While many town councils are offering monetary compensations for those who can bring them stray dogs to be put in the pound, there are others who work alongside strays.
For instance, the Manjung Municipal Council (MPM) ‘hired’ two stray dogs, which they affectionately named Johnny and Puppy, and trained them to chase away monkeys who are bothering visitors at their Mangrove Park.
Council president, Syamsul Hazeman Md. Salleh shared that the two dogs have been licensed under the council as guardians of the park to protect visitors from monkeys and other wild animals, as shared by Utusan.
“Before this, the large number of wild monkeys proved a disturbance to visitors as they stole food and handbags. After this, this problem will no longer exist as Johnny, the male dog and his mate, Puppy, will chase the monkeys away while looking out for venomous animals such as vipers that are present in the mangrove,” he said.
The two dogs were originally strays that were domesticated and trained to be MPM’s first ever pets.
The security guard that has been training the dogs, Khairol Nizam Mohd. Zaki, said that Puppy has been visiting the park since April 2020 and decided to stay in October 2020. Johnny soon showed up in December 2020, and it only took him about a week to train the two.
He added that the two dogs do not disturb people and have strictly stuck to their jobs of protecting them against the wild animals.
“I still keep to my boundaries as a Muslim, by always wearing gloves when touching them. Until now, I have never bathed them,” he shared.
This is an amazing example as to how city councils can utilise strays and give them a purpose while showing the community that strays can co-exist alongside people.
Kudos, Manjung Municipal Council!
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