人物•真情趣﹕宣萱 狗遺的幸福
(明報)2010年2月1日 星期一 05:05

【明報專訊】宣萱 一向予人兩個感覺——硬朗、愛狗。在演藝圈打滾多年，難得宣萱這兩個真性情也沒有改變。早前她帶同生命中兩個摯愛——男友與愛犬Lulu，出席香港保護遺棄動物協會的2010年度「人狗同樂百萬行」，幸福滿瀉。宣萱現有5隻愛犬，在十多年與唐狗相處的日子，她嘗盡生離死別，但始終堅守主人的責任，不離不棄。

養狗像結婚 一生一世

「其實我也不算一個很完美的主人。坦白說，我可以做得更好，回想起來，應該多放時間在我的狗身上。」宣萱這樣評價作為狗主的自己。忙碌的宣萱在家時間不多，平日多是傭人遛狗，閒時才會帶牠們到郊外玩。

由於工作關係，宣萱不時要飛往外地，試過一別就是3個月。在那段期間，主要靠傭人照顧家中的愛犬﹕「都會掛念牠們的，有時間就和牠們講電話（叫傭人在家開電話擴音器），哈哈﹗」

在宣萱眼中，狗主與寵物的關係應該是這樣的﹕「你既然養牠，就要負一生一世的責任，讓牠開心。這其實和結婚有點相似，都是生老病死也要不離不棄。」宣萱認為，作為負責任的主人，愛心當然重要，但予寵物優質生活同樣重要。「間屋不用很大，主人也不用很富貴，只要讓寵物活得開開心心便可。」

宣萱一直不明白，為何有主人可以如此狠心，不理寵物的死活。「即使你不能照顧，也不代表可以隨便拋棄牠們！」宣萱聽過一個最狠心的例子﹕一輛高速的車在保護遺棄動物協會門外減速，車窗打開後有一隻松鼠狗被拋出來，直掉在門外，那車頭也不回的呼嘯而去。宣萱說︰「不明白為何可以這樣殘忍，寵物都有生命、有感覺，只是不能說話而已。」

生命中第一隻唐狗

宣萱小時候有個親戚養狗，由於牠很乖，會服從sit、down等指令，造就了宣萱從小喜歡狗，「那隻狗很乖很可愛，像一隻會動的毛公仔」。在眾多品種之中，宣萱本來喜歡八哥，但現時她家清一色是唐狗﹕「因為我覺得唐狗很可憐，似乎沒有什麼人特別喜歡唐狗，很少機會被收養。」

讀書時代，父母不批准宣萱養狗，到她長大自立，就急不及待想領養一隻八哥。不過碰巧未有「幸運兒」，宣萱只好乖乖的在waiting list上輪候。等待期間，宣萱在電視城附近遇上她生命中的第一隻唐狗——Boom Boom。「牠是一隻米白色的流浪狗，我帶牠回家時應該約9個月大，樣子很得意。」Boom Boom令宣萱對唐狗的鍾愛超越了八哥﹕「唐狗其實很有靈性，而且易於打理。」

不顧一切保護救命恩人

Boom Boom是宣萱擁有的第一隻狗，兩者建立起深厚感情。在宣萱眼中，Boom Boom不是狗而是人，「牠只是不懂得說話而已，我情緒低落時，牠會靜靜坐在我身邊，沒有其他狗可替代牠」。宣萱笑指Boom Boom應該知道她是救命恩人，很忠心，會拚命保護她。「有次我的另一隻狗『作狀』想咬我，Boom Boom想也不想就把牠撲倒在地上，好像想教訓牠一樣。當時我也呆一呆，沒想過Boom Boom會這樣不顧一切保護我。」宣萱與Boom Boom的感情，在生活中一點一滴建立起來。

Boom Boom與宣萱走過14個年頭，牠晚年患上腎衰竭 ，宣萱也沒有想過放棄。「腎衰竭是比較辛苦的病，我自問可以為牠做的，也都已經做了。」宣萱幽幽的說。

腎衰竭其中一項治療是吊鹽水，以排走身體的毒素。宣萱和傭人從獸醫處學懂吊鹽水的方法，每日就在家為Boom Boom吊鹽水。由於吊鹽水的針很粗，針刺進脖子時，初期Boom Boom會哀鳴一會，令宣萱著實心痛。不過可能就是有靈性的關係，Boom Boom很快就習慣了，而且會主動「埋位」﹕「牠看見我和工人在廳鋪好墊，知道又要吊鹽水，就會乖乖躺下。可能是牠見我不放棄，牠自己也不放棄自己吧。」

生離死別 「不要強行留著」

所謂「生有時死有時」，14年的光陰不算短，其實宣萱早已有心理準備Boom Boom隨時離她而去，但她怕自己接受不來，所以向保護遺棄動物協會的專家尋求心靈輔導，得到的信息是「不要因為捨不得而強行把牠留在身邊」。

2007年5月初，生離死別終於上演﹕「平日我不時會按摩，通常都會按兩小時，那天我心血來潮，對按摩師說按一個半小時好了。」按摩完後，宣萱就收到傭人的來電，說Boom Boom似乎有點不妥。

宣萱飛奔回家，發現Boom Boom眼神渙散﹕「而且牠好像想避開我，嘗試拖著虛弱的身軀躲在枱底、櫃底，我直覺上感到牠要走了。」由於謹記「不要強行留著牠」的信息，宣萱很快就決定結束Boom Boom的痛苦——讓牠靜靜離去。

「決定的一刻是很快的，我在牠身邊陪伴著，最後一次和牠『傾偈』。」雖已事隔數年，宣萱回憶起Boom Boom的離開還是會感到傷心，很掛念牠，不過自問讓牠過了14年幸福生活，心裏有著點點安慰。

流浪唐狗「經理人」

自從Boom Boom的出現，宣萱的生活就離不開唐狗。有舊成員老去，也有新血的補充，宣萱最近的新寵是新加入的Lulu。牠與Boom Boom一樣，是在電視城附近流浪的唐狗。

宣萱把Lulu撿回家，本來打算為牠安排做絕育手術，待牠康復後讓人領養﹕「哪知道Lulu做完手術，在我家等拆線期間，與我家的狗頗合得來，於是索性收養牠。」宣萱笑言Lulu的樣子在5隻愛犬之中最不突出，又覺得牠「無性格」，不過可能自己有「鋤強扶弱」的精神，心痛牠在街上流浪數年捱過苦，所以特別偏心於Lulu。

外國人較接受唐狗

假如朋友在街上發現流浪唐狗，也會告訴宣萱，宣萱儼如唐狗的經理人，努力為流浪唐狗找一個家。每次找到流浪唐狗，她與朋友首先會為狗拍照，再於超市貼通告，詳細列明體型、顏色，希望有心人收養。

宣萱表示，為唐狗找主人的行動不是漁翁撒網，而是有戰略的。「多會在清水灣 、淺水灣 附近貼通告，因為那兒多外國人，他們比較接受唐狗。」不要以為有愛心就行，要令宣萱和她的朋友「批准」你收養唐狗，還要經過家訪這一關。「要看看家中環 境是否適合，而且評估一下會不會收養牠後置之不理。」

宣萱家中有5個動物成員，還會考慮「加碼」嗎？「暫時不會了，哈哈。不過我身邊的人都說『聽住先』。我也說不準。」就像2009年鄧健泓 在西貢 公廁附近發現5隻唐狗，第一時間致電宣萱，其中兩隻就幸運的成為她家一分子。





宣萱與cafe店主的貴婦狗玩得不亦樂乎，其實她最喜歡的是唐狗。
（陳智良攝）



宣萱與獸醫男友Ruan帶收養的愛犬Lulu出席香港保護遺棄動物協會的「人狗同樂百萬行」。



宣萱不時帶同愛犬出席活動，圖為2005年她與Boom Boom合照。
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後記：與狗平起平坐

【明報專訊】「有時候，我們可以向狗狗學習。」宣萱 所指的，是狗的單純。「牠們很容易滿足，雖然你罵過牠，牠轉頭又會向你擺尾。」今次訪問地點是一間狗cafe，宣萱與cafe主人的狗玩個不亦樂乎，又應攝影師要求坐在地上和牠們玩。宣萱與狗「平起平坐」，著實令人感受到，人與動物間要建立情誼，其實可以這樣簡單。

文﹕黃郁文

圖﹕陳智良、資料圖片

場地提供﹕DOGside Cafe

Hi all,

Can someone translate?Thanks...

Thanks so much! Jessica is very happy!

Jessica and Dogs

Jessica has always given people the impression of being strong and that she loves dogs. She had brought along her boyfriend and her dog, Lulu, to attend SAA 2010 walkathon. In the years of rearing dogs, Jessica went through the passing of her dogs but stayed on taking care of them.

Owning Dogs are for Life

Jessica commented on herself as a dong owner, “I am not a perfect. Actually, I feel that I could have done better. I should have spent much more time with my dogs.” Jessica did not have much time to stay at home and most of the job of taking care of the dogs was done by her maid. She would only bring them out when she was free.

Jessica often had to travel due to her job scope and the longest trip was 3 months. During then, the responsibilities were passed to the maid. Jessica would think of them and would talk to them if she were free by getting the maid to amplify the telephone conversation.

Jessica viewed the relationship between dogs and their owners as such, “If you rear him, you will need to be accountable for life. This is similar to marriage where you have to take care of it even if it is sick, old or dying.” Jessica felt that having a caring heart and the possessing ability to give your pets a high quality of life are the crux to being a responsible owner. She mentioned that the owner need not possess a large house nor be very wealthy but one should be able to let one’s pets live a happy life.

Jessica could not understand the reason to why some owners choose to abandon their pets. “It does not mean that you can abandon them, even if you are unable to take care of them.” Jessica recalled a case where a car slowed down at SAA, a dog was thrown out when the car window rolled down. The car sped off after that. Jessica mentioned, “I could not understand why they are so cruel. Pets do have life and feelings but they are just unable to talk.”

Her First Dog

Jessica had a relative who reared a dog when she was young. It was very obedient and could follow commands like sit and down. From then, Jessica loved dogs. She said, “The dog is very cute. It looks like a stuff toy.”

During schooling, Jessica’s parents refused to let her own dogs. It was until she grew independent, she then got a dog. She was placed on the waiting list for a dog. During the waiting period, Jessica noticed her first dog – Boom Boom near TVB City. “It’s a beige stray that’s around 9 months old. It looked very cute.”

The relationship between Jessica and Boom Boom was very strong. Jessica viewed Boom Boom as a human instead of a dog. “He is just unable to speak the human language. When I am feeling down, it will sit silently beside me. There’s no other dog that can replace it.” She laughed that Boom Boom knew that Jessica is its saviour and hence its very loyal and would protect her. “There was once when a dog pretended to intend to bite me, Boom Boom pushed it to the ground without hestitation, as if he was punishing it. I was stunned, as I never thought that Boom Boom would protect me like this.” The relationship between Jessica and Boom Boom blossomed through the experiences in life.

After being together for 14 years, Boom Boom contracted kidney problems. However, Jessica never thought of giving it up. “Kidney failure is a painful disease. I think I have tried all possible means that I can do for him.”

One of the treatments was putting the dog on a drip to remove toxins. Jessica learned the tactic of putting Boom Boom from the vet and attended to Boom Boom daily. Boom Boom would wince whenever the thick needle for the drip was poked into its body. That caused Jessica’s heart to ache. However, Boom Boom got used to it very quickly and will get ready for the drip by itself. “Whenever it spotted my maid and I placing cushion in the living room, it will know that it needs to be placed on a drip and will lie down obediently. Perhaps it knew that I did not give up and that influenced it too.”

Jessica was mentally prepared for Boom Boom’s passing but she still seek an expert in SAA for counselling. From there, she learnt that you cannot stop death from coming to your pet. In May 2007, Boom Boom passed away. “I would go for 2 hour massages occasionally. On that day, I requested for a 1 ½ hour massage. After the massage, I received a call from my maid, informing me that something is wrong with Boom Boom.”

Jessica rushed home, “Boom Boom seemed to be avoiding me and it tried to hide under the cabinets. My instinct told me that he was going to leave.” Jessica decided to let Boom Boom pass away peacefully. “The decision was quickly made. I was beside him, chatting with him for the last time.” Time had passed since Boom Boom left but Jessica would always feel sad whenever she thought of Boom Boom. Considering that he had lived happily for 14 years, she would feel contented.

The Manager for Strays
Since Boom Boom, Jessica had been adopting strays, for example, Lulu is also a stray that was found near TVB City. Jessica initially picked up Lulu and arranged it for infertility operation so that she could put it up for adoption after it recovered. While Lulu was recovering after the operation, Jessica realized that Lulu was interacting well with her other dogs and decided to adopt it. Jessica also mentioned that Lulu was the most normal dog, without any distinctive features or characteristics but she especially doted on Lulu.

If Jessica’s friends found strays on the streets, they would also inform Jessica. Jessica would then try to find a new home for the strays. Every time a stray dog was found, she would take photos of the dog and placed notices, indicating the size and colour of the dog, hoping that there would be someone to adopt the dog. Jessica mentioned that she would target placing notices near residential areas of foreigners as they are more willing to accept dogs. Before she passed the dog to its new owner, adopters would have to pass through Jessica and her friends’ interview. They would look for aspects like the housing environment and accountability of owners.

Currently, Jessica do not expect to add in more dogs to her current collection of 5. However, many of her friends mentioned to her, “Wait and See”.