(MY) feedback on Dr. Dog

[Guest guest]

Feedback on Dr Dog-The Star, 2nd June 2007

 

Malinda Abdul Latiff 47, head of Partnership and Affinity Programs,

Global Enterprise Division, Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd

 

" I love all animals that I rescue strays and re-home them.

 

" I have a very demanding job and at the end of the day I really look

forward to coming home to my cats. Just feeding them and playing with

them helps me de-stress. So I can understand the concept behind the Dr

Dog Programme, where being around dogs improves the medical condition

of many people.

 

" Even though I'm a Muslim, I'm very compassionate towards dogs and it

breaks my heart to read about cruelty to dogs.

 

" I help, feed and rescue any animal whether it be a dog or cat. I

welcome the Dr Dog Programme and hope there will be a Dr Cat Programme

too for Muslims who don't want to participate in the Dr Dog

Programme. "

 

Dr L. Kumar, 39, general practitioner, Kuala Lumpur General Hospital

 

" I still believe conventional methods of treatment with drugs must

still be the first mode of treating patients.

 

" Animal-assisted therapy comes afterwards to complement it. I myself

don't know enough about such therapy to comment on it but I do believe

that animals have a non-threatening approach.

 

" They can be easily trusted. For people suffering emotional or mental

blocks, such trust is needed to help them heal.

 

" I feel it would be good for medical staff to be given some training

on how to work better with patients and dogs.

 

" I personally don't see any hygiene problem with dogs coming into

hospitals. As long as they are clean, they will not pose any health

threat. "

 

Raihana Souket Ali, 28, investment executive at Kenanga Investment

Bank, Kuala Lumpur

 

" I think the Dr Dog Programme is just perfect for Malaysia. I myself

know it works because I've seen my own cat, Yalli, work wonders on old

people.

 

" In my hometown in Bukit Mertajam, I used to visit a 73-year-old man

who lived just a few doors away. He didn't have any family and seemed

so lonely.

 

" One day my cat, Yalli, followed me as I walked over. The man

immediately took to Yalli. When I went over next time, I brought Yalli

with me. The man seemed so much happier playing with Yalli.

 

" By introducing such a programme, we are also teaching people how to

love animals. Even though I'm a Muslim, I love dogs as well as cats.

 

" I hope that with this programme more old people and the disabled will

adopt dogs too and care for them as there is a great need for homes

for rescued animals. "

 

Denise Pang Siew Mei, 40, executive assistant at an advertising firm

in Kuala Lumpur

 

" I feel it's about time such measures like the Dr Dog Programme are

taken in this country. I'm saddened by the plight of stray dogs and

cats in Malaysia. It is inhumane the way they are rounded up and

killed and even pet owners treat their pets badly.

 

" My only hope is that the government will support this programme so

that there can be wide scale implementation in hospitals, schools and

even prisons.

 

" Corporations can also help by sponsoring the Dr Dog Programme to help

Furry Friends Farm meet the costs of administering this programme.''

 

Jennifer Naber, 27, staff nurse at Paediatric Associates of Dallas,

Texas and founder of the Right Youth Ranch at Honey Grove, Texas, US

 

" My husband and I are setting up a ranch for abused children and

horses. We believe that animals have the unique ability to sense human

emotion.

 

" Several years ago when I worked as a nurse's aid at a rehabilitation

centre in a hospital in Hendrick Medical Centre in Texas, I witnessed

dogs coming into the hospital to provide animal-assisted therapy to

senior citizens.

 

" I definitely noticed that the spirits of my patients were lifted

after these visits from the dogs. As a nurse, I noted that they were

rehabilitated faster and their blood pressure and heart rate improved.

 

" That is when I learned first-hand how therapeutic animals are, which

eventually led to my husband and me opening up this ranch. "