It was published. Yay!

My article was published in The Star newspaper today. Check it out here.

I'm glad the editor corrected some of my grammatical mistakes and typo errors. Now, I regretted not paying attention during my English lessons in school back then.

Unfortunately, the editor also 'cut' some paragraphs away, probably to allow more articles to be published as well.

There is one important paragraph, I believe, it should have been published together. However, it was taken out.

The only time when dogs would lunge and bark at me was whenever I walked past a house with pet dogs that were chained or were kept in a cage. Just like the case of the Irishman who was mauled by two dogs. Those dogs are pet dogs, not stray dogs.

This is important because I want everyone to know that it is usually pet dogs that are more aggressive than strays. Pet dogs could attack people unprovoked. This is due to how the dogs have been raised and reared by the owner. If the owner had been abusive, the dog would turned aggressive.

Are dogs colour blind?

No, dogs are not colorblind in the sense that they see more than just black, white, and gray. However, the color range they perceive is limited compared to the spectrum we see.

To put it in very basic terms, the canine color field consists mostly of yellows, blues, and violets. "Human" reds, greens, and oranges are not distinguishable to dogs and instead appear somewhere on their yellow to blue spectrum.

The reason? The retina of both species contains two types of photoreceptors, rods and cones. The human eye, however, contains more types of cones while the canine eye has more rods and no fovea, which is responsible for sharp visual detail in humans. The result is that dogs have superior night vision and are better at tracking movement than we are, but see fewer colors and shapes and objects appear in much less detail.

The bottom line is that tossing an orange ball onto green grass may look like yellow against yellow to your dog, but his acute motion-detection ability will help him fetch it anyway.

Source: Dogtime.com

Two dogs attacked Irishman in Teluk Bahang, Penang

Firstly, you may want to read the news coverage in PetPositive.

So what went wrong?

1. The dogs are kept in a cage (Definitely not a good thing to do).
2. The dogs are fed with only biscuits (This is definitely a ridiculous thing to do).
3. The Irishman went inside the orchard when the owner was not around.

Based on my own personal observation, I have seen dogs that are chained are extremely aggressive. There was once I saw a dog (the dog was chained to the backdoor in the backlane) that would lurched at any passers-by. So, please do not chain your dog or keep it in a cage.

On the other hand, stray dogs that roam freely in my neighbourhood are afraid of human beings. Whenever someone booed the dogs/pelted the dogs/stomped their feet, the dogs would run or moved away. There are just nasty sarcastic people around.

Why Muslims cannot touch dogs?

Yesterday, I saw a group of Malay kids harassing some stray dogs just outside my house. The place I live in is a predominantly Chinese neighourhood, so it is quite rare to see Malay kids around. And everytime they are around, I can assure you there will always be a commotion outside my house because they will always disturb the innocent stray dogs who are lying by the roadside.

But I am not saying that Chinese and Indian kids do not disturb the dogs. They do as well. There are many mischievous Chinese and Indian kids who will also harass the stray dogs in my neighbourhood.

I am aware that Malay-Muslims in Malaysia are taught not to touch dogs, so, my curiousity began to arouse me as to why they cannot touch dogs.

As I read through the Internet, then I realise that it is NOT 'haram' for Muslims to touch dogs or to keep dogs as pets. It is just that it may be troublesome for Muslims to have to clean themselves according to a certain set of procedures after touching dogs' saliva. You may read the explanations here.

Also, I have found a post written by a local animal activist, Joanne Lee, with a snippet included which explained why Malaysian Muslims are prohibited from touching dogs.

==========SNIP SNIP==================

Dr. Gorman said...
American here, and yes, an animal lover. I have donated to Furry Farms for this cause. Yes, they need to educate the officials on the fishing island about spay and neutering the strays, or having them humanely euthanized. It's better than starving to death.

Question please: Why are Muslims encouraged not to touch dogs? God made them one of our two domesticated animals (along with cats) specifically for the purpose of helping humanity and providing companionship.

May 10, 2009 2:24:00 PM MYT

Zalina said...

Dr. Gorman,

When the rule was written, rabies was wide-spread. However, in the book is also written that dogs have been companions to the Prophet and his followers. Muslims overseas have no problems with dogs. I am a local muslim, and I have no problem with dogs.However, there is a cleansing ritual involved after being licked by the dog. I think people are just too lazy to go wash with red clay earth. Also, I'm a little more forward thinking and believe soap will do. Don't blame the religion -- blame the (few) followers. Thanks for your donation. On behalf of of the Pulau Ketam Dog Rescue Secretariat. Thanks from us all.

May 11, 2009 6:30:00 PM MYT

Antares said...

Zalina, thanks for responding to Dr Gorman. I'd just like to add my two cents worth. I believe the hadith against touching dogs was inserted long after Muhammad's time during a severe outbreak of rabies in Arabia. Since infection is mainly via saliva, and water isn't easily available in Arabia, people were advised to wash their hands in mud if licked by a dog. Soon dog saliva became regarded as "dirty" and long after rabies ceased being a problem, dogs remained anathema. Only in Malaysia do you find such rabid dog-haters/fearers. Muslims everywhere else have long become sensible about most taboos.

May 11, 2009 7:03:00 PM MYT

Dr. Gorman said...

Thank you, Zalina and Antares, for the excellent answers. It helps to try to understand the actions of those you can't understand! Still praying for the volunteers, the relief effort and the change of heart of the villagers and officials who did this.

Kim Gorman, O.D.

You may read the entire post written by Joanne Lee right here.

A man chasing a dog

Last Friday night, while I was doing my assignment, I heard a straydog barking, at the backlane of my house. I didn't really bother about it because the dog would usually bark at something.

Previously, many times I have looked out from the window but I saw no one or nothing. I guess the dog was just barking at some ghosts. So, this time I didn't bother. Furthermore, I am rushing to finish off my assignments.

A couple of minutes later, I heard someone running. I opened the window and saw a man chasing after the dog! Not only he was chasing after the dog, he was splashing some water at the dog (not sure where he got the water from).

He was chasing the dog like a mad man from one end of the backlane to the other end of the backlane.

Well, I felt suspicious. It was already ten something at night and what was this guy doing at the backlane? And why was he so angry of the dog that he wanted to chase the dog away from the backlane.

I opened the backdoor and I lost him. He dissappeared at the end of the backlane.

First of all, there were a couple of minor theft cases in the backlane of my house a few months ago. Someone has actually stole an electrical appliance from my house by removing the window panes. I was not the only the victim, some of my nearby neighbours also fell victim to this thief.

Now I am wondering, was he the thief? Now I should be more cautious whenever the dog at the backlane starts barking. Dogs are natural guards!