They took to the stage in the Fashion Auction Charity Evening slot.

The fashion auction was part of the SOS project, organised by event organiser Joel Wong, who is the owner of Talons Production, an event management company.

Goh’s outfits were priced between RM150 and RM400 and were to be auctioned off whereby all proceeds would benefit the SOS project.

About RM8,000 was raised through public donations and the auction of six outfits within four hours. Also present was former Miss Malaysia Trincy Low.

SOS spokesman April Sham said: “Most of the independent stray rescuers are senior citizens.”

“Though they don’t have much money, their love for strays is real. They use their pocket money, eat less and spend less just to feed these animals.”

She said: “They (the rescuers) are always worried that the local councils will catch the strays.”

“Thus, they are ever willing to rescue and care for sick and injured strays because they know these animals are defenceless.”

Sham said the funds raised would go to 4PAWS for spaying purposes.

She added that those puppies up for adoption were from the five NGOs.

Those who want to adopt stray puppies can call her at 012-4708308.

Link: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=%2F2012%2F9%2F10%2Fnorth%2F11997378&sec=North#.UE3dyZEGmPU.facebook

Stop The Killing, Go For Spaying

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-our-strays/

If you agree with us that TNR is the only solution to solve the growing population of strays, then please support this petition.

The council think that TNR may not work well in Malaysia. Why not? If this method has been practiced by various countries with proven results, why can't Malaysia do it?

Let us raise our voice and show the council we are more than ready to adopt TNR by signing this petition.

It's time to halt all killings and stop repeating the same mistakes. Killings cannot work, TNR does!

Viva TNR!!!

Having Fun While Saving Strays

Sunday September 9, 2012

GEORGE TOWN: Who says having fun and doing good can't go hand-in-hand?

The Save Our Strays (SOS) project held at the Boom Boom Chambre in Upper Penang Road turned out to be a “wild” event as models took to the stage with cute stray puppies in tow during the Fashion Auction Charity Evening.

SOS is aimed at educating the public on the importance of spaying strays and discourage the practice of putting such animals to sleep.

The five NGOs are Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (Northern Region), Malaysia Independent Animal Rescuers (MIAR), Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Sungai Petani, Penang Animal Welfare Society (4PAWS) and Penang Humane Society (PHS).

Event organiser Joel Wong, owner of event management company Talons Production, said SOS was aimed at raising public awareness besides collecting funds.

Malaysian fashion designer Ranndy Goh, said he sponsored 10 ready-to-wear outfits to be auctioned.

“They were priced from between RM150 and RM400,” Goh said at the club on Friday.

SOS spokesman April Sham said most of the independent stray rescuers are from the older age group.

“They are low-income earners who use their pocket money, eat less and spend less just so they can feed these animals.

“The rescuers are always worried that the local councils will catch the strays and are ever willing to rescue and care for sick and injured strays because they know these animals are defenceless,” she added.

Sham said the funds raised will go to 4PAWS for spaying purposes.

Those who want to adopt stray puppies can call her at 012-470 8308.

Also present was former Miss Malaysia Trincy Low.

Link: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/9/nation/11996671&sec=nation

Making Caring For Strays Fashionable

Friday September 7, 2012

EIGHT models will take to the catwalk with some cute puppies during the Fashion Auction Charity Evening which will take place at the Boom Boom Chambre in Upper Penang Road today.

The charity event, organised by Save Our Strays (SOS), is to encourage the public to adopt stray dogs instead of buying them from a pet shop.

SOS spokesperson April Sham said the models, who will be parading in dresses by Malaysian designer Ranndy Goh, will be carrying the puppies which are also up for adoption.

“Those who adopt the puppies will be part of our effort to help solve the problem of stray animals in Penang.

“They will also help ensure that the puppies are not put down.

“We are also raising funds for our spaying programme,” she said.

Sham added that the project, organised by former Miss Malaysia Trincy Low and event organiser Joel Wong, was the combined effort of five other non-governmental organisations.

They are Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better & Malaysian Cats Care Project Northern Region, Malaysia Independent Animals Rescue (Miar), Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Sungai Petani, Penang Animals Welfare Society (4PAWS) and Penang Humane Society (PHS).

“The fashion designer will be donating his outfits for the auction and the proceeds from the sale will go to the programme.”

The event is scheduled to start at 9pm. Admission is free.

Link: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=%2F2012%2F9%2F7%2Fnorth%2F11982797&sec=North

Press Conference: Charity Fashion Auction

A press conference held on 4th September 2012 to announce the Charity Fashion Auction Event on 7th September 2011, 9pm at Boom Boom Chambre 3G-1F, Upper Penang Road to raise fund for our "Spaying Program". Event was organize with full support from former Miss Malaysia, Trincy Low, event organizer, Ms. Joel Wong and our local famous designer, Mr. Ranndy Goh, who has put up his designed collections for auction. Profits for the evening will go towards the welfare of street animals.