He had been out for a walk when he heard distressed yelps. Following the sound, he discovered a neighbour chasing a puppy out of her house with a dustpan. When she asked if he wanted the puppy, he couldn’t say no.
“He told me, ‘By midnight, the mother dog will come for her puppy,” recalled Katie, 65, who was not fond of animals then.
But no mother dog appeared. The next morning, when Katie opened the front door, she found the puppy staring at her. She gave it some bread and milk, just as her husband had the night before.
Later, when Alfred called from work, she couldn’t resist messing with him. “He asked, ‘How’s the puppy?’. I told him that I had dumped it somewhere.”
He sounded upset, Katie said, and it was only when he realised she was joking, that he relaxed.
He told her wanted to name the puppy “Abby” – short for “abused”, as she had been in pain when he found her. And just like that, Abby’s temporary stay turned into a permanent one.
Years later, history repeated itself – this time when their daughter, Grace Philip spotted a puppy all by himself near the Subang Alam LRT station.
“He was probably less than two months old. He was just sitting there and watching me. I went to pat him on his head, and he was so friendly,” recalled Grace, 26.
So, she called her mother. Katie remembered her daughter asking if she could bring the pup home, promising that if her mother didn’t like it, they would take him to a shelter.
Katie agreed – and just like Abby, the new puppy’s stay turned permanent. (Talk about a no-return puppy policy!)
“My husband named the puppy “Dezzy” – short for ‘deserted’,” Katie said.
Today, Abby and Dezzy, who are 11 and six, respectively, are thriving. Their personalities, however, couldn’t be more different!
Grace described Abby as a “lady” while Dezzy is a boisterous boy who has “redecorated” the porch many times with soil from Katie’s potted plants. He’s also destroyed many pairs of slippers – habits he’s thankfully outgrown.
While Abby is reserved, Dezzy is friendly with everyone. Still, he tries to follow in his big sister’s pawsteps to guard their home, doing his best to act fierce.
“He tries so hard, he even barks at me sometimes! Then, he realises that he’s making a mistake,” Grace said affectionately.
Although Abby wasn’t thrilled with Dezzy’s arrival at first, she eventually accepted him – even surprising the family once with a rare show of affection.
“When Dezzy was smaller, he could squeeze through our fence into the neighbour’s house. The neighbour had this very nice-looking grey cat who looked like a real gangster,” said Grace. The cat’s name? Ah Long!
“Dezzy used to go over and eat his food,” Grace recalled. But one day, as he was squeezing back through the fence, he got stuck!
That was when Abby rushed to his rescue, pulling him free. Big sisters can be bossy – but they also have your back when you’re stuck in the fence.
Reflecting on life with Abby and Dezzy, Grace shared: “The joy of coming home is so much sweeter because I know that when I open the gate, I’ll be welcomed by two cute, excited doggies.”
As for Katie, their unconditional love stands out. “I’m a convert – I really didn’t like dogs before, but now, I just adore them,” she said.
This article was written by Sheela Vijayan. Read more pet stories here.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathered friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.