KOTA KINABALU: One way to prevent stray animals, especially dogs, from chasing or attacking you is to feed them.

       This tip is shared by experienced dog rescuer Adrienne Godfrey Johniu, who has been dealing with strays for over 15 years.

       “Dogs, like us humans, just want to survive but due to their terrible living condition of being without a home or owner, they are always in survival mode.

       “That is why sometimes, when they feel threatened, they choose to bark or ‘gang up’ and chase after someone, especially if that person is known to mistreat animals,” she said.

       There have been complaints that strays were chasing after motorcyclists and passers-by.

       Following that, reports emerged about strays being wounded, believed done deliberately.

       Adrienne said the easy way to get strays out of one’s way, or even not attack, is to feed them.

       “Once you feed them, they will see you as a friend and from then on, if you are their usual feeder, you can even scold them and tell them off if they come too close or get into your lawn and take your slippers,” she said.

       She said of late, there had been quite a number of cases where strays were found with severe wounds including slash marks and scalding injuries on their bodies.

       Show them kindness: Dr Randolf has called on the people not to hurt strays even if they hate animals.

       Adrienne said unless a person is at risk of getting injured, there is no reason for him to go after strays and hurt them.

       “It is sad that many choose violence over proper handling of strays. There are proper channels to get violent strays captured, and from the many cases I have handled, most of these strays are not vicious,” she said.

       She said she had handled many of these cases and had never once got bitten.

       In fact, she said, dogs are playful by nature and want to interact with humans who come their way.

       She also advised owners to be responsible towards their pets, and to take necessary action if their animals are known to chase after humans or vehicles, by fencing their home compound or properly training their pets.

       Known stray rescuer and vet Dr Randolf Paza, who recently helped treat an injured dog and another that had a huge maggot-infested head injury, called on the people not to hurt strays even if they hate animals.

       He is among some of the vets in Sabah who help in treating injured strays and neutering them.

       Grace Jorest Josip, who is among a group of avid stray feeders in the Keningau district, called on the public to be more compassionate towards animals.

       “As we enter a new year, having gone through so many challenges be it in the form of the ongoing pandemic or disasters such as floods, it would be good if we take the opportunity to be better human beings.

       “Instead of hurting strays to chase them off, I hope we can all just be kinder towards them,” she said.

       She also hoped more people would donate to causes to help strays as their numbers are high.