Plans

God is good. Amen. The weather has held. There has been little rain but no storms that we would be too concerned for. Thank God. The pups, Blackie and Shadow live in the open. There is no shelter although the foliage is thick, God does provide when we can’t. We still cannot find the new nest. Blackie is a smart dog. She changes her nest frequently. We cannot tell where it actually is. One day we see them run out from the east and another we see them head out from the west. Blackie and pups sometimes enter and exit in different directions. She is a very good strategist, whether it is from instinctive survival, we can see she is doing a good job of doing her best to protect her nest, unless the people trailing are adamant in their search, most will give up.

The undergrowth is much too thick for us to venture in. Besides we are a little afraid as the place looks daunting. They are brave dogs, so much more courage than us, the pups have no fear. We see them run into the forest and we try to follow but we dare not when we see how we will need to crawl in. What if there are snakes, there probably there, in such dark and thick forested area.

As reported in the previous
write up, Sissy running
away with the packet of
bread. Cute Sissy

Sometimes Sissy and Indy sit at the edge at the top of the hilly path where they usually sit and observe quietly. They would look at us as if in anticipation that we will follow them “Come in and play and I can show you my home..” but we can’t and we won’t. That is their safe place, Blackie has decided and we will respect her privacy. They look so sweet sitting there. Life is a game for them. They do not know the dangers yet as they have been cocooned in the safety of their mommy and Shadow. They do not have to roam the streets for food for we keep piling it in front of them. We leave food every morning and evening. Puppies need to eat more so we leave a lot of food and bread which they love. Besides we are trying not to give reason for Blackie to roam. She will roam to look for food if she has not enough to eat. The birds there are very happy too as they get to share and most importantly, leaving more means more remnants and that means that when Shadow eventually comes, if it does come, it will get to eat something, we hope.

Impatient Sissy barks “Why are you late?”
I am so hungry. I’ve been waiting so long!!!

We will never forget them perching on the hilly slope
observing us quietly while we prepare their food.

Indy barks “Come, come and visit us,”
as she bids us up slope into their nest.

We still cannot see Shadow clearly. It hides whenever it senses our presence. We wish we can say “Thank you Shadow for keeping Blackie company and the pups safe” but we can’t. One of our feeders managed to see that Shadow has ears that prick up and a docked tail, unlike Blackie but that was it. As she was feeding one evening, Blackie and Sissy came out first. A long while later, Indy ran out from somewhere else and there was a rustling of leaves behind her. A face peeked out and it was Shadow – shyly and apprehensively, with ears up but laid back as it was afraid. It wanted to follow Indy out to the food but fear held it back. What horrors Shadow must have gone through one can only imagine. We suspect that Shadow previously had an owner who must have dumped it and it is not from around this area. For one, it is a big sized dog, for another, no one has seen a black dog this big with ears pricked up in the residences around here. We do know this area and the kind of dogs they used to own and nobody has ever seen Shadow.

This is our artist impression of Shadow.
We cannot photograph it but we can see it’s
outline in the shadows. Poor Shadow.

We feel very sorry for Shadow. Very very sorry. Because it has come at a time when we are planning to relocate Blackie and her pups to a safe place. The area where they are hiding is being demolished soon. Horlicks too has no more home. His old haunt where he used to play with the guards have been completely demolised on the weekend. It was as shock to us as we had thought we would still have a couple of months or maybe weeks but when we visited on Saturday (Feb 7), we saw workmen removing the old shed and worst, they were burning trees around that area. So old Horlicks can no longer be released back to the wild although that was our original intention as we have no space in the shelter for him. (sigh)

We most probably can find a temporary place for Blackie to stay with her pups, been given enough time to sterilise her, vaccinate and treat her while we try rehome her pups. Long term plans for Blackie are still in discussion but at least, this is a respite we need so that we do not have to split up the pups from their mom, and at the same time also pull them out from the wild. However, it is a different story for Shadow, there is not enough place for it. We cannot jeopardise Blackie and her pups’ relocation for Shadow. Our hearts break as we know especially since Indy is very close to Shadow. Each time we see Shadow, Indy is with it. Sissy is close to Blackie but it is Shadow that Indy stays close to. Sometimes looking at them together, one will wonder who is the mother. How we wish we have space for one more, just one more but one more space is never enough. There is always another one waiting, will always have another one that comes along…. when will all this end. When will people stop abandoning their pets.

Shadow and Indy, photo from a distance. They love each other like
parent and pup but they are not blood related.
Poor poor Shadow.

Poor Shadow, another case of abandonment. That explains why it suddenly appeared with Blackie’s pups and family, the least threatening of all dogs and puppies are always friendly and least judgemental. Owners always think they are doing the right thing by letting their dog go rather than have to decide its future when they have to leave them. Some want to play the good guy and not make the decision to bring it to the SPCA where they know it will be put down. So they become the nice guy and let them go, leaving them in a peaceful area - they think their pets will have freedom. Freedom? What freedom? It comes at a price, a high price but who pays. Pet dogs cannot survive. They do not know how. For one they will miss their family, for another they do not know how to find food. It is already hard enough for a stray like Blackie born in the wild to keep alive. She has gone through an ordeal that most strays all over has. Whether it is a stray in an industrial area or by the beach or at rustic countryside-lookalike Seletar, the dangers are there, food is scare and most people don’t care. We do not mind it so much when people don’t care because we can’t expect everyone to share in our love for the dogs or the cats but do some of them need to be cruel? Being cruel is different from being thoughtless. Cruelty is a choice and man can choose to be or not to be.

Alsie is another dog that has been abandoned. We call him Alsie as he looks like an alsation. Alsie used to have a family. A young chinese, seemingly educated couple who would walk him during their strolls. Alsie is very devoted. He would always wait at the bus stop where the couple would alight and they would walk home together. What a lovely picture, can you see it like we did? A perfect family. That picture shattered for Alsie when his mum and dad left. Why, when and how, we don’t know. We see the house they used to live being occupied by another family. It does not look like his. But Alsie? Someone forgot to tell Alsie. He still waits at the bus stop every evening for his mom and dad to come back. He does not understand why they haven’t come home. Sweet devoted Alsie is probably worried something could have happened to them. It does not cross his mind that they will never come back. It has never occurred to him that he should give up as they will never return. The word ‘left behind’ is not in his vocabulary, nor does it exist in any pet animals. They would never leave us and they do not expect that we could and would do the same. So Alsie is still waiting.

How do you tell him to stop. How? If we could, we would. But perhaps it is just as well he does not understand, for his little heart will be shattered if he had the intellect like us. His whole world had evolved around the loves of his life and they are his heroes. No one would be able to replace them. So "heroes" (bah! can you hear the deep cynicsm and sarcarsm here!!), if you are reading this, your devoted dog is still waiting. He is waiting for you to return never thinking you could be that cruel to do this. How misplaced the trust of dogs to their owners, shame on us, shame on the human race. But it is not too late. If you are out there reading this, please come and pick up Alsie. He doesn't want our food, he eats but he is not interested. He is more interested in the buses that stop at the bus stop, eyes hopeful that it is you who is coming back to pick him up.

Do you know there was an occassion when he went intently to look at each passenger alighting from the bus. One man was so irate and bothered by a dog standing and blocking his way, he took his umbrella and hit Alsie. It was reported that Alsie ran away whining and crying, not expecting to be hit. Do you cry when you read this? We cried when we write this. We teared as we share with others, "Look out for Alsie at the bus stop and try feed him as he look so thin now. He is so sad." It is still not too late for now but it will be soon, as they are slowly removing everything here, one by one and Alsie will be one of those removed. Come. Don't wait till it is too late. This is devotion people will pay for, but since the devotion comes from a dog, it has been much much discounted in your eyes but not in ours. We will never never forget faithful Alsie. He is the true HERO.

Abandonment has no eyes, sees no breed, knows no age nor color nor sex. It is at the whim and fancy of the owner, who are the whole lives to these dogs. All our rescued Rat pack are abandoned.

The only true stray is Blackie which is the reason why she is still uncaught and very timid and unfriendly.

Patches, MamaBrown, Junior, Milo and Horlicks were all abandoned as they appeared already an adult from nowhere, were fat once and became skeletal and are used to human touch and were friendly.

The Rat Pack together with Cara are the fortunate few we managed to rescue and at that time, there was some space at the kennel. We are very grateful to have found a place to house them. The dogs and cats at the kennels are well fed and well cared for. Our rescued pack has become fat with wagging tails and loud voices.

Even shy MamaBrown is no longer as timid as she mixes around with the dogs and volunteers.

And Horlicks, even though his stay at the kennel has been so short, already we can see his rib bones are not sticking out like they used to. Apparently he has been given a little more food because of his thinness, a norm that the kennel feeders do, they give a little more to those who are newly rescued and skeletal. We are so grateful to them for that extended care and love.

And at the kennels, even Milo has a few found love. Milo has a girlfriend. Her name is Lily. We sometimes see Lily sitting side by side next to Milo in his kennel, a space he is so protective of, and no dog can venture in, except, lately Lily. The first time we saw her we were wondering what a white/brown patch dog was doing sitting in Milo’s cell. Knowing how neat and tidy he keeps in, he doesn’t even pee in it, we thought it might be an intruder and that Milo wouldn’t like it. But he later came in to sit next to her with a wag and a happy grin. Oooh, so Milo has finally found a friend. It has been hard for him initially and he was bitten many times by the bigger dogs and he had grown a little thin and unhappy. But now we can see he is slowly adjusting and making friends with Lily is the first step to his new adjustment.

Animal Lovers League (http://www.animalloversleague.com/)
Animal Lovers League (ALL) is doing a great job in their rescue and aid to the strays in Singapore. They need more awareness and publicity as many people are not aware they exist and the work they do. The kennel, Pets Villa, officially has been open since 2004 but ALL has been involved in animal welfare and rescue long before this. There are some dogs who have been brought in for boarding at the kennel, due to circumstances that the owners cannot keep them, but some of these owners have not fulfilled their commitment. They do not pay for their charges. Some no longer visit the animals they have brought in. These dogs and cats are already pathetic that they have been abandoned once, by neglecting and ignoring them at the kennels now, means they are being abandoned yet again, betrayed one more time.

Then there are also many rescued by the shelter workers themselves, maimed, injured and abused dogs and cats, who have no sponsors and so slowly, all these expenses add up. Some of these dogs rescued are so badly injured physically or abused mentally that it is no longer possible for them to be adopted or rehomed. These will probably stay at the kennels for the rest of their life. If the kennel had not taken them in and giving them a place to lay their head, they would have died miserable, sad and all alone. But now they are happy that they have warm shelter and a plate of food. We really salute ALL and their volunteers (who are never enough as more leave than stay, but for those who faithfully serve week after week, they are godsends for nobody will be there for the animals if not for their love, care and devotion) for their painstakingly restoring these dogs to health and even if they do not look as they once did, they are eating well and are loved and cared for wonderfully.

Surely you and us can do more to help the kennel who has done so much for the welfare of the animals. These animals are innocent, they mean no harm and all of them never chose the patch they had to take. If they could choose to be born children, they would have, surely they would crave for that. Instead they were born cats and dog, who have no voice, who cannot make themselves heard. Do they deserve this hard life they lead? Surely not. Yet we are the ones who make them the way they are. Can we not do more for the Kennel dogs and cats, can we not extend our hand to the Kennel who have opened up their doors where many have closed it shut.

Some of the rescued handicapped, old and
abused dogs, now safe and secure at ALL

If there are any of you who are thinking of doing something for the strays but may not have time to volunteer services, you may like to consider donating to the kennel - either aid in way of cash (which is the most important as it buys medicine to treat the sick or injured), food (kibbles, cans, dry, wet, fresh, rice), household appliances like fans or even towels, previously used dog/cat collars, leash, harness, newspapers. We even collect aluminium cans whenever we visit as these can be sold for cash at the recycling center. Nothing is wasted.

Donate to Animal Lovers League for the Kennel Dogs and Cats. The animals in their care really need your help. If you need our help to collect your donation, please email to anaterry@singnet.com.sg or call 9838 3820.

FOR ADOPTION

Call us for adoption of our beautiful, healthy, beloved Rat Pack,

Milo, Patches, MamaBrown, Cara, Horlicks, Sissy and Indy

email : anaterry@singnet.com.sg or call 98 38 38 20