Malay lady braves the storm to feed street dogs

MALAYSIA: Ummi’s life was forever changed by an incident at a gas station in 2018, it marked the beginning of her noble endeavors in caring for street dogs.

Ummi, 29, who is also known as Mommy Manes on TikTok, said a starving mother dog in the gas station touched her heart.

“That time I stopped to fill up gas in Ipoh, Perak. I saw a dog running towards me. At first, I was scared, but it looked like it was famished as if it was asking for food. It happened that time that I had just bought a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) for my family.”

“After I gave the mother dog a piece of chicken, I saw tears in her eyes. Instead of eating the chicken, the dog ran back to her puppies and gave them the chicken. I was moved. After that, I gave them the whole bucket of chicken, that cost me RM60 (approximately $13.13).”

“Then, I bought another bucket of KFC for my family. Since then I started feeding street dogs in Perak. When I moved to Petaling Jaya, Selangor, in 2022, I continued to feed street dogs in Petaling Jaya,” she said.

Ummi is a marketing executive at a bakery, she does not mind spending RM2,000 to RM3,000 a month for street dogs, she is willing to work part-time as a car sales agent to cover the expenses.

@mommymanes

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Overcoming criticism with pure intentions

In spite of her noble act, Ummi is no stranger to receiving reprimands from some individuals because she feeds street dogs.

“I always remember my mother said that Allah knows our intentions, as long as we are determined to do what we want to do, just keep doing it. ”

“Humans will not stop criticising other people. When people swear at me, I just ignore them. If I don’t help these stray dogs, who are going to help them?”

“There are people who told me off directly into my face. They said ‘You’re a Malay, you are stupid to feed the dog. Although some people reprimanded me I was not affected by it or felt sad, because my intention is pure and good. When dogs are happy, I will forget all negative comments,” she said.

Despite the criticism she received, she was happy to see more and more Malays open their mind to address the issue and start caring for street dogs that need help all over the country.

Photos of street dogs from Ummi’s TIkTok

“Whenever there is an occasion to feed street dogs, I will join, ” said Ummi, ” Some people don’t understand why I do so. I share the video because I want to highlight it so people love street animals. And Alhamdulillah, I see many good people now.”

“You can see from TikTok that many Malays also feed street dogs. Some of them share their stories in my comment section. I am happy to see that feeding street dogs is now a regular thing. When I read the comments on my videos, I know many kind people out there.”

“For those who are new to feeding street dogs, don’t be afraid to try new things. If you are afraid of dogs, you can put the food far from you first. ”

“The easiest way is to always carry animal food in the car. If you see street dogs, you can feed it,” she said.

Previously Ummi feeds street dogs on her own, but now she has joined MyStray Rescue as a volunteer.

MyStray Rescue is an organisation that feeds street dogs as well as spay, neuter, and train the dogs before they are rehomed.