Small Steps to Loving Animals

Kompas/Stefanus Osa Triyatna

Andreas Residesta

Andreas Residesta, 45, forged his own path in campaigning for the rescue of stray dogs, starting in his own neighborhood. Not only rescuing them, Andreas has now mixed in his self-taught drawing skills in the hope of changing the way people see animals.

“People often see stray dogs as a source of annoyance. Their treatment is so much different to cats,” said Desta -- as he is often called -- in Serpong, South Tangerang, Banten, last Monday. Accompanied by three mongrels, he shared the story of how he obtained the three dogs.

Of the three -- called Brownies, Gembil and Ucil Lele -- Desta said Ucil Lele served as his main inspiration. He found Ucil Lele near a cigarette stall in his neighborhood. Its left leg was badly injured. Feeling sorry for it, Desta brought the dog his home and took care of it.

Since 2009, Desta has found numerous stray dogs on the streets and brought them all home. He does not care what breed the dogs are. Often he shells out his own money to bring them home. On the streets of Bintaro in Jakarta, for instance, he once found a Shih-Tzu (also known as the Chrysanthemum dog) on a leash near a motorbike. Its fur was sprayed with red and green paint. There was gunk in its eyes. Desta shelled out between Rp 1 million (US$74) and Rp 2 million to bring it home and took care of it.

He then found out that some of his friends were willing to adopt the dogs. However, it is not easy for Desta to just give his dogs away. For him, dogs are not playthings. Many wish to have his dogs just to guard their homes without feeding them properly.

“Dogs have a soul. It is not enough just to like them. You need to really love them and care for them,” Desta said, while showing several photographs on his laptop of the dogs he had cared for.

A source of inspiration

These days, Desta uses his dogs as photographic objects. He often takes pictures of Ucil Lele and uses them on souvenirs such as goodie bags. In some of his dog-themed products, Desta includes messages such as “Be Your Own Rockstar in Neighborhood” and “Stop Using Plastic Bags.” Other messages include “Adopt, Don’t Buy” and “Dog is Not Food.”

Ucil Lele is often portrayed as a crime-fighting superhero. The dog also accompanies him when he enjoys a cup of coffee or when listening to music from an old-school vinyl record.

For Desta, anyone can use pets as sources of inspiration in a positive way. He is also skilled at drawing and uses his pets to express his concern over the “death of law enforcement in the country.”

Desta uses his self-taught drawing skills to spread kindness. His academic background in visual communication design strengthens his resolve to campaign for rescued stray dogs.

He understands the need for children to be educated to always put love first, including love for animals. Loving things cannot be expressed only in pictures, it must be taught using everyday examples.

Luckily, Desta once worked with child education expert Irene Mongkar to write 10 sets of books for elementary school students. The compact learning kids’ books comprise pictures of characters in Glen Doman’s method. Desta was involved in character design and illustrating the book.

The books tell the story of three children and the character Nik-nik. Nik-nik is portrayed as a shape shifter who expresses his love for many things, including animals. Nik-nik helps explain many things to the children. One of the books is about little scientists. The simple story is used to explain numerous scientific theories, such as the function of batteries, to children.

“In the books that are split into several sets, Nik-nik and his tree friends talk about finding answers to various problems that children may have. It includes discussions on rain, thunder, rainbows and camping,” said Desta, adding that he worked on the books for about a year.

Recently, he has been putting his ideas to paper. One of his friends said he was interested in using his drawings as caricatures on T-shirts.

Desta, who once worked as a T-shirt caricaturist for Bandung-based clothing company C59, chose another path. Desta said T-shirts had different sizes for men and women. This was why he decided to use his caricatures on tote bags.

“It is simple. Tote bags can be used by everyone. Men, women, mothers, fathers and even children. Most importantly, I can deliver my message little by little,” Desta said.

His message is not only about loving animals, but also about reducing plastic waste. “What I do is small,” Desta said

Changing the world starts with changing communities’ behavior. This is not easy and the challenges are huge. However, campaigning through tote bags is a good first step. Desta refuses to stop here. As a dog lover, he said a love for animals should not be underestimated. He said real experiences should be used in fostering a love for animals among children.