STATUS QUO

This week couldn’t have ended on a more jubilant note : Patches, Junior and Blackie are back!

Like lost friends, the boys were so happy so see us. Long before we could even get to them, the minute they saw us from a distance, they dashed all the way out from their fenced area and ran towards us, jumping and licking and whining.

We kept hugging them, asking them, “Where did you go, guys, where did you go?” To which their replies were more licks and whines and barks. Such a sight to behold. Such a joy to see our beloved Rat Pack intact. They are so dear to us, so precious now. Even terrified Blackie had come towards us too as in greeting but shrank back just when she neared us. It is all right. With Blackie, as long as we can sight her, it is fine with us. That means she is still alive. And Mama Brown just keeps close to Blackie as if afraid she’ll disappear again.

We had thought the worst had happened to them and have been having sleepless night these past few days, since Friday when we couldn’t find them. Everyday, we’ll drive by to take a look to be greeted by a very lonely, forlorn Mama Brown, with pleading eyes as if she is asking us to look for her friends. And every day there was desolate silence, till Tuesday late afternoon, when we spotted the 3 missing ones. SMS-es went out, great cheers of joy and rejoicing.

Our dear Blackie,
from a distance

Happy to see them,
Rat Pack - Together again

Poor Patches and Junior, they want a family so badly, they want a home so much and we will be letting them down because we cannot promise them that. We can only promise we’ll be there with their food but we cannot give them the security and belonging they need. We can give them hugs and pats for that moment while we visit but we got to walk away after that, because we cannot take them with us.

They are safe for now, but for how long. Home for them is a temporary respite. How much time do they have before they are caught by the Bad or the Evil. For how long we don't know. This place is extremely dangerous as the whole area is under massive development with workers of all nationalities around. That is why we couldn't relocate Cara even if we wanted to as it would mean endangering her and the pups. If you recall n the earlier entry, when the construction foreman approached and tried to tell us of the road being sealed, we were pretty rude initially, the first thing we asked him "are you from China'. That's all we can think of now. Dogs being eaten. We are so paranoid that we get suspicious about every worker we see. The other day when we met some painters near the area where are Rat Pack were, we also asked him where he was from and when he said Myanmese, we asked "you eat dog?" and he replied puzzled-ly, "eat dog, why?" He turned out to be a pretty nice guy as helped us place food nearer the eating place as we couldn't enter.

It seems funny now but not then…. we have become horrible suspicious people. Paranoia sets in each time we see a regular dog missing. With no long-term solution or plan, their lives and ours hang on a thread. We try to be positive and take each day as it comes. Remind ourselves that It is better to have love and lost than not to have loved at all.. - small consolation but all we have left of to cling on.

This is heartbreaking. We share this sentiment with all the other feeders out there, cats and dogs, big and small, old and young. We all go through this emotional turmoil of tears and joy. Yet, this is what keep us humbled, what makes us human. If we had to go through all that again, I dare say most of us will say, Yes, rather this than to be numb and unfeeling with no compassion, no love for our 4-legged furry friends. Those who don’t understand, or even despise us feeders or rescuers are worse than animals because even among them, there is care, dignity and respect.

Cara and pups
The puppies are still with Cara. They are not so afraid of the other dogs and Cara has a wag for us when we visit. She still has the anxious, worried expression, perhaps she has been through too much to completely relax. Cara is still afraid of the leash and going outside her kennel. She prefers to be with her pups. We hope that when they relocate to their new homes, she will allow us to walk her and let her mix with the other dogs outside. We have been told that Cara has very bad, diarrhea extremely watery stools, though she eats well. We have seen her vomit too. We need to take her to a vet to check out if there is anything wrong with her internally. It is no wonder she is so thin as she can’t keep her food down.

See how fast Cara’s tail is wagging

Cara is happy to have visitors

She brought them up well,
her babies are equally happy to
see visitors – such friendly pups

The puppies on the other hand are healthy with no such symptoms. Puppy Zen has been to the vet and yelped loudly when she was checked and vaccinated. Goes to show how “manja” she is. The vet has declared her to be extremely healthy.

The family of Raven and Silver have visited them and in the midst of preparing a safe enclosure for them in their new home. They will be going to the vet in the next few days. They should be very happy as they have each other for company, for which we are very glad.

Shep and Lady – the temple dogs

Affectionately known as temple dogs as the site they were saved from is next to the temple, they are growing bigger and healthy. Both of them are adjusting well to civilization. Nobody would have known they were plucked from the wild.

And then there was one.
Poor Lady misses her brother

Shep and Lady.
Don’t they look good?
Taken before Shep left

Shep is very friendly with people and dogs and not afraid of investigating. He is always active and excited to see visitors. There is one gentleman who has been to view both of them. He has asked to take Shep home to foster him for a while and try out each other as he has never kept a dog before. It will be good opportunity for Shep and for potential adopter to see how things progress. Even as we write this, Shep is with him as he has taken 5 days from work to settle in. There is certainly a lot of thought put into this process. We do appreciate this person’s commitment and hope Shep and him will have a lasting friendship. We have just learnt that Shep has been renamed “Bobby” and has already learn how to “Sit”. (such a clever boy).

Lady is still looking for a home. So far a few calls regarding the dogs have been for her brother. It is a natural preference for most families to think of a male dog when taking in a pet. However once you sterilize them, male or female, there is no difference in the maintenance and looking after. They say keep the best for last and I am sure for Lady this saying will hold. Lady is very sweet natured and very docile. She does not retaliate even when her brother is naughty to her. She would fit very well in an apartment. She is also good with children, other dogs and cats.

Milo – the noose dog
Milo is slowly filling up and stronger each day. He doesn’t look so emaciated anymore. He is such a handsome looking fella with such rich honey coloured fur. He looks forward to his daily walk and this has become quite concerning as we have discovered that he will not eat unless he gets out to do his business outside first. He is still in the kennel (and he keeps it very clean) as he has not been sterilized and we can’t neuter him as he still test positive for heartworms. It will probably be another 6 months more before he can go through this operation. He is an Alpha dog, through and through and we know that if we let him run free with the dogs at Pet Villa, he will surely get into brawls. Milo has been so used to leading a pack in the wild that he is too free-spirited and independent to succumb to any other dogs, except to his human friends. However with us and little kids it is a different story, he is such a wonderful loving dog. He will stand on his hinds and place his front paws onto your chest and slobber you all over. It is such a joy to see that the cruel noose incident has not caused him to mistrust the human race.

Handsome Milo,
Happy again.
Doesn’t he look good

A dog who will make any owner proud

Milo is also up for adoption as we would love for him to go to a good home and run free. We know that he will do well in a family environment and will make his owners proud. As long as there is a chance, there is always a hope that someone reading this blog and looking for a good, loyal, loving dog will give Milo that opportunity. After fighting for his life, he deserves this shot at another beginning. If we could take him ourselves, we would.

Great response, Good support
We first started this blog to create awareness that in Seletar, there were many dogs dying of hunger or injuries. Joey and his sibling kicked off this desperate and desolate call that the situation was pretty bad. Remembering that ‘still and silent’ mound of dark fur by the roadside has left, (and still does), a lasting impression that triggered off a want that something had to be done for them, no matter how little.

While we started off as feeders, inevitably we are drawn into a deeper calling as we start to see the dangers to the strays we are caring for. For Joey and his sibling it was too late for them because we were new then, with no experience on how to help them, not enough people to rally but a lesson learned that time is of the essence if you want to save a stray, you have to act fast. They may be here today but gone tomorrow when you finally decide.

For the Rat team, we are "accidental" feeders as we work in this location and could not bear to watch the strays suffering. However, from pure feeding, we had no choice but had to react to certain grave situations that threatened the lives of the strays. As said earlier, this vicinity is undergoing massive re-development. As a result, some residents are being uprooted leaving their pets behind, they are the “Leavers”. Then there are the “Dumpers” who deliberately drive into this area to dump their animals thinking that the once seemingly tranquil setting is ideal for their abandoned pet to hopefully be taken in by some kind soul. Then there are the “Eaters” who do not think twice about abducting any animal for food. Of course, we also have the "Officials" - ministry who acts upon complaints from residents or workers who feel the strays are a nuisance. Then, lastly there are the strays reproducing themselves which add to the already worsening situation.

Whilst Singaporeans may be viewed by many as uncaring towards animals, we are glad to have met many who behave contrary to this unflattering view. The response from this blog has enabled us to meet with Zann and Tony who help the strays in Punggol. They have come forward to offer support and help even though they have their own feeding commitment. We have been approached by Serene and Calvin who currently feed in Jurong, they have offered assistance for the weekend, Ruth who is a saviour for those in Kranji and yet took time to help post our rescued puppies in different forums and web, Yun Ling who is offering her help to feed when we are short handed or going on vacation, Christopher who always has food in his bag for the strays he sees in Seletar.

And there are those like Grace who have called to support us in donation of funds, which is so needed and important as the females need to be sterilized as well as for serious injuries. And again others, who help with the rehoming, either by passing the word around or adopting them. Angela, our creative advisor, who help us with adoption leaflets and blog suggestions, others like Kenny, Lauryn and Justin and YY, who have adopted some of the strays we have rescued. We know they will be given a new lease in life. And many others, too many to name but supporting us in their emails and SMSes. And of course there is always Mohan and Cathy at Pet Villas, ever ready with their years of experience and expertise in stray feeding. advice and rescue.

It takes all of the these “Heroes” to help make this work, not just in Seletar but elsewhere all over this Island. Every bit helps and the ones who benefit are the helpless. It is not a thankless task either, rather we are rewarded hugely. In return we get licks, love, wags, woofs, sighs, nuzzles, barks - these which are priceless, beyond value. It leaves us a joy in our hearts that we've done something good, something right. This is enough, together, we want to make this place a better future for the next generation and leave a legacy of love and compassion.

Thank you Heroes. We salue you.

THE JOURNEY HOME

The weekend was an eventful one. We have been brought to the highs and crashed to the low.

GOOD NEWS
Remember the family of black Mummy and 3 puppies? Rat Team with Mohan of Animal Lovers League (ALL) went to visit and feed them on Saturday and while feeding, saw a construction crew moving debris. While we were there, a man approached us. He turned out to be the foreman and a Singaporean. He told us that the whole area will be sealed by the authorities in the next few days and he wanted us to remove the dogs as he was worried for them. Apparently he was the one who moved them from near the main road to this safer area in a shack. He had also bought a packet of rice for the dogs. He told us the 2 missing pups which we couldn't find were actually killed by trucks, a fact which he did not witness but told by his men, which was why he had moved them.

So now, we were left with the dilemma of what will now happen to this litter. The mummy dog was very friendly and allowed us to play with her pups. We saw how she still suckled them, even though they could already eat solid food. She was very thin but all she thought of were her pups. She kept circling around them as if she knew that there was a change in the situation.

We started making calls and one was to a potential adopter, K. who had visited Pet Villas, run by ALL, a couple of times and had indicated he was interested to adopt but he had not made any decision yet. When we told him of the precarious situation the pups were in, he drove straightaway to meet us. At the scene he witnessed how pathetic the whole situation seemed, how clever and cute the pups were, how devoted Mummy Dog was and how sad the whole story would end if nothing was done.

Papa, please take us home; we promise to behave

The story ended sweet when K said he will take two pups while we will house Mummy and pup #3 at Pet Villas for the time being. So with a jump and an acceleration of adrenaline with this forward happy plan, we rounded up the pups. Just then a truck drove up, very fast and loud and 2 loutish men came out. They saw us in the shack and said we couldn't stay as it was private property. When they saw us with the dogs, they straightaway said that they hated that mother dog and tried many times to chase her away but she was fierce and wanted to attack them. They had hit her many times but she refused to budge, in fact she bit one of their men. They told us they would be happy if we could get rid of her and said they were surprised that we could actually pet her and play with the puppies. Mummy Dog had by this time ran away when she saw them while the pups hid behind containers. We can only think how abusive these 2 men must have been to her as we could see how frightened they were and how brutish the men looked.

Love in the midst of brutality. Devotion only a mother can understand.

A silent plea, while we ponder their fate.

How can we just walk away when they needed us most.

The man drove off with the truck, making a huge racket. The other person hung around making small talk. We had to tell him that he must leave otherwise with him around the mother will not come out and we wouldn't be able to catch her. The minute he went away, we called out and Mummy Dog ran back to us. It was so strange and sudden. She knew we were the good guys and they were the bad. She sat next to her pups and then allowed us to pick them up one by one. When she saw us put them in the car, she hesitated. We showed her one of her pups and she allowed us to pick her up with no growls, no protest and put her into the car with them. Throughout the whole journey, she was well behaved but always want to be near her pups, even climbed into the small box with them. She's such a devoted Mother.

When we reached Pet Villas, our friends, L and J happened to be there visiting, as they usually do on a weekend. They heard the story and after some discussion, told us they would adopt the third pup, as they had been contemplating of adopting a dog for some time now. Hurray, this means that all three pups are now adopted and we would only be left with Mummy Dog. Since she is still suckling the pups, it has been decided that we will let the pups go slowly, one by one. It will be a sad day when we have to separate mother from babies but what choice do we have. It would be ideal if we could find someone to adopt mummy and at least one baby together so her loss is not so great, but that would be difficult here. If we are in a country with different laws and legislation, this separation would not be necessary. As is, we are just so grateful that all three of her babies have found good, secure, loving and forever homes - this is much more for any rescuer or rehomer can hope for.

Nice and clean, after a bathe.
The 3 sisters – one last time. When will we meet again sisters

Silver

Raven

Zen

Our plans for Mummy Dog which we have named Mia Cara (means My Dearest in Italian) is to retire her in Pet Villas if we can find a sponsor for her on long term. It will be more difficult for Cara to find a family who will adopt her as she is older and from history, older, black mongrel female dogs are harder to rehome, although there is always a hope that someone kind and compassionate can take her in. At the Pet Villa's sanctuary, she doesn't have to worry about her next meal or being abused. Knowing ALL staff, she will be much cherished and given as much love, freedom, space and respect as the other dogs. She still has a long road to recovery ahead of her, heartworm and all kinds of checks, vaccinations, sterilization, (and we will need to raise money for the vet fees) but for her devotion to her pups, this is her reward, her due justice which she richly deserve. Her puppies by the way, are extremely healthy, fat, chubby, cute, intelligent and playful, a credit to her devotion - she continued coming back to protect and nurse them even when chased and beaten by those louts and never left, whilst she herself is just skeletal, half starved and malnourished.

The morning which started so disastrously has turned out wonderful, thank God. The timing was so perfect. Everything fell into place, miraculously, with the grace of God. We now need to only concentrate on Cara and getting her well, happy and adjusted to a new safe, life. Nothing happens without a reason and we are sure that Cara and her pups' fate are destined to be good ones.

It is not always we can help and not all the dogs meet good endings but when that happens, we can only thank God and rejoice because little blessings in this cruel world mean lives saved for each of the dogs. Thank you K, L and J and Mohan for being there, making a united decision for this lucky litter. We are very privileged and honored to have been with you through this process of love and compassion.

BAD NEWS
On the other hand, three of our Rat pack are missing. We can only see Mama Brown who came to eat her food but did not come out to meet us. When she is alone, she is afraid. Patches and Junior have been missing since Friday. As for Blackie, we don't know. Is Blackie somewhere in the fenced area, sick or even dead. We have no way of knowing as we can't go in and she is not an ordinary dog, she is phenomenally the most terrified dog we have ever met so can she just be hiding or is she also missing.

While we may have saved 4 lives, we are not sure of the 3 that are missing. Will they turn up in the next few days? Right now we just carry on feeding Mama Brown and drive around the whole area looking for our two boys, Patches and Junior. Mama Brown looks very sad. She is now all alone in the area and very fearful. We are devastated, our rat pack is now one. Where are the others. We are thinking that it might be best if we can try catch Mama Brown we should and sterilize her, then send her to NANAs to retire. Her life seems to hang on a precipice, the next to be caught but by whom, them or us?

If in the next few days our boys and Blackie remains unsighted, it is our worse fears come true. Their journey has ended but not to home.

A Broken Hearted Melody

We currently have 4 regulars who keep together which makes it easier for us to feed. There are others, outside this pack and occasionally we feed when we can find them but none as familiar as these. Blackie (from our entry on October 21) was fortunate to hook up with this group, although she remains more of a loner in the pack.

The Rat Pack
Introducing Patches, because of his strange colouring. Patches looks like a Hound, is probably a cross and some throwback from a blood hound as he has long features. He is a big boned, tall, male and brindle coloured.

Patches has wonderful manners.
Taking a bow “How do you do?”

Patches is very lovable and affectionate. We suspect that he is an abandoned dog and owned by a family before as he likes nuzzling up to us, more interested in getting to know us than the rest of the pack. Always, the first to reach us, the leader of the pack and alpha male, he is upset each time we leave him.

As lessons learnt from stray feeding, we try not to get friendly with them to save their lives, so we zip in and out quickly to finish our feeding, trying not to have any contact with them so they won't be used to humans. But with Patches it is very hard. He tries to block us from leaving, doesn't want to go back to the fenced area where the pack find refuge now. The other day, we took a stick and shush them back after feeding as they were hanging around, wagging tails. The rest quickly ran back to the refuge, not Patches, he sat on his rump, looked straight at us and growled as if saying "I'll go back when I'm done and good."

Oftentimes, after feeding, he'd run after our car as if shouting "Take me with you, I'll be good.. I promise. Just wait up. Don't go. Spend time with me." It is always with a breaking heart we drive off even faster so he can't follow. We know what he wants. He wants to belong again - to a family. Just like the one who left him behind. The one who abandoned him. Poor Patches, singing his broken hearted melody, why oh why did they have to leave him? Patches is greatly disliked by passer-bys because he is big, look fierce and always try to approach strangers out of friendliness but mistaken by many as a harmful, fierce dog because of his size. Hopefully it is because of this and his strange colouring and growls, the workers will think he is diseased or too fierce and leave him alone. That is our hope, however if someone were to report, that will be another problem.

Beautiful Mama Brown, always so happy to see us.
If fate was kinder, she’d be so cherished by her family.

Mama Brown is an adolescent female pup. From a distance she looks an older dog but as you get nearer, you’d realise she is actually very young. She joined the pack recently. Where she came from, nobody knows. We just saw her one day with the pack. We think she is also an abandoned dog as she hasn't lost much of her weight since in the wild. That would mean she was abandoned only recently. She is such a lovely babe. As seen in the photo, she never fails to smile when we are around. She always greet us with a large grin and a waggy tail. Still young, she needs to be caught and sterilised soon or it will be too late. She doesn't appear to understand the dangers of her plight as she is a newcomer and probably has not seen the horrors of capture and death.

Young Junior. Will he ever get a chance to grow up? To realise the potential he was meant to be?

Blackie Junior (Junior for short) is only a few months old. He is a typical frisky puppy. He loves to play and find the game of hide and seek very interesting. When we try to chase him back to the fencing, he springs around thinking it is a game. If only it was. Though Junior is young his innocent little eyes must have witnessed horrifying sights because on a recent Saturday morning, he greeted the RAT team with a long loud lone howl as if he was trying to communicate with us. Something unusual or horrific must have happened the night before because he behaved very strangely that morning and refused to come from out of the fencing when he would usually frisk and play his usual game of tag with us.

Unfortunately for them and us, workers have seen our Rat Pack. They passed by one day when we were feeding and was heard to have remarked "There are dogs here, take note of this place". These dogs are just sitting ducks, easy targets and other than finding homes for them, there is nothing we can do. Can it be they had attempted something that night and Junior is trying to tell us that? As long as they stay in this area, they are safe for now. But for how long, we dare not imagine the dreaded inevitable. Every morning is a day of fear and hopefulness. Are they still there? Did we lose one last night.

Not only are the dogs living in fear, so too are we. We are on a roller coaster ride of emotions, daily fear that they are no longer there and what will happen tomorrow.

We anticipate the stray situation at Seletar to get worse. This area is undergoing development as commercial buildings replace houses. As residents move out, their dogs are left behind. Were Patches and Mama Brown the victims of this move? We don't know but we have spotted even breed dogs - two old Labradors, an English Cocker Spaniel amongst those left behind, They disappeared after a while, what happened to them we don't know but we do know they would be most vulnerable in the wild being domesticated all their lives. They were discarded like old furniture after they had outlived their youth and usefulness. Is there no retirement for dogs? Is there no humanity in man? Betrayed in the end and left to die in the wild. Cruel as it may sound, it would have been kinder had they been put down.

On The Other Side - Another Family

And as if this area doesn't have enough problems, our neighbour co-feeder sounded an alarm yesterday that she has just spotted a mummy dog with 5 pups at another area, further where we don't cover. Afraid that this may be near some construction site and worried of dog capture for food we went over to investigate. It is indeed a heartbreakingly lonely sight, when it should be a joyous occasion in normal circumstances - Black mummy dog with her pups. There are only 3 left from the original 5 pups. Four weeks old, two black and one patch. The mother dog looked very worried when we approached, as if she was afraid we would take away her babies. In the photos below you can see the apprehension in her eyes. She looks so sad and concerned for the welfare of her pups, and who can blame her. She knows how the cruel the world is. She is so thin and desperately thirsty - drank all the water we brought without stopping. They are very hungry and kept eating and eating. In fact the puppies were seen crunching away on cement stones when we saw them. We will not move them. There is no safer place. As long a they remain where they are and keep hidden, we hope we can buy time. We will continue to visit and feed them.

Mommy dearest, I love you.

And as we turned to go, one little black pup walked towards us, sat down, looked up at us and lifted his tiny paw as if he wanted to shake hands – offering his thanks and appreciation. Without accepting his paw, tears in our eyes, and a sigh, we turned to go. It is easier this way. No contact, remember. For their sake, to save their lives as well as ours, to save our sanity. The emotional roller coaster is tormenting.

With this barbaric dog cannibalism going around, the focus of stray feeders have shifted. Now our priority is no longer just feeding the hungry. Rather it has become a race against time.

Who gets to the dogs first ....... The Good, the Bad or the Evil

Desperately Seeking Blackie

Blackie and Brownie are good friends. Were they siblings. We don't know. They don't look alike but in dog world who's the wiser. A litter of pups can bring much surprises. Whatever the reasons, they were still inseparable. If you see Blackie, you'd see Brownie and if you see Brownie, you can be sure Blackie is somewhere even if far away.

Since Brownie's rescue (now named Milo) - see our entry on October 15, because of the noose incident, Blackie was suddenly left all alone. It wasn't that we left her behind or didn't want to help, she just disappeared. She must have seen the people who tried to capture Milo and used the noose on him and became terrified and just ran off.

Before this, even with Milo, she was always wary. She didn't like men in black. Even with the regular feeder, she'd stand a distance but if on that day, he was in black, she'd run away and bark madly.

Blackie’s shots taken from a distance. Nobody has seen her up close.

Blackie was afraid of the crows and mynahs who always stole her food. Many times we'd see her stand the distance watching sadly while the birds ate her food. One time while she was eating, we saw a crow swopped by and cawed loudly as if to chase her away. Blackie scooted off. We stood up to intervene but stopped by an amazing sight - Milo had seen this and came running to chase the bird way. Then as Blackie came slowly back to her bowl, Milo sat himself next to the food watching while Blackie ate. He didn't want the food for himself but it was as if he knew he had to help protect his friend while she ate.

That was an inspiring sight. We were amazed. We had never seen this before. Animals are animals. Stray dogs are stray dogs. Their only thought is to survive, there is no time for sentimentality. But after witnessing this, we are humbled that even among these strays there is such a thing as compassion and care. Evident especially in the friendship of Milo and Blackie.

Therefore when the noose incident drove Blackie to be on the run, we were worried for her. Knowing how dependent she is on him. We drove around everyday, looking into every nook and cranny, looking for Blackie. A week later, we did spot her, running, panting with a strange brown dog behind her. We drove along her, called her and she stopped as if she recognized us. We poured food and water and she drank gingerly, ate only a little, watching fearfully around, as if afraid she'd be caught while eating. Her friend ate too. After a hasty meal, with a only a few gulps of food, Blackie ran off into the bushes, with her friend behind.

The same thing happened again a few days after that, whenever we do spot her, she is always running, either alone or followed another dog but it was not as if she was following them, rather she was running alone. She's never in the same spot for long, as if she knew it was dangerous to stop for a while and safer to be on the run. We feel so tired for her..

After a few weeks, we saw that she had hooked up with a pack of dogs, but never she doesn't really fit in. This pack are now taking refuge in a fenced up area and seem to know that this seems to be a safe place from foreign workers. Perhaps something terrible did happen outside this fence - we don't know. All we know is some of our strays are missing one by one. If we want to feed them, we have to call them and they'd come out from below the gate. We are pretty happy about this because they look like they are safe, for now. Except Blackie. She never comes. She is always right at the far end, watching. If we drive off and wait from a distance, we can see her walk slowly towards the food source but by the time she arrives, there is hardly any food left, as the other dogs or the birds would have eaten most of it. And when we try to go back and refill, she's runs away again, this time not coming back.

Lately she doesn't even seem to bother coming towards us. She doesn't seem to want to eat, although we know she must be very hungry as there is no source of food nor water around. Try as we have, calling and tempting her, she never comes. It seems she is either starving herself to death or is sick. Unfortunately, though she is safe in this place and no one can go near here, neither can we. It's a Catch-22 situation.

We think the only way she can be caught is through a professional dog catcher, but even he may have difficulty if there is no opportunity given. But this is what we may end up doing, just getting one to see the situation.. The service is not cheap but we simply cannot stand and watch her like this. Not anymore. She is young, healthy and Milo's best friend. She shouldn't have to spend the rest of her life running or starving, waiting to die.

Our dream for her is to catch, sterilized, vaccinate, treat her for heartworms and retire her in a place like ALL (if they have space) or Noah's Ark where she can run to her heart's content and not have to look behind her all the time, fighting for time, for breath, fighting for food.

Would you be able to help us make the dream come true for Blackie? Donate to our cause. This fund is for emergencies like this, but mostly for medicine / sterilisation / vet fees. As for food, we have been doing on our own from our own resources, but since these dogs here seem to be getting injured (while escaping from their catchers) and sick, our resources are getting tight.

Take A Chance on Me

NEWSFLASH

At the time of this posting on October 17, 2008, we are very saddened to report that the 3rd puppy that we didn't manage to catch is gone. The people in that neighbourhood said that last night, 3 China workers caught her. She was heard yelping very loudly.

We had left our names and number with the people nearby but nobody called to let us know when this was happening. There were also 3 very friendly cats. Today even they are gone. Could they have been caught too? We are completely devastated by this discovery. We are too late. Just very glad Shep and Lucky are safe. Now they are even more precious to us. We can never tell them their sister is gone in the most horrific way.

Named Scardy - Poor Scardy (1st picture), she was so scared that she didn’t want to be caught, try as we might. This is the last time the two sisters had dinner together.

SHEP and LADY
~ for adoption to loving permanent homes ~

A litter of three to 2 month old puppies have been discovered at a construction site in the wooded area. The puppies - 1 brown male n 2 black females, when discovered were found to be eating mud and drinking the muddy water from extreme hunger and thirst.

We recently managed to catch 2 of the three and still trying to catch the third one. The last pup needs to be moved as well and quickly too as we have reports of dogs being killed and eaten by foreign workers in that area. We speculate that the puppies' mother could have suffered the same fate.

Originally we thought we had found a home for the male brown pup but when we visited his new premise, it wasn't suitable as it was located by the main road and the front gate does not close. It was dangerous. So now both of them need homes.

They have been vaccinated and slowly adapting to civilisation. We call the male Shep and the female Lady. This is a short description of them :

SHEP (short for Shepherd as he looks like a German Shepherd) is a very friendly and inquisitive little fella. He is so likeable, you just fall in love with him immediately. Always wanting to be the center of attention, he'll be the first to investigate food, people, dogs, cats (which explains why he was the first and easiest to catch). The only boy in the litter, the smallest yet he is our "Braveheart" - size of a pup, heart of a lion. Many times, his bigger sized sisters will hide behind him as if seeking protection and yes, Shep is always there for them. He loves cuddles and pets and if allowed, will put his muzzle on your lap when he takes a nap. His huge pointed ears and sharp features make him uniquely handsome.

LADY as aptly named as she is behaves like one. More cautious than her brother, though bigger in size, she has a lustrous coat of black and rich brown. She looks like a mini rottie or a fat dobbie. We anticipate her to be a good watch dog as she is always watching and if not sure, will let out a low growl. Lady is not as hyper as her brother but certainly looks the faster to be trained as can keep still for longer periods. The seemingly smarter of the two, she lets her brother "check it out" before she ventures into anything.

Is there anyone interested to adopt these two puppies? They do not need to be adopted together although that will be ideal. As these are local breed, regrettably they can only be kept in non-HDB residences.

Please pass the word and call us at 98383820 or email to anaterry@singnet.com.sg

Roaming the Streets and Hungry for Home

THE INSPIRATION

This blog was inspired not with Milo, the mascot of ‘Homeless In Seletar” but with Joey. Little Joey, who was discovered with his sibling by the roadside, 2 black little creatures, shriveled, wrinkled, hairless, bloodied with pus-filled eyes, emaciated creatures which were later discovered, to our horror as little puppy dogs. They were approximately less than 6-9 months old. Puppy dogs who were literally starving to death, This story ends sadly with both not making it, succumbed to their sickness and life of hard abuse and neglect, but they created the awareness in us that in rustic, peaceful, beautiful Seletar, there were many like Joey, dying hungry, dying alone, dying sadly.

Joey’s sibling(behind). Too sick even to eat when discovered

The occasional feeding of strays, intensified into a more organised and sychronised effort. We want to take this further and thus this blog was started. To bring forth the awareness the ‘Homeless in Seletar” need. We want to cover more ground than those we are feeding now, as there are many out there, hungry and sick, but we also need more volunteers and aid - to buy food and medicine. Please support our cause. To see another "Joey" is heartbreakin. Do not let Joey die in vain.

MILO – Our Mascot

Milo was found in Seletar. He was known to us then as Brownie. There were two and by colour definition, named Brownie, male and Blackie, female who were always spotted together, the inseparables we call them. We would feed them and Brownie was the friendly of the two, extremely skinny, but big boned, handsome honey coloured dog with floppy ears and wavy bushy tail. He always looked like he was grinning. We wonder why - How can a stray perpetually hungry dog be happy but he was. Not asking for much but just some food and some water, please. Blackie on the other hand was extremely timid. The typical frightened stray, skinny, standing far away, watching us suspiciously, ready to scoot at the slightest movement or noise. We would call her and she would move even further, never come and we'd place food on a plate and stand far away as it will be a while before she’d come and investigate what we left behind. And we’d sigh and say if only she's more friendly, while Milo is enthusiastically wagging his tail and waiting for our food.

Who would have thought that it would be Blackie's suspicious and timid nature that would save her life and Milo's friendliness and trustingness that almost cost him his. Life is ironical.

September 16, 2008

That fateful morning, the scene was strange. The usual chirping of birds and peaceful surrounding seemed tense and deadly silent. The black female is missing and the lone brown male lumbered awkwardly towards us. With much difficulty, Brownie made his way to us and there was a strange object sticking from his neck. He sat in front of us that appeared to say, "Help me". The strange object was discovered to be a thick wire, very tightly around his neck, cutting into his skin. He could only pant for breath but he did slowly drink the water we offered and greedily ate the food – such was his hunger. When he apeared more settled and a full tummy, we approached and the wire was even tighter than we thought. It just wouldn't budge. It was cutting deep and Brownie let out a low growl, perhaps in pain but he didn't move from us, as if he knew he needed help and he could trust the Human who was feeding him all this time.

He followed the Human to the car and later to the office, docilely unlike his usual confident self, as if he knows it is safer to be with Human. He seemed exhausted and looked confused though, and lost and sniffed around seemingly like "where is Blackie" as he stared around very forlornly. He seemed to realise he is just lucky to be alive. The wire noose was finally removed with much difficulty, to everybody's relief. It remains at Pet Villas’ ALL's (Animal Lovers League) office that such cruelty to animals exist even in seemingly cultured Singapore.

We think that whoever tried to catch him had the wire noose around his neck and successfully did capture Brownie but he must have somehow broken free and ran away. His lower jaw was bloodied and bruised, and we suspect he must have bitten of whatever he could to get free. It could be official or 'unofficial' capture. Now, we have very strong reason to believe that is the ‘unofficial’ and more dangerous – he was meant as food.

Brownie (now renamed as Milo) has seen a vet for a full check up and has the necessary shots – antibiotics, vaccines and vitamins. He is being treated for heartworms and cannot be sterilised till his heartworm is cleared. We dare not let him go back to the wild where he has grown up and familiar with as it is no longer safe. Milo is now safe in the ALL’s boarding home - an exception they made for us as they are overfull. We will continue to pay for his stay there for as long as he lives if we can't find him a good home. That's the least we can do for him, since he fought so hard to live, we got to give him a chance. He is extremely lovable, very sweet natured, excellent with kids and one day, when we can keep him at home we will.

Right now we take him for a run every morning and visit him for longer periods during the weekends. He is adapting well and always excited to see us especially that Human who he adores. His eyes lights up in delight when he spots Human from afar. It is such a wonder to see that that kind of joy Milo gives to Human, such devotion only found in dogs.

Milo – Still thin but putting on weight slowly.

Milo – as he appears when he his rescuer visits so excited and happy. He will be allowed to roam free as soon as the other dogs are more familiar with him

Unfortunately the victim of Milo’s tale is Blackie. Poor Blackie, so sad and so alone We feel very sorry for her, as Milo always took care of Blackie when they were together. Blackie is so timid, intimidated even by the birds. Milo would always chase the birds who try to eat her food and stand next to her when she eats, After the noose incident, she was nowhere to be found.

We did eventually track her down 2 weeks later but she has become even more afraid, if that is ever possible. When we see her occasionally, now and then, she seems thinner. It is so sad. She has lost her best and only friend.

We are desperately trying hard to catch her as we think she may be impregnated by the other male dogs. We want to sterilize her but she is so deathly afraid of anyone, anything and would be the lone dog standing right at the back, away from the pack. And she'd rather not eat if she was alone. In a way it is good for her as she would be the hardest to get caught but in another, we fear she may starve to death. Milo was her strength and pillar. Now he is gone, she is subjected to bullies from the other dogs.

One of these days, we'll take Milo to visit the place where he once lived and see if he can track Blackie, although we are quite sure they have forgotten each other by now.

The last time we saw her, we shouted to her “Milo is safe” but I guess she didn't understand. I really wished she could. At that very minute I wished I spoke her language. And we told Milo as well that we would not stop feeding Blackie but I guess he doesn't understand too.

PLIGHT OF THE FRIENDLY STRAYS

Milo was a friendly stray - that's why he got caught. When we first started we thought by petting them, making them comfortable and humanizing them was kind, that was a lesson we quickly had to relearn.

Now it is to teach them to avoid human contact. Unlike Milo, his group of friends are more wary and would stay the distance and wait till we leave to investigate our food, and we want to keep it that way. We have learnt not to call them or try to pet them. We go in and out as fast as we can so they have no human contact. And when they are injured, try to mix medicines into their food and hope to God, they finish the food so they can recover. Not to be friendly is to save their lives.

Such is the irony of life.