By Simon Peter
Residents of Taman Kok Lian has taken the initiative to look after a stray puppy that was left abandoned in a playground by its deceased mother.
Sangeetha Grace, 38, who lives opposite the park states that the puppy’s mother, named Pawlice, was well liked in the neighbourhood. She was friendly towards children and served as a watchdog to alert neighbours. Unfortunately, two months ago she consumed poisoned food that was left out for the crows. Unbeknownst to the neighbours at the time, Pawlice was a mother of two.
Pawlice’ final resting place
The community found out by the cries of the puppies that came from inside one of the park’s slides a day after the passing of their mother. Since Pawlice had become such an important part of the community, the residents of Taman Kok Lian took it upon themselves to care for her two puppies, now named Browny and Drooler.
Drooler was later adopted by Sangeetha due to the fact that she was very sickly and had to be taken care of with extra precaution. Browny on the other hand is said to be “just like her mother” by Jimmy Ang, 49, a fellow resident. Every evening, Drooler sets out to visit her sister Browny, who patiently awaits her arrival at the playground.
They playfully hop over each other and have daily competitions of “who can find the biggest stick”. Sangeetha feeds and brings water for Browny every day. She also occasionally cuts Browny’s nails and has even bought for her deworming pills. Jimmy Ang tends to spoil Browny; he gets her chewy milk bones and beef chew sticks. He has also bought for her a child sized Doraemon mattress– which he later regretted because she dug out the stuffing in just two days.
The aftermath of what was once a child sized mattress
Browny has a schedule in place, and she sticks to it. In the afternoons, Raunda Salleh, 44, usually packs some left over Nasi Lemak for Browny after her shift ends at her food hawker stall. Come evening, the neighbourhood dogs, joins Raunda and her sister, at the playground. Even other strays can be seen “pawing around” with Browny. The residents describe Browny’s personality as “independent and playful”.
On Tuesdays, Jimmy sets up his Char Kuey Teow tent alongside the night market stalls located just beside the playground. Browny always accompanies him, without fail, until he closes his stall. She also gets free snacks while waiting for Jimmy from the night market goers. Jimmy jokes that he notices Browny is starting to put on weight.
Sangeetha mentions that she used to feel bad that Browny did not have a place to stay, but after seeing the amount of attention she gets from all the other neighbours, she believes that Browny belongs to the playground. She also jokingly claims that Drooler is nowhere near as chubby as her sister.
The stray that captured the hearts of many
The loss of Pawlice has brought the residents of Taman Kok Lian a new companion. Browny, in many ways has helped to fill the gap that was left void once Pawlice passed. A dog usually welcomes its owner home after work, but Browny serves that role for all the residents of Taman Kok Lian. She deserves, and earns, every bit of attention she gets, as she strives to be a friendly and familiar face for her beloved neighbourhood, just like her mother.
