OUR STORY

how we started...

I came to live in Indonesia around 2015, I was looking for a quiet life on a small island. My background had been in corporate, later on I switched completely and became a qualified dog trainer. Back then there was hardly any tourism on the island of Nusa Penida. One day a friend and I were out walking when we came across a street puppy with distemper, he was so sick that we took him home and got the vet to treat him. It was touch and go for a week but finally he improved, he was so small and skinny and had big black ears that stood straight up so I called him Batman.

By this stage, I knew it was not “whether” another dog would come along but “when”. It seemed that the best option was to get out into the community and sterilise as many female bali dogs as we had money for. And so, Paws of Nusa Penida was born.

In the early years’ we started sterilising female bali dogs because they are the ones producing the puppies. We also thought that if there were less females in season then there would be less males fighting over them. When males fight they cause injuries in their opponents which soon get infected, then the maggots move in and it’s a downhill slide to their demise.

Four years later I moved from my very small property to a much bigger one with the thought of starting a venture dedicated to supporting the local community by sterilising their dogs and cats thus preventing them from dumping litters of unwanted puppies and kittens. The new property is set on a hill with lots of established trees and a smattering of fruit trees to provide the birds and bees with food, shade and habitat.   

We built a large dog run which houses the rescue dogs which are mostly female and it has a cat house for rescued cats also.

This location is the head-quarters of Paws of Nusa Penida. The location itself is called Batman’s Dog House in remembrance of Batman who died suddenly in August 2019 from unknown causes. He was my first bali dog, he was very special to me and he was the reason that my life changed course.

Jacquie

Founder, Paws of Nusa Penida