Tuesday 16 December 2008

Dog That ‘Waited’ 5 Years for Owner Gets New Home


The black mutt was tossed out onto the streets five years ago after his former owner passed away, but he kept wandering outside his old home as if waiting for his owner to come back.

3 comments:

Guanyu said...

Dog That ‘Waited’ 5 Years for Owner Gets New Home

By Erika Wang, The China Post
16 December 2008

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- “Wong Wong,” the 10-year-old stray dog that “waited” for five years outside his deceased owner’s house, moved into his new home yesterday after a week-long search throughout the island.

Wong Wong’s new home is not far from his previous address in Taipei County’s Tucheng City. He now lives with Jennifer Liu, a pet spa owner, in the northern county’s Chungho City.

The black mutt was tossed out onto the streets five years ago after his former owner passed away, but he kept wandering outside his old home as if waiting for his owner to come back, according to Animal Rescue Team Taiwan, an animal protection group based in southern Kaohsiung City. “It was as if Wong Wong knew he was going to a new home,” said Renee Chen, a rescue team volunteer who had been taking care of the dog and drove him to his new home. “His former owner can rest assured in heaven that Wong Wong is in good hands now.”

“You’ve finally found a warm home and don’t need to wander the streets anymore,” said Liu to Wong Wong as they embraced during their first encounter according to the rescue team.

“I’ve always loved dogs,” noted Liu, who already takes care of five of them, aside from running her own pet spa. Liu said she found out about Wong Wong through a friend who e-mailed her the dog’s story. “I was moved by Wong Wong’s story and immediately decided to adopt him.”

A recent health check revealed that Wong Wong has kidney and liver complications, as well as heartworm disease. But for a ten-year-old dog, his condition is still considered “quite good,” noted Huang Ping-han, the veterinarian who checked Wong Wong. Liu vowed to make sure Wong Wong recovered his health.

“After Wong Wong’s story was published by local media last week, we received over 300,000 hits on our Web site within the first 48 hours!” said Antony Ni, another rescue team volunteer. “We also received countless phone calls from people wanting to donate food and shelter, as well as people wishing to adopt Wong Wong.”

In fact, Liu was chosen by the rescue team from a pool of over 10 people who expressed interest in adopting the dog. “We sent out volunteers to conduct evaluations and home checks on the would-be owners, and decided in the end that Ms. Liu was the best choice for Wong Wong,” explained Ni.

“We received requests from locals as well as foreigners who live in different parts of Taiwan,” he added. “We were even contacted by a foreign lady who resides in southern Shanhua Township in Tainan County.” The lady was Sylvia Green, a German native who has lived in Taiwan for the past 27 years. “Wong Wong’s story touched my heart,” she said.

After hearing that Wong Wong found a new home, Green told The China Post during a telephone interview: “I feel so happy of course! I hope he will be loved by his new owner as much as he was loved by his original master.”

“The stray dog problem in Taiwan is a big problem,” lamented Green, who herself takes care of some 10 stray dogs. “Dogs are very faithful and very loyal, sometimes even more than humans,” she pointed out. “I feel they deserve better.”

“Wong Wong has united the hearts of all dog lovers in Taiwan,” remarked Ni. More information on Animal Rescue Team Taiwan, as well as updates on Wong Wong are available at www.savedogs.org.

Anonymous said...

Hi GY, thanks for sharing this story on Wong Wong. Animals are innocent creatures and they can't voice up their views. Many are abandoned and we can see by and large a huge number of them locally at our shelter too.

The year is comming to an end, and it will be great if we can contribute a little to these four legged friends of ours.

Guanyu said...

FirstBoy, I am a dog lover. I feel disgusted to see people ill treating dogs. Each time I see that happening, I wish that person will reincarnate as a dog.