...she had already seen too much for a puppy that young. It was like her heart was already broken, but until her body broke too she would still need to feed it. But her eyes were there for everyone to look into - a peculiar mix of sadness tinged with a tiny sliver of the gigantic love she was so capable of giving and yearning to receive.
She just didn’t understand why it had to be this way.
This is the rags to riches story of Duchess, the dumped dog from Kapar, Klang.
Rescuers (who are also sometimes active feeders) first spotted her in March 2018. She was estimated at around four months old and had been seen wandering around alone and frightened. Most street puppies that age still have that puppy innocence in their eyes. Most. But not Duchess. She was an old soul.
Rescuers continued feeding her every day in an effort to not only keep her alive but to eventually gain her trust so that their eventual ‘catching’ would be a smooth process for both the catcher and the dog. And because street pups tend to come and go on their own schedule, assigning the right time for the catcher to be present is a constant work in progress.
Nevertheless, getting her off the streets was not just an exercise in animal rescue, it was also a case of life and death.
Despite being recognised yet undisturbed by daily passers-by at her usual Shell petrol station in Kapar, Klang, it was only a matter of time before her time and freedom ran out. If Duchess was caught by the town-council assigned third-party street dog catchers, she would become just another statistic on a report card of death row dogs.
One day in June the rescuers noticed that she was no longer alone at her spot. Keeping close to her while she sniffed and smelled around for food scraps were two sister puppies. Estimated to be around two to three months of age, these puppies, according to the ‘village idiots’ were Husky-mixed sisters dumped by what can only be assumed as an irresponsible owner / breeder who either didn’t realise the stork had landed on his head or established that they weren’t ‘Husky’ enough to land him a handsome payout. For whatever reason we will never know, these puppies were now the newbies in Klang’s notorious dog-dumping society.
Remember those eyes I was telling you about earlier? The ones that hadn’t completely turned to the Dark Side? That is the beauty of Duchess, this dumped Kapar puppy. Being the resident street dog Duchess immediately took the siblings under her paws, keeping them close to her as she guided them through the unpredictabilities of street life. They ate together, slept together, wandered the town together, played together and hunted together. They also went hungry together, cold together, scared together, sad together and unloved together.
But they had each other. She needed to feed her purpose to love and care and they needed protection and guidance. The world out there was crazy. No one could be trusted. No one was their ‘friend’. But they had to stay together. No matter what.
But what these ‘street dogs’ don’t know about is the unkindness of humanity that comes in the form of town council dog catchers - third-party ‘mercenaries’ who put a price on the heads of every stray dog they catch, courtesy of an ignorant society and uncaring council members. Complaints, they say. A nuisance, they insist. Catch and kill, they conclude.
Everyone forgets that Duchess along with every other stray didn’t choose to be born or dumped where they were. They, like every single species on Earth, do what they need to survive. The streets are home to them not by their choice, but by ours.
II just want to eat and rest, she thinks. Why is someone always trying to catch us?
Because, Duchess my love, there is also someone who wants to save you from death row. But you can’t tell the difference between them and that’s not your fault. It’s ours. While some may try to end your life, others will try to save it.
And that’s what happened when a young woman named Lee Huay spent weeks feeding the three Kapar strays daily to gain their trust in the hope of eventually rescuing them and finding them homes. But they were not to be won over so easily. Humans, they think, all look alike. They must be alike. Thank you human for this food, but we will not be tricked again into trusting submission.
They didn’t have a choice, again. Catchers were making their rounds, this time more frequently. Lee Huay was running out of time. She had to rescue them, but she could not do it alone. So with the help of an experienced ‘independent dog catcher’, the three Kapar strays were ‘caught’ and promptly transported to the vet for a check-up.
When it comes to humans, dogs need two vital connections - other than love it’s trust. A dog that experiences the lack of both connections with humans can take a long time to develop them again. Dog-catching is one activity that if done without these connections, will leave long-lasting negative effects. All it takes is one bad experience.
These three dogs experienced several consecutive traumatic human connections - life as a street dog, their misunderstood-catching, emotionally detached vet attendants - and these are only the ones we know of.
This is where The ‘ALIVE’ Project came in.
Her rescuers had asked us to foster the Kapar dogs under our sponsorship programme. We headed down to KL to pick them up from the vet. As David followed the vet attendant into the boarding area, his heart broke a little when he saw them - individually placed in cages, one above the other, the bottom one getting drenched in drops of piss by the frightened one above her, all three cowering in their tiny space as dogs around them barked in this unfamiliar territory. If only the humans attending to them weren’t cold and flippant as they opened their cages one by one and just left David to his own devices. She didn’t even pat or stroke their head and say goodbye, he thought, as he watched them fuss over a customers poodle. It’s ok, you’re coming home with us, he said to them one by one as he carried them to our car and felt each one piss all over him in fear. Including Duchess.
What could have these three possibly endured to be filled with such fear so young? The entire time we drove from the vet to our KL base to spend some time getting to know them before heading back to the farm, the Husky-mixed Sisters looked to Duchess for protection and safety, and she kept her eyes focused on them. They followed her lead, from disembarking from the car to walking into the house to taking a nap, and she never left their side.
That evening we also named them. She was graceful, soft and fluid in her movements, a street dog that seemed like she belonged in a castle, like a Duchess. The other two you may recognise as LeLo & Stitch, the SWAT Sisters who ‘rescued’ The YinYang Twins.
The Kapar dogs were not what they seemed, ordinary everyday stray dogs. These dogs, like all dogs, had their own magic, as we would eventually discover.
While LeLo & Stitch were under our sponsorship program, Duchess was supposed to be delivered to another home, but watching the threesome together made us realise they should not be separated, not so soon, or bonding with them would become an even harder challenge, not just for us but potential future adopters. And there was something about Duchess, something very special. We just knew she belonged with us.
But the damage was already done. LeLo, Stitch and Duchess would refuse to come too close to us, never allowing us to touch them. They seemed eager and curious, but their eyes displayed deep-rooted mistrust. So we gave them their space and watched as they were welcomed warmly by the pack at home, who provided them that added assurance that they were in a safe place.
Then something wonderful happened for Duchess. As the three Kapar dogs assimilated themselves into our pack, Duchess discovered what if felt like to be the one protected and watched over, the one who didn’t have to be ‘big sister’ because Christmas, one of our rescues who is also our self-appointed farm perimeter ‘watchdog’ took Duchess under her paw and Duchess became her ‘little sister’. While LeLo & Stitch made friends with our pups closer to their age and played all day, Duchess was with Christmas, taking long walks around the outskirts of our acre, looking out for and chasing unwelcomed visitors and most annoying of all to Christmas, the herds of cow and buffalo who like to graze around our farm. Duchess started to slowly settle in, her eyes getting softer by the day, her body language going from jumpy and startled to alert and observant. I’ll get to know these humans soon enough, she’d say. Christmas says they just want to love us. I’d like that.
Duchess and I, however, had something going on. She and I knew, we were going to connect with each other. Every time I gazed into her eyes and whispered her name, they sparkled. Every time I gazed into her eyes and whispered her name, she took one step closer. Only one. Trust me, Duchess. I got you.
Until one day, finally, we were nose to nose, and she licked my nose for the first time. And as I carried her slowly and walked with her to have our first bath together, I whispered her name again, in the way that she loves that makes her run to me and kiss me and beg to be cuddled, and she looked at me with those deep dark eyes as if to say, “please love me like I will love you.” But she already knew, she was indeed finally home.
She doesn’t respond to just saying her name. You need to say it in a forced whisper that sounds like Macy Gray and lengthen the ‘hessssss’ so it goes like this: “Duchessssssssssssssss”
She doesn’t need to hear me twice.
Duchess My Duchesssssssss. You are Love.