Animal rights supporter Chan Mo Lin is pragmatic. She does not take kindly to owners who leave millions to their dogs.

“Philanthropy should be limited to the welfare of humans. It is fine to leave part of your fortune to animal charities but not your entire fortune to one dog, as Countess Karlotta Liebenstein did for her German Shepherd Gunther III. Philanthropy to me is about helping humans first.”

Chan has been raising funds for the SPCA (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) for the past 35 years, and her interest has only grown stronger.

“I worked closely with the chairman then, Mea Wheatley. Christine Chin took over the helm four years ago. Under Christine’s leadership, I feel SPCA has created public awareness.’’

Chan likens fundraising for our four-legged friends to “running uphill through sand’’.

She sighs, “Nine out of 10 people I approach prefer to donate for human causes. They feel animals are less important. This is true in a way but if I don’t persevere in helping the strays, their fate is sealed.

“There is no government agency to look after strays or abused animals. The zoo has limited funds and facilities. The SPCA does not receive any funds from the government. They are funded through private donations and contributions.

Operational costs come from their efforts in generating income. We fight to uphold animal rights and to give a better life to stray animals. This is a thankless task but I am filled with joy each time I see a family coming to the SPCA to adopt a dog or cat.”

Charity calendars

“Last year, it struck me that it would be a good idea to sell animal calendars to raise funds for SPCA,” says Chan.

She decided not to waste time looking for sponsors, sponsoring the production of the desktop calendar of cats and dogs herself. All proceeds would go to SPCA’s kitty. It was a 12-page desk calendar and sold for RM20.

”I sold 1,500 calendars and raised RM30,000 so we were very pleased. It was so popular that I repeated the production this year and sold 3,000 more copies which raked in a profit of more than RM45,000.

The calendar features Chan’s three mongrels, the dogs of SPCA committee members and other pet owners.

Chan wanted her darlings to be seen in their best light and hired a professional photographer.

“The photo shoot was as elaborate as any human diva’s and took two days to complete,” recalls Chan.

Over 700 photos were taken.

“There were so many beautiful shots of my dogs that I decided to print a personal calendar of my own dogs. The calendars make great year-end gifts.”

Chan’s foursome are Toffee, Max, Armani and Giorgio.

“Toffee is 16. In her younger days, she could answer the phone by picking it up with her mouth. She was my late mum’s constant companion and has been left a RM30 stipend a month in my mother’s will, which I use to buy her favorite snacks.