I have been holding this post for almost 6 months because I was feeling overwhelmed and couldn’t fully turn my experience into words.
But I had to post it today because I saw a story on My pets haven’s Instagram.
The superwoman Aunty Aileen fell down and injured yesterday.
And so I’m here to finish this post up, and if you’re ready before reading, please go to mypetshaven.org to register for a volunteer session now!
It was my birthday month.
Before Facebook reminds me to celebrate it by giving, I went to volunteer at a pet shelter – My Pets Haven.
Summary of the day: The most Shitty day of my life.
Yes, you’ve gotta deal with shit.
The fact is that it isn’t an easy game at all.
When I just got there, aunty Aileen threw me a question: “You know how to walk a dog?”
me: “No”
she: “Do you have a dog at home?”
me: “No”
she didn’t even bother to entertain me after the conversation.
Or more precisely, she wasn’t free to do that.
It was 6am in the morning and she was already busy walking the dogs.
My first task was to clean the water bowls and refill them.
At first, I was super hesitant to open the cage, all the dogs in the shelter were barking at me at the same time, and I was pulling back a little in my heart and stood there for a long time. Until Aunty Aileen came back from walking one of the dogs, she told me to just “Open it and take it, they won’t bite you!”
And I tried.
Oh, it’s real.
And that’s how my day started. Followed by walking the smaller dogs, then the adult dogs, then help to clean their houses, cook for the strays, prepare their food, then walk the dogs for the second round, wash the cages, and feed medicine to the sick puppy.
It was my first time walking dogs and handling their poops, and I lost count of the number. 😆
It was not easy. But it is a very precious experience. Even now, when I look back at the pictures, I feel happy and enlightened.
You can tell from their eyes.
It was just 1 session, technically half-day. Imagine aunty Aileen has been doing it alone without skipping a single day? 😔
So if you are reading this and would love to volunteer in My Pets Haven, you may register for a slot at https://mypetshaven.org/ .
📍Location: No.11-1, Jalan Setia Prima, S U13/S Setia Alam, 40170 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
They are also constantly looking for donations, Aunty Aileen saves the strays and the injured, and she pays for their medical bills on her own. She has more than 70 dogs in the shelter, if you can’t join the volunteer session, you can help by donating!
🐶Adopt don’t buy / 💝 Donations: please contact +6019-6632828 (Aileen)
Last but not least, this post also meant to extend my heartfelt respect to this superwoman.
Aunty Aileen ❤️ She’s a real-life superhero.
🐶I posted stories of walking the dogs. Catch the live show of my life on Instagram. 🍫
Somewhere Not Far 