rasa tanah: Ruff Life For A Flower

September 09- I’ve made a new friend in KL who lives about 5 blocks away from where I live. I first noticed her maybe half a year ago or more on a short trip to KL. I spotted her skulking around the streets, weaving her way amongst traffic and hurrying crowds on the street. Amazingly I encountered her again perhaps a few weeks ago and then more recently a week ago which prompted me to trail her, curious to find out more about her.

Following her, I found out where she lived- in a dark car park under a dilapidated block of low rental apartments. Through unwashed windows and some broken ones, metal double-decker bunk beds could be spotted, squeezed head to toe.

home for some

She’s a lovely dog with handsome markings, about a year and a half old. Weary of people but with soft eyes. Since I knew where she was taking shelter, I dashed across the road to the 7-Eleven and returned to make her acquaintance with a savoury loaf.

wearing a new collar I got her in hope that she might avoid incidences

of abuse on the street if it indicated that she belonged to someone

What had caught my attention when I first saw her was her state of severe emaciation. She wore nothing but her skin stretched over her small frame of protruding bones with little trace of muscle tone. She ate the loaf cautiously, keeping a watchful eye on me.

I returned the next day, this time with proper food and found her restrained by a short length of chain, attached by a short, stiff length of electric cable to a pillar in the car park. She recognised me this time and said so with a little wag. It took some time to coax her to eat what I had brought her. This was the beginning of a new routine for her and me. I began to visit her twice a day, starting her off with small meals so as not to overload her system as it looked like she had hardly been getting food.

In no time our cautious relationship evolved into something we both looked forward to each day. Some days she would not be there. Having been let off her restraint, she probably took the opportunity to scavenge the street dumps for food scraps. I worried incessantly about her as her neighbourhood was a chaotic criss-cross of streets jammed packed with irate drivers.

I've since met the older couple whom she belongs to. Him, somewhat reserved, her, somewhat intimidating with their curious and suspicious stares. They are care-takers of the car park, charging a mere RM2 per hour. What is home to them is a basic lean-to from which they can keep a good eagle eye on the car park. Their lives seemed to have no more frills than their dog's.

We've called her Chuyia- which we understand means "little mouse". I've learnt from naming numerous pets that having their names end in long vowels makes for good and effective hollering at meal times. Giving her a name was more for the practical purpose of being able to get her attention if by chance I spotted her on the street or if I needed to call for her when she was not where I was hoping to find her. In time to come, I found out her first given name by the couple who kept her. She was named Ah Fa, which in Cantonese meant "Flower" which is meant to evoke images of an irresistible fragrant willowy beauty.

A month has passed and she's looking more like the good stuff flowers were meant to be. She's let go of her reservations and greets us royally every single day. It's not often and a long time since anyone has greeted me this way.