NST - October 22nd, 2009 : Hitam The Great Hero Dies Of Pneumonia

ABOVE : Sabrina with the late Hitam

KUALA LUMPUR: He touched the hearts of many with his heroic deeds of saving the lives of some of the hundreds of dogs abandoned on an island near Pulau Ketam earlier this year.

Hitam, the black mongrel with a golden heart, became an instant hero in May when animal rescuers found out that together with another dog, Kuning, he would bravely swim to a nearby fish farm to search for food.

Hitam would then regurgitate what he ate at the fish farm, usually a mix of rice and rotten fish given by the farm workers, when he returned to the mangrove island to feed the rest of the abandoned dogs left to fend for themselves without any food or water.
Hitam and Kuning later helped rescuers to save some of the abandoned dogs.

Hitam and 25 other dogs were given shelter by the Furry Friends Farm but Hitam was subsequently handed over to the fish farm owner who claimed that the mongrel had belonged to him.

The Furry Friends Farm also left a 22kg bag of dog food and a bowl for him.

However, Hitam died barely a week later, on Oct 6, due to multiple malfunction of his internal organs.

"When I fetched Hitam from my people at the jetty who had earlier obtained his body from the fish farm owner, Hitam was haemorrhaging from his nostril and ears.

"His blood stained the car cushion but that was the least of my worries as I wanted Hitam's body to be immediately examined by a veterinarian in order to understand what led to his death," Furry Friends Farm founder and animal activist Sabrina Yeap told Streets.

A post-mortem concluded that Hitam had died of pneumonia.

However there were traces of toxin in Hitam's vital organs, causing ruptures on both kidneys, inflammation of the lungs, abdomen and intestines.

"An examination on Hitam's intestines shocked us as there was no trace of food and stools in Hitam's digestive system, except for a lot of undigested chicken bones," said a tearful Yeap.

"Hitam was an active dog and had a huge appetite when he was with us."

Hitam's buddy, Kuning, which was recuperating from a kidney problem, would now remain at the Furry Friends Farm.

The fish farm owner had initially also asked for Kuning to be returned to him.

The dogs' earlier presence had kept sea otters, which were a threat to the fishing industry, away from the farm.

The Furry Friends Farm will be holding a memorial service for Hitam at the animal sanctuary on Saturday at 5pm.

For directions to the place, call Yeap at 016-631 9018. -- By Halim Said

Source taken from NST - October 22nd, 2009 : Hitam the great hero dies of pneumonia