How Indonesia (finally) fell in love with man’s best friend
As incomes rise and pet ownership becomes more common, Indonesians are re-evaluating their relationship with animals
On his way to catch a film on a recent Saturday afternoon, Tommy Prabowo pulls into a parking space at one of the grander malls in downtown Jakarta. Inside the black Honda compact parked beside him is a distraught white Maltese terrier, named Valent, making plain to anyone within earshot that he doesn’t want to be alone.
When Prabowo returns six hours later Valent – short for Valentine – is still there and is no less annoyed. Prabowo settles in for a long, dark and sweaty wait in the stuffy parking garage until the owner eventually emerges from the mall at about 1.30am.
During his wait, garage staff refuse to help him get into the car or summon the owner.
Prabowo, a one-time radio announcer who now makes a living hosting promotional events, decides to turn to his 9,000 or so Twitter followers to broadcast Valent’s ordeal. Within hours photos and video of the perturbed pup are shared more than 10,000 times on Twitter and are splashed on domestic news websites later in the day.
“I’ve never had a response like that,” Prabowo says. “I’m overwhelmed.”
