HULU SELANGOR: Landslide victim, Toni Wong, 40, is missing her dog and hopes rescuers will be able to find her pet following the tragedy in Batang Kali.
"I know that at this crucial time, when everyone is thinking that saving lives and looking for bodies, whether they're dead or alive, is more important, but my dog is my family, too," she told Bernama.
Wong, one of the victims of Friday's (Dec 16) Batang Kali landslide tragedy, is the owner of Sherlock, a grey Schnauzer mixed dog with black spots that went missing in the incident.
She considers her pet as a family member.
Wong said she and her friends, Katherine Poh, 36, and Eric Ng, 66, checked in at the Father's Organic Farm camping site, the scene of the tragedy, on Wednesday (Dec 14) along with their dogs, namely Sherlock, Bernice, and Benji, at around 11am.
"It was all good and we had a lovely time together on our very first camping trip there until the terrifying incident happened on Friday at 2am.
"When it happened, I was submerged. Luckily, our neighbouring campers came to help and pulled us (Wong and Poh) out.
“I was very thankful and grateful to them that eventually, we managed to escape the landslide that destroyed the tent," she said in describing the gruesome time of her only second time camping experience.
Unfortunately, she said when they were escaping their campsite, and worrying about another landslide, Ng who she claimed to be still missing, was seen buried in mud, which made it impossible for them to help him.
Wong said initially, the three dogs were safe by their sides, while they were rushing to a presumably safer spot at the waterfall area.
"We were together with our neighbouring campers, a big family that happened to have a child with them, too. But, as we were grouping there, we heard a very loud sound, and that was the time when we knew a second landslide was happening.
"We ran farther, frightened and exhausted. Katherine was carrying Benji, and it was the last time Bernice was caught in our vision; she escaped.
“And my Sherlock was nowhere to be found either. By the time we stopped running, as the second landslide was believed to have stopped, we couldn't find the two dogs anymore," she said.
Not giving up, they kept shouting and screaming for Sherlock and Bernice, a whitish, creamy poodle mix, but she said the effort was in vain as the scene was too chaotic, with a noisy, ear-splitting sound made by the waterfall.
"Then, a guy told us we have to keep moving as more landslides are expected. Eventually, we met the rescue team, and we were led to a safer spot.
"As for the dogs, we miss them a lot. We want to bring them home. They are equally important to us. They are family, and I have the responsibility to bring them home. I have the responsibility to care for them," she said.
Firmly believing that the dogs are still alive and safe, as it's only their third day since going missing, Wong hopes the search and rescue team can give their attention to Sherlock and Bernice too, while searching for the remaining nine missing victims of the incident.
While on their side, they've opted to use all ways and means to find their beloved dogs, including advertising online the information of their lost pets with pictures and numbers to be contacted.
"I hope the authorities or anyone else can help us find a solution to bring our dogs back home. I know it's impossible to access the site at this moment. But, if someone can tell us what is the best way, we surely will attend to it," she added. - Bernama
