Companion Dogs and Cats
Share a Loving Home

After joining a community women’s group devoted to feeding stray dogs in April 1999, sister initiate Liao found that the dogs’ newborn puppies often met with an early death because the mothers did not have enough milk to feed them. Out of compassion she took in two puppies, which she named Halle and Lujah because she felt they were gifts from God. She had found Halle on a rainy day, almost dying due to a big sore on his belly. So she took him in. Then, when she was feeding stray dogs on another day, she found Lujah, thin and covered with wounds sustained in fights over food with bigger dogs. So she rescued him from his struggle to survive. These two dogs became lively and energetic as the understanding members of her family.

Sister Liao started walking with Halle and Lujah in the park and thus became acquainted with a group of dog lovers. When the Alternative Living leaflets designed by Master were published, she earnestly distributed them among her dog-loving friends and persuaded them to use vegetarian dog food. She also shared Master’s tips on how to raise dogs and love animals, which received positive response. Sister Liao is happy that Halle and Lujah have become tools for conveying God's love and enhancing the well-being of their animal friends.

When Hsihu Center showcased the Master-designed doghouses built with natural and health-oriented concepts, sister Liao was overjoyed and immediately joined the team of volunteers who were helping explain their features to visitors. She then purchased a "Luxurious Home of Love" for Halle and Lujah, and found that it was easy to assemble, dismantle, and clean. The thoughtful design indeed saves her time and energy.

Let’s take some looks on the life of Halle and Lujah: Watching two of them play and care for each other lovingly, Sister Liao shares their contentment and joy. Thanks to its humanitarian design, the Luxurious Home of Love is spacious and well-ventilated. Halle and Lujah can choose to lie quietly in the transparent doorway and observe the world outside, or they can stick their heads out from the open roof to greet approaching guests with a bark or two, tails wagging casually to express their goodwill, and then resume their sweet daydreaming. Occasionally in the winter, they take a sunbath to warm themselves. What cozy and peaceful lives they lead! On rainy days, they simply treat themselves to a hearty sleep on the mattress inside their Luxurious Home of Love, entertaining the family with the lovely duet of their rhythmic snoring!

Not long ago, when sister Liao was walking the dogs in the park, she saw three abandoned newborn kittens whimpering feebly beside a big garbage bin. She learned from the park caretaker that the kittens had been found on a safety island in the middle of a busy road. Worried that they might be killed by the traffic, this compassionate caretaker rescued them but could not afford to keep them. So he put them near the garbage bin in the park, hoping they could find a way to feed themselves. After hearing the sad story of these kittens, sister Liao decided to adopt them. She named them after the colors of their fur: the yellow one became Golden, the black one Sunny and the flowery one Rainbow.

New in a strange environment, the kittens moved around timidly in the little bed that had been prepared for them. But their caring dog friend Lujah immediately displayed the love of a parent and began to act as a nanny. He led the kittens into the Luxurious Home of Love and let them share the main bedroom. Here, he played with them when they were awake and slept with them when they became tired. Golden was always quick to occupy the dogs’ sleeping mattress but Lujah did not mind, and Halle would understandingly go outside to allow more room for the kittens. Mischievous Golden also sometimes tickled Lujah’s feet by scratching them with his sharp paws, but Lujah ignored any pain and would let Golden enjoy the fun.

As the three kittens jumped about on the carpet in the bedroom the way little children bounce on a spring mattress, Lujah watched them as closely as any father to guard them from falling and hurting themselves. This calls to mind the way our parents watched over us when we were small. In the process of caring for these companion beings, sister Liao deeply realized what Master described in Her discourses about animal’s love and friendship. It is true that loving compassion exists everywhere in this world, including in the animal world!