Year of the Dog: Time to do right by man’s best friend
Let’s be clear from the start: though dogs may be auspicious this year, this year IS NOT the time to go out and acquire a dog. Not unless you are ready to care for a pet-friend for life. Inviting a dog in to your home needs to be undertaken for the right reasons and with eyes wide open — caring properly for a dog takes time, effort and comes at a financial cost.
Singapore has an endemic problem with stray or street dogs. The AVA estimates that there are currently around seven thousand pups living uncared for on Singapore’s streets. A good number of these are alone in the city because they have been abandoned by owners who got fed up of them, bored of the responsibility or due to changed circumstances could no longer provide a home.
Street dogs live harsh lives. They face abuse by some members of the public who see them as a threat, dirty or dangerous. They risk starvation, traffic injury or illness. Many street dogs die slowly and painfully. They certainly live without socialisation and love. Those dogs that thrive on the streets often do so by becoming feral. Sadly, until recently the AVA’s response to the stray dog challenge was to capture and cull, with nearly 25,000 street dogs having been put down in the last 12 years.
Thankfully the AVA, working in conjunction with animal welfare charities in Singapore, has now embarked upon a sterilisation programme with the aim to capture and neuter 70% of street dogs before re-release. Whilst this should bring the number of street dogs born in to ‘the wild’ under control, this does not address the sad issue of pet abandonment (and abandoned domestic pups are the dogs most likely to fare worse on the street — not having been born or bred for such a ruthless life).
The last Year of the Dog fell in 2006 following which there was a sharp increase in the number of dogs being rescued from the street by animal welfare charities. According to the Singapore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) there were 518 dogs suspected of being abandoned in 2006 with the numbers rising even further to 738 in 2007 when the auspicious dog-year came to an end. SPCA executive director Jaipal Singh Gill is concerned that, as happened in 2006, there may be further impulse dog purchases this year leading to consequent abandonments.
So, please, don’t buy a dog this lunar new year; help one instead. If you are genuinely ready for a dog then please adopt one from one of the many shelters in Singapore. They are chock-a-block with lovely dogs desperate for a kind and loving home. Visit www.sosd.org.sg or www.causesforanimals.com to obtain information on adoption drives and shelter visits. Alternatively, you can help by donating food to a shelter, sponsoring or fostering a rescued dog or donating other items needed to maintain care for street and shelter dogs.
If you are entering a race, undertaking a challenge or thinking of a charity drive — why not raise sponsorship or do it in the name of a dog-helping charity. Here are some current GIVE.asia campaigns which might just inspire…
