Miss Aileen Lee, affectionately known as aunty Aileen is the founder of My Pets Haven, an animal shelter that takes care of the strays. Prior to owning a pet shelter, she actually had a bar but as her mother passed away, she was told to try her best to start something meaningful.
67yo M’sian ex-bar owner now runs a pet shelter
Holding on to her mother’s words, she decided to leave the industry and headed over to a pet shop to work. Being fond of animals, she was upset to find out that the pet store she worked at didn’t have the best interest for animals.
“I tried asking my then boss if I could bring the dogs out for a walk, but he refused”, she said.
Despite her boss’ rejection, she would still rebel against him and bring the dogs out for walks whenever he isn’t around. As she was walking the dogs around the area, she saw a few vacant shops around the mall she worked at, which sparked the idea of starting her own pet shelter.
Source: My Pets Haven
Sharing her story to Zestie, aunty Aileen mentioned that she would only sleep over 2 hours a day, due to the excessive workload in the shelter. Despite getting little sleep every day, she remains positive and happy as she’s able to work on her passion. Rescuing strays, she is the sole caretaker for all the dogs, until they get adopted.
“Thankfully, we do have volunteers coming in, but most of the time, I would care for them myself”, she mentioned.
When it comes to her shelter fundings, aunty Aileen shared that she used her personal savings as well as donations to support it. As the years went by, aunty Aileen was able to offer services like pet grooming, boarding as well as selling pet food and other pet essentials to fund the shelter.
Source: Zestie (Instagram)
After their eviction notice last year, along with the help of many people and volunteers, aunty Aileen managed to relocate to a new factory in Klang Sentral. Housing over 50 dogs, aunty Aileen welcomes pet lovers who are looking to volunteer at her centre! For more information check her out here.
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Also read: “I couldn’t bear seeing them hungry”, Kind M’sian couple cooks & feed strays every other day
