The story of Ah John

This blog is just a real story that is dedicated to Ah John, a stray dog that i have met by fate, cared for and will be missed for a long long time.

This story begins in Ampang. Typical of new housing area, many stray dogs find refuge here where humans are lesser in threat. With large compound to scavage for food left by indonesian workers, one can survive without getting the risk of having a brick thrown at it.

Ah John was such a dog that found solace in this new community. He was a middle size stray dog with a white tail and his overall makeover is like unto a fox. I have a dog called "Frenly", a basset hound that has very mild temperament (all basset does) and playful. Since there wasn't any friendly dogs around and the owner (me ;-)) didn't want another pet, Frenly has no matching companion. That was until he met Ah John ...

Yeah, i know that pedigree should not be allowed to mix with stray dogs, those problems with lice etc, but heck, you should see how these 2 met. Every morning Ah John will stride alongside the road where i took Frenly for a walk. Frenly would become very excited and walk towards Ah John, initially Ah John was cautious and quickly ran. It became evident later after i observed the dogs there that Ah John was always the lowest ranking in the pack, and subsequently the subject of harrassment from other dogs.

As days passes by, Ah John begin realize that Frenly was not like the other dogs and began to respond to his playful moves.








In better times, Ah John with Frenly








The two seems to enjoy playing with each other that every morning Ah John would purposely walk to come near my house and greet Frenly. Now, this stray dog, this unwanted Ah John as i called him (equivalent of John Doe for human) is a very smart dog with a humble attitude. When i pass him food from my hands, he would first tilt his head as though he was asking "whats is this?", and slowly he would walk over and gently move the food from the palm of my hand.

I have once brought Ah John back and tied him and gave him a bath and anti-lice spray. Surprisingly he was very submissive and only a display a slight panic when the cold pipe water soaked him. I did this so that he could have more freedom playing with Frenly without me worrying about the lice and dirt passing on.

So it was a real fun time for both of them back then.


Friendship forever - Ah John and Frenly

However, unlike fairy tales, the happiness didn't last long.

Ah John was a smart dog like i said, and he could jump swiftly from one house to another via any possible entry you can imagine. This of course was soon a problem as my neighbour had a bad design on his walls which allows a medium size dog like Ah John to jump in. Ah John would jump in from outside his house, and enter my car posh to play with Frenly.

I once saw him throwing a brick at Ah John because he says the dog left some foot prints at the walls that he jumps in. In order to save Ah Jon from a premature death, i have tried much to discourage Ah John from coming in. I have rotan him and he stays out, Duh, that dog still comes in when i was not around and like i said...he is one smart dog.

Occasionally the MPAJ will come in and tries to clear stray dogs from my area. But they will never be able to catch Ah John, he just knows where to hid and run. Unfortunately mosts dogs that MPAJ caught are domesticated dogs that are unlicensed and of which the owners are then required to pay a hefty "ransom" to get the dogs back..well rules are rules, u break u pay.









Ah John's last visit...

Now, the story takes a twist when Mr.X came along. Mr.X was the unofficial guard that the developers hired to guard this new housing area. He has many stray dogs with him in one of the appointed empty house which he use to provide as a guarding mechanism. He is particularly friendly with all stray dogs and he offers them food which he took from the nearby market. Ah John was no different, he trust Mr.X just like any other stray dog does.

One day the neighbour complained to Mr.X and Ah John soon was betrayed and tied up to a tree. I only found this out when i heard terrible cries at night from the nearby garden where Ah John was tied. A born free dog, tied and chained to be used as a guarding mechanism just doesn't fit Ah John. He would cry relentlessly.

The next morning i passed him by and you can see how excitedly he jumps and how heartbreaking was his plea when i move away from that tree. Frenly continues to visit Ah John every morning ...until one day...

Frenly's last visit to Ah John

Today, Ah John is nowhere to be found. Rumors have it that MPAJ found a stray dog that was tied to a tree and thought someone would redeem it. As weeks passed by, one can only imagine the happy thoughts that Ah John had when he thought of Frenly and the time he had here...before he was snuffed out of his life and everything dimmed with darkness.

Thus, end the Life of a stray dog, Ah John.

RIP - Feb 2007 - Oct 2007.


** Latest update 12-3-2008 : I found out Ah John died by hanging itself near the place where he was chained. This was relayed to me by a neighbour who buried him.