THE WAGGING TAILS
Helmi Afandi Abd (Kumparan.com, Jakarta)

A dog barks on the corner of a house, breaking the silence inside the sealed boundary. Every time a stranger approaches, the dog hides his tail, signaling that the person is not his master.

Loving a dog sincerely is full of challenges. Prejudice from her surrounding continues to haunt her, but Hesti does not care. “Actually, only God has the right to judge,” says Hesti, a 39-year-old niqab-wearing Muslim woman who takes care of 11 dogs.

It was in 2018 when Hesti started to be covered by the media, from TV stations to online media. Hesti explained how she could have so many dogs when she herself was a Muslim and wearing a niqab. The fame did not always have positive impacts on her. The media coverage was split between those who were rooting for and against her. Her neighborhood knew about Hesti and her dogs, and they began to question what she would do after becoming famous. In April 2018, her neighbors persecuted Hesti, forcing her to leave because they felt disturbed, saying that her dogs were loud, noisy, and smelly.

Her neighbors forcefully separated Hesti with eight of her eleven dogs. The eight dogs were given to a dog shelter for reasons that those animals would be better cared for than living with Hesti. Hesti’s life with her furry children now is not as beautiful as when they were together. Hesti feels traumatized and broken-hearted. Fear, longing, and loneliness are all balled up into one. For this, no barrier fence could help.

“It was such a shame, what they did to me. My sincerity and love was misinterpreted for something else,” said Hesti after the persecution. Hesti shut herself off from her neighborhood and the media, who pressed her to explain about the persecution yet again.

Hesti’s daily life with her three dogs slowly went back to normal. Although her neighbors isolate her, Hesti believes that she could lead a good life with her furry children as long as they do not harm anyone. She continues her routine to fight stigmatization. She takes care of her dogs as if they were her own children, buying them toys and blanket for when they fall asleep after playing together every day.

Hesti has slowly begun to have all her dogs sterilized. What makes her hold out and keeps on taking care of the dogs is her belief that Allah Almighty still helps her. Allah is the one who moves her heart to care for these dogs. The persecution was Allah’s way of helping her. Hesti finally decided to leave her neighborhood and moved to Bogor, where she bought a 500 meter-square land. She believes it is the solution God has given her so that she is able to live with her dogs. She is planning to build a dog shelter on the land; it would be Hesti’s last hope.

For now, her furry children temporarily live in a dog shelter so Hesti can continue to be with those who need her care. Hesti has forgiven her neighbors for terrorizing and mocking her. To err is human; that is how Hesti sees them who did her wrong. Only God and herself know why her neighbors persecuted her.