[2024-09-18] acoo.hk 【#香港角落| 國際流浪動物日：#大樹下的浪浪】

What does an animal shelter look like in your imagination? Before going under the big tree, the author had imagined that the little animals inside were not very affectionate, afraid of people, or even hated humans. After all, they may have been abused, abandoned, or never had a home. And the smell, it must be really bad! There are only about 10 or 20 cats and dogs in the pet shop, and the smell is already so strong…

The vehicle drove through the winding country roads and finally came to the foot of the big tree. As soon as we got off the bus, we heard dogs barking one after another, but we couldn’t smell any unpleasant smell. Volunteer Zao Zao said : "Ventilate outside!" What about indoors? When I walked in, there was no "animal smell" and the surroundings were very clean.

Okay, Zaozao is going to take everyone under the big tree now, let’s go!

|The origin of Big Tree Down
was more than 30 or 40 years ago. Zeng Yaoguang, known as Zeng Sheng by the volunteers under Big Tree, was working on the construction site. At that time, there were "territory dogs" who guarded the territory together with night security guards to scare away suspicious persons. After the construction of the site was completed, Zeng Yaoguang found that everyone "didn’t want to be a monk after fasting" and no one planned to take away the dogs. He had no choice but to take the "site dogs" with him to work on the next site and take on the responsibility of raising them. . In this way, Zeng Yaoguang moved the dogs from one site to another, and the number of unneutered dogs increased from a few to more than 40. Volunteer Zaozao shared: "Do you know what a dump truck is called? The dogs were sitting inside, so we moved them over there."

The last waiting area for the dogs was Sai Wan Ho. The foreman at the time said to Tsang Yiu-kwong: "You can’t keep dogs like this. I give you a three-day deadline to take the canal away. If you don’t, I will call the Fisheries and Conservation Department." Unable to support himself alone, Zeng Yaoguang had no choice but to ask for help from his friends. His story spread widely among friends, and finally reached the ears of his friend’s friend, Sister Yan. The two met for the first time under a big tree that used to be a pig pen. Zeng Yaoguang recalled that Sister Yan appeared wearing beautiful high heels. At that time, she secretly thought that this woman was just playing for fun and would not persist. Who would have thought that since the two of them fought side by side, Sister Yan’s high heels would be dusted from now on.

|A story about abandonment and adoption:
"It was a volunteer day." Zao Zao shared an anecdote from the past. That day she was working at the back fence as usual. When she came out, she met Sister Yan. She said angrily , "Look at the door!" Zaozao walked to the door. In front of him was a small truck and a family. "There were parents, parents-in-law, and children. They had two cats in the truck and a tall cat cage." He was full of questions. , so I asked what was going on, and received a cold response from the other party, "We don’t want it. If you don’t want it, I’ll send it to the AIDS Association. It will lead to death." After the cat was about 10 years old, the family Just drove away.

Just like this, the two cats came to the big tree. Sister Yan observed that one of the cats drank water frequently and made movements to go to the toilet, but it could never pull it out. With years of experience caring for animals, she knew the cat needed to see a doctor. Sure enough, the doctor said that the cat was severely constipated, and the feces in his body was almost reaching his throat, and he needed surgery. Sister Yan said with a smile, "More than 4,000 mosquitoes helped him get rid of his feces!" However, the constipation problem has not been completely solved. The cat’s intestines are not very movable, so he needs people to massage his belly every day to help the intestinal peristalsis. It has smooth bowel movements . After the volunteers under the big tree shared this story on social media, a couple contacted and said that they could take care of the cat because the female owner was a piano teacher, so she could often stay at home. Zaozao said, "After visiting their home, I discovered that they really love each other very much. There are parrots, cats and dogs in the house."

Finally, the cat was named "Wide" and under the care of its new owner, the cat traveled smoothly every day. About a year later, "Wide" died of old age, but what is comforting is that at least he could find a real home for him in his last days.

| Under the
big tree that provides shelter from the wind and rain, there are currently about 130 dogs and more than 30 cats. They are cared for by less than 10 volunteers. The youngest one is Zaozao, who is over 50 years old. Under the Tree has received a lot of media coverage in the past, has it not successfully attracted new blood? Zaozao said, "Actually, it’s really hard core. Many times, some of them just punched in and left." In the early years, Sister Yan temporarily kept all the cats under the big tree at her home. However, she recently experienced a second stroke and was afraid of what would happen if she did. Unfortunately, if another accident happened to me, no one would take care of the cats, so I moved all the cats back under the big tree. Cats are small animals that can easily get sick because they cannot adapt to changes in the environment, so Sister Yan moved the dining table and some furniture at home under a big tree. While talking, the cat sitting on the stage stretched out his little hand and patted Sister Yan, as if to say: Pay attention to me! However, the cat on the ground was arching its back and stroking Sister Yan’s calf with its head. dog. . . next to it was staring at it with "eyes willing", as if it also wanted to be petted.

Thanks to the care of Sister Yan and a group of volunteers, these little guys have become as beautiful and cute as they are today. Want to know more about Langlang’s stories? Go to the picture gallery of the post to continue reading! Most of the little cuties here are old, weak and disabled soldiers. Zao Zao said with a smile that the big tree is a sanatorium, so that they can make their final journey!

If you also want to contribute to the little cuties, you can support Big Tree and sponsor Langlang, share their medical and daily expenses, and build a real home.

Photography and design: Kayan @yipyn
Text: Hoiyan @sea mouse_hoiyan

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