Along Came Polly.

“Polly, affectionately named by her rescuer was found when she was pregnant in Kajang late 2016. She was found hiding under drains and once she gave birth, it took a while before she was spotted again as she took her 2 pups (Laurie and Lorraine) down the drain with her.

The rescuers found them again and made a covering for them as Polly, being quite protective by nature, wasn’t making it easy to just catch hold of them.

Eventually the rescuers did earn Polly’s trust by daily feeding visits. She is the epitome of a true mother who taught her babies to run at the sight of humans. It’s sad to think what may have happened to her that made her that way and taught her kids to do the same, running away from humans.

Polly has gone through so much. One day, she and one of her pups Laurie was caught by MPKJ. The rescuers managed to bail her and her daughter out and they were sent to Ipoh shelter. While they were there, much to the rescuers shock, she was found to be pregnant and delivered 11 pups, all of whom died. Then, just over a month later, her daughter, Laurie died. During this time, remaining daughter Lorraine managed to run into hiding and although it took a while she was eventually found and rescued as well.

Polly has gone through so much trauma but at her very core is a doggy filled with lots of love, requiring the same amount of love, patience and trust.” - written by Satthy Patrick

This past July Pastor Satthy placed Polly in our hands with faith and hope that we could help change her. When we picked her up from the vet in Ipoh, she seemed timid and passive. A serious case of tick fever and malnutrition left her skin severely bruised and her body skin and bones. She was going to need some pretty major TLC.

At first we noticed that she seemed hostile to other dogs who came near. But on walks she kept her head down and stayed close to us. Her malnutrition had left her with an unending appetite, with Polly always wanting more and more food. Some days she seemed friendlier to us, other days not so much. Polly would need a lot of work and we were ready for it.

One evening she got her paw nails stuck between her enclosure groove. It had started bleeding and she couldn’t dislodge it. She was whining. David knelt down beside her and said, “Polly, I need to cut the metal bar around your paw. You need to let me close to you. You need to trust me.”

Polly lowered her head and turned it away, as if to say, “go ahead. I can’t look.”

It was over in a second. But that one incident changed Polly overnight. She started to be friendlier with us, but had formed an attachment to David. When he finally gave her the first bath, she licked his face in gratitude. Her eyes started to soften, her gaze less intense and hostile, and her body and fur were filling up and looking shiny and fresh.

Polly, like any dog, yearn for love and affection. It is their instinct to recognise and reciprocate it. We cannot explain it and neither can dogs. And that’s really what makes these human-dog relationships so precious: no words can and ever will be able to describe it. But a picture or a video might. Like this one.

We love you Polly. It’s gonna be a bright bright sun-shiny day. ❤️