I recently travelled to Malaysia and Japan. This was a first vacation in a while. Ever since Filbert passed in 2022, we at F5 team has been trying its best to help Malaysian dogs.
I am truly blessed to be able to afford a vacation, compared to the thousands of feeders and rescuers who day in and day out have a much greater responsibility feeding and caring for their street furbabies. For me, I have my " work" partners to cover for me, whom I greatly appreciate. For them, trying getting "coverage" to feed anywhere from 20-200 dogs a day, sometimes more- is just not going to happen. No words can pay tribute to their dedication and efforts, so I am not even going to try. They are just godsent.
It was a nice surprise birthday for my father, and thank you to those who donated to F5's cause. We raised just over RM 6000 in lieu of gifts for my father's birthday.
On the way to Malaysia, via Singapore, I learnt that United Airlines is one of the few airlines left that allows dogs to travel in the cabin. Singapore does not anymore. I got to meet a cute poodle whom I didn't even know was sitting in the next row as he was so quiet!
When his owner had to go to the bathroom, the poodle jumped out of his carrier and I happily obliged to comfort him. Apparently most dogs know not to drink water and intentionally dehydrate themselves so they don't have to pee in the plane or airport. I did see a doggy bathroom at San Francisco airport. Thank you San Francisco!!!
Ok now coming to Japan- I was in Kyoto and Tokyo. Not a single stray. Japan has a long history of euthanizing strays until recently-now they try and shelter unwanted pets. One shelter in Japan even has up to 6000 dogs. They have these all around Japan. I read a little about strays in Japan on this website: I am sure there are many more resources:
F5 is trying its best to help from a far. We want to do so more much. Please visit our project section:
We have spayed close to 400 dogs since May 2023, spent approximately RM 100K we really need help from Malaysians all over the world to continue our work. As of right now expense is exceeding incoming donations, a lot of why we can spend is from donations received prior to launching these projects. Lets all chip in to help our homeless furry kids in Malaysia.
Till next time I will leave you with 3 photos- SF doggy bathroom, the poodle in the plane and magnificent pagoda/maple tree in autumn in Kyoto.
Have a good week everyone. Namita
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