SPCA teaming up with animal welfare group to educate owners in exhibition
Judith Tan & Liaw Wy-Cin, Straits Times 27 Sep 08;
'BARKING too much.'
'Too hyperactive.'
'The maid is gone.'
These are some of the silliest reasons pet owners have offered for dumping their furry friends, said Ms Deirdre Moss, the executive officer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) here.
But they are why 9,328 animals - cats, dogs, rabbits and hamsters - were left at the SPCA between July last year and June this year.
Of this number, more than 3,000 were dogs. And among abandoned dogs, over half were pedigreed.
To stem this flood, the SPCA gives talks at schools - from primary to tertiary - to spread the message about responsible pet ownership.
It is an attempt to tackle the problem at the source - the SPCA lacks the space and resources to care for every animal left at its premises in Mount Vernon Road.
Of the more than 3,000 dogs it received from July last year to June this year, over 2,000 had to be put down.
All licensed pet dogs are required to be micro-chipped, but the SPCA still finds 80 'lost' dogs each month with no information on them.
Barely one in 10 of all animals the society gets is adopted or claimed by owners.
Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD), a non-profit organisation which rescues stray and abandoned dogs, has a no-kill policy, but it has to rely on its network of 20 to 30 dog owners to help look after them temporarily.
The ASD has close to 100 dogs at its adoption centre in Lim Chu Kang and elsewhere.
Its president Ricky Yeo, 40, said: 'Many of these dogs are abandoned when young couples move on to start a family or break up.
'Couples will fight over the house, but no one wants the dog. One was even tossed out from a moving car.'
The Cat Welfare Society, a charity run almost entirely by volunteers, said many cats are dumped on the streets when they outgrow their 'kitten cuteness'.
Said committee member Ang Li Tin: 'There are many who take stray cats home, let them roam and mate with other cats in the area, and then dump the kittens in carparks or dumpsters.
'The kittens either starve, get abused or survive on the streets, while contributing to more cats being born to live on the streets.'
Mr Goh Shih Yong, a spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, said the only long-term solution is to teach people responsible pet ownership.
Many people are willing to pay between $650 and $2,000 for Maltese puppies 'because they are cute, white and fluffy'.
But this breed ranks high in the statistics of dumped pedigree dogs - 106 went unclaimed in the first eight months of this year.
'Education is key to arresting the pet abandonment and stray animal problem in the long run,' Mr Goh said.
The message is getting through to at least some tertiary students, who have stepped forward to promote animal welfare.
People for Animal Welfare (PAW), formed in 2005 by a group at the Singapore Management University, is doing just this.
It will team up with the SPCA to mount an exhibition on the issue at the East Coast Parkway on World Animal Day on Oct 5.
There will also be a photo gallery of animals available for adoption. T-shirts and calendars will be on sale to raise funds for the society.
Ms Moss said: 'Because we take in so many animals, we are not able to find homes for all of them. Keeping a pet is a life-time commitment, and not just for the novelty.'
100 dogs looking for a place to call home
Liaw Wy-Cin, Straits Times 27 Sep 08;
IF YOU do not mind messes, smells and some noise, and if you have plenty of room in your heart for a life completely dependent on you for the next 15 years or so, Mr Ricky Yeo, 40, wants to meet you.
He has 100 unwanted dogs, each looking for a home, and is also looking for short-term 'foster parents'.
Some of these dogs were abandoned; some were abused strays rescued off the street. Although the sick and injured among them could have been put down, it is not how Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) - which Mr Yeo heads - operates.
The eight-year-old group gets 10 to 20 calls a day from people wanting to give up their dogs, or those who have spotted a dog in need of rescue.
Mr Yeo said the ASD does not take in every dog. If it gets calls from people wanting to give up their dogs, it counsels them and tries to get them to change their minds or help them work out a solution.
If it gets a call about a stray, it will ask whether the dog is sick, injured or at risk of being captured by the authorities. It has also been told that some strays are in danger of ending up on dinner tables at construction sites.
The 10 dogs the ASD takes in every month are housed temporarily at the group's shelter in Lim Chu Kang or in the homes of foster families until permanent homes can be found for them.
The shelter, set up just last year, is run by the ASD's four caretakers.
Twenty to 30 volunteers also help out at the shelter or with fund-raising.
It costs $15,000 a month to run the shelter - the rental, utilities, food and medicines for the dogs and the caretakers' salaries - with the money coming from the ASD's fund-raising. But the number of dogs in distress exceeds the number of willing adopters. Only three to five dogs find new homes every month.
This may not be surprising given their state: Many are missing a leg or two, or paralysed following accidents at the construction sites where they used to live. Others have skin problems, are blind, deaf or nursing injuries from abuse.
Mr Yeo said of these crippled canines: 'If you look into their eyes, you can see they are still alert, there is still a good quality of life. And as long as they have that, we will take care of them.'
Much as the ASD hopes more people will ask to adopt or play foster parent to its dogs, it does not release its dogs to anyone who shows up. It screens all potential adopters and caregivers and arranges for a 'meeting' with the dog 'to see how they react to the dog and how the dog reacts to them'.
The ASD also makes a home visit a few months after an adoption to see how the dog is getting on with its new masters.
Mr Yeo's love affair with stray dogs began years ago, when he and his wife visited the animal shelter Noah's Ark.
He recalled: 'There were many stray dogs there and when I looked into their eyes, there was an instant connection. The dogs I previously had were lap dogs, so I never knew what it was like for stray dogs, how tough life was for them.'
And with the authorities culling stray dogs, he knew he 'had to do something'.
From among the many stories of miserable lives at the shelter, some happy ones do emerge. A stray named Will has one such story to tell.
The ASD's website, where he is featured, said he was found in 2006 in a drain, with infected testicles and stumps for hind legs. His rescuers named him for his sheer will to survive, but these days, he goes by the name Sayang.
Meaning 'love' in Malay, it was given by his new masters who took him in, never mind his being two legs short.
Left for dead, crippled mutt gets new lease of life
Straits Times 27 Sep 08;
TWO years ago, Sayang was found in a drain on Jurong Island, emaciated, riddled with infections and his hind legs missing.
Now, the three-year-old mutt is busy chasing after his four-legged playmates in his new home at Upper Thomson.
Sayang has a wheelchair - imported from the United States by dog rescue organisation Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) - and pulls himself around on his now-muscular front legs.
'He is very happy now. He gets around really fast,' said his owner, Ms Ng Choong Leng.
The 44-year-old adopted Sayang a year ago after a security guard found the dog lying in a drain.
'He was probably just surviving on drain water because he couldn't move,' said ASD president Ricky Yeo, 40.
No one knows exactly how Sayang lost his legs, though Mr Yeo suspects the dog could have been run over by a truck or been a victim of abuse.
After ASD volunteers rescued him, Sayang had to have his testicles removed because of an infection. He now wears diapers because he has no control over his urine and bowel movements.
When he first arrived at Ms Ng's home, Sayang was afraid of people. Over time, however, he has grown used to the presence of people and is now affectionate. He even sticks up for himself around Ms Ng's other dogs.
'Now he is very feisty and fights with the other dogs over food, and he stands his ground,' she said.
Sayang is the Malay term for love and affection.
'When we were nursing him, dressing his wounds, we would address him as 'sayang' to soothe and comfort him, so that name stuck,' said Ms Ng.
LIAW WY-CIN
World Animal Day
Straits Times 27 Sep 08;
WORLD Animal Day began in 1931 in Florence to draw attention to the plight of endangered species.
Oct 4 was picked to mark the day, as it is the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
Since then, World Animal Day has widened into a day to celebrate all animals, endangered or not.
It is now observed across the world - from Australia to Malta, Singapore and Lithuania.
The day will be marked at the Singapore Zoo next Saturday.
Zookeepers will be on hand to show visitors how a simple toy can keep animals physically and mentally active.
World Animal Day will also be celebrated by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which will hold an exhibition at East Coast Park the following day.
It will showcase the work of the
SPCA and spread the messages of kindness to animals and responsible pet ownership.
