I ‘woof’ you: Chia attending to a dog at one of his animal shelters in Stulang, Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: Having loved animals from a young age, Joseph Chia wanted to be a veterinarian and once even travelled to Kuala Lumpur to volunteer for an animal welfare group.
But both came to naught while the shelter he eventually volunteered for in Bukit Kempas here had to be shut down due to financial and manpower constraints.
It was then the retiree decided to open one himself.
“At that time, I had been volunteering at the shelter for about two years and I was very much involved in animal rescue. People would call me up when they came across animals in distress or in need of shelter.
“When the shelter shut down about 20 years ago, I was still getting such calls. I just didn’t have it in my heart to turn down the requests and decided to open another shelter.
“My friend, who is also a former volunteer at the shelter, and I looked for a suitable place. After months of searching, we found a Good Samaritan who was willing to allow us to use his orchard in Sengkang, Kulai,” said the 62-year-old in an interview.
From the first batch of 15 rescued dogs, the number of animals at Chia’s shelter has now swelled to almost three hundred.
“I wanted to be a veterinarian but that dream was never realised. After completing my studies, I decided to go to Kuala Lumpur to volunteer with an animal group but was turned down.
“I then applied for a job at a veterinary clinic where I got to work closely with animals. That was where I learned most of the skills which I now use to treat and care for the animals at my shelter,” added Chia.
Chia worked at the clinic for one year before returning to Johor and landing a job in sales.
He started volunteering for the shelter in Bukit Kempas in 1998 upon learning about it.
The founder of Companion Animal Rescue Effort Society (Cares) now has two animal shelters – one in Lima Kedai and another in the Stulang area.
“Currently, we have about 200 dogs at our shelter in Lima Kedai and about 40 cats and 40 dogs at the shelter in Stulang. Unfortunately, I only have two other volunteers consistently helping me out,” he said.
Chia used to have some part-timers to help in the past but these days, it is very difficult to get people willing to take up such jobs.
“I attend to the animals at the shelter every day, especially since some are sick or injured and in need of special care,” said Chia who is hoping for more volunteers.
Besides tending to the animals. he still takes calls to rescue strays.
“I also get calls from people who had to abandon their pets due to unavoidable circumstances.
“Sometimes, they promised to collect their pets after a few weeks but most never do. It is sad but that is the reality,” he said.
