SPEAKING to Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) founder Wani Muthiah and Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) president T. Puspa Rani, you get the sense that they’re battle-weary, yet hopeful.

Independent animal rescue groups like Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better have been using social media to crowd-source for volunteers and donations.

Wani said: “Things have been improving from generation to generation. My generation, people in their 50s, many still think dogs should just be tied up outside the house.

“But young people now are more conscious that pets need to be fed, exercised and loved. They help the most with our rescues, they adopt from pounds and they know animal rights need to be improved in Malaysia.”

Wani added that many college and university groups now choose to help at animal shelters for their school projects, and that makes a huge difference to the shelters.

Puspa, who just won a court case two weeks ago after being arrested for rescuing a dog from a house she thought was abandoned, added that the main thing young people need to do now is educate their parents.

“Most animal abuse cases we receive are caused by the older generation,” said Puspa. “They are the ones that tend to say ‘dogs are just dogs’. Young people need to help change that perception, and they need to start at home, with their own parents.”