This and That

This week has been a pretty busy one. It usually is but it does appear that lately, there seems more abandonment, more dogs need to be rescued or rehomed. When things happen, it is always around the same time. It never rains, it pours.

Good News
Blackie and Shadow are now beginning to come out again. Hurray. our persistence has paid off. Twice this week, when we went for our feeding, and called out, Blackie dashed out in her usual way, looked at us and barked. Then she sat and waited while we prepare the food. The first time she did this, the food we had was solid rock hard as we had frozen it so the birds don't eat them and it would slowly thaw till nightfall when we suspect Blackie and Shadow feeds. Poor Blackie looked sad and confused at the hard rock and we had to leave with her sitting there watching her food, and she being watched by a flock of birds. So now we know she would come out, we do not freeze the food any more so she can eat it immediately. Another time when she came out rushing for the food, she didn't eat it but waited. An hour later when we went to check on her, we saw her eating while Shadow was rolling itself in the grass and playing.

We saw Shadow the other day, it is a big dog. Much bigger in size than Blackie. Shadow's sense of smell is very keen. Even when we are far away, it knows and will run to hide. We can barely see it except for the upright ears and by the time we out from the car, far from sigh, Shadow is gone, but we can tell it is a handsome looking dog, big in size and dignified looking. Notice the word 'it', since we still don't know Shadow is male or female.

Not so good
Alsie has been sighted recently too, every evening however with workers hanging around, she hardly ever gets to eat. We saw her with cuts on her body and concerned where she could have gotten them. We really hope that Alsie gets to eat the kibbles we leave for her at night. We are still working on her accepting us. We won’t give up that one day Alsie will be rescued and rehomed.

Panda
Another pup gone to a good home Panda is now living with her new family with a big garden to run. She is so happy there. Her adoption has been finalised and formalised. Sadly, the resident dog that Panda was to have kept company and learn things from passed on two days after Panda arrived. We were fortunate to have met the older dog, a very sweet and quiet female dog and we know that had she been around, Panda would have a good friend. It is now Panda's turn to take care of her family as the baton has been passed from one to another.

Panda in her new home. See how happy she is. Look at that smile. Priceless.

What is bonus from this adoption is that Panda and Indy will also be good friends as their families are also good family friends. Already plans are being made for the two pups to meet again. We can't wait to see both of them playing, running and romping. If only we can get them to sit still for a while to have a photo taken!!

Dale
In our earlier entry, on April 1, Wednesday, we newsflashed that Dale was rescued immediately from his previous owner into a temporary home as one very kind lady, Ms. L couldn't stand to hear of him being tied up one more day. We later found out from neighbours that not only was Dale tied up whole day and night for several weeks, we heard that whenever Dale makes any sound, loud or soft, he would be hosed down so he was usually seen wet. He also looked hungry, we saw him chewing his plastic toy and swallowing it. Poor poor Dale. He probably doesn’t understand why he was tied up while the other resident dog is let loose to run around.

Ms. L arranged that he would be homed in a shelter the last few days. Dale has been to the vet for checks. He is pretty healthy but his hinds are weak, probably from too much sitting around due to the fact he was tied up and couldn't move much. On Sunday, April 5, we moved him to a more permanent foster home where he will be able to receive the care and exercise he needs to slowly regain his hind strength.

This place is at a club for dogs, Club4Paws at Woodlands, (http://www.club4paws.com.sg/). Club4Paws is a recreational place and day care centre where dogs can swim, run, try out the agility exercises or just hang out. They even run training and obedience classes as well has grooming service.

When we blogged about Dale, the club owners heard about it and felt very sorry for Dale. this is a beautiful big boned Golden Retriever with such a small hind, he is malnourished and if nothing was being for Dale soon, he will slowly lose the use of his legs. They felt they could do something to help him and very kindly offered to take him in to nurse him back to health no matter how long it takes.

The pool where dogs can swim, some for fun, some for exercise. This is where Dale will receive his hydro treatment.

We have visited the club and impressed with the place. The staff there were right at the front door to warmly welcome Dale, They have been impatiently waiting for his arrival and effusive welcomes were in order. We bet Dale felt like a million dollars with so many people waiting on his every need. They showed us around the place where Dale will receive his exercise, the friends who will be with him, the resident dogs, the swimming pool where he will get hydro treatment and the place where he will be sleeping. We know Dale will be very happy here. All the people involved are professionals in their own right and want the best for Dale.

The people in this club are kind. They do not expect anything in return and we all know how much expenses Dale will incur but they have put aside all that with only one united thought - they will pour all their energies into bringing this sad, neglected and abused senior dog into a happy, healthy one, and give him a new life he so richly craves and deserves. We know the day will come when Dale can jump up on us in greeting. We will rejoice on that that day because we can see how much he craves to do that but he can't because of his weak hind legs. We are very very grateful that in Singapore where dollars and cents are top most on everyone’s mind, we can still find people with compassionate hearts and that not everyone in business is obsessed with making a profit but doing things because it is right and the “just because”.

Another view of the club with the agility runs.

Today, April 6, even as we are preparing this blog, we have just received news that one of the management staff has indicated he wants to adopt Dale and provide him the forever home. He fell in love with Dale the first time he saw him. Dale will still use the club’s benefits, no longer as a temporary visitor but a family member. Good old Dale. Now he has a future, not as a beneficiary but as a member. We are very touched that Mr. A has seen Dale for what he is, not a senior Retriever, nor an old 'has been' or faded, but a beautiful, friendly happy tail wagger with the sweetest and most patient temperament. Now Dale will have a Daddy to protect and other family members to share holiday joy with for years and years to come. We are so happy for him, so very happy.

We want to say a big "Thank you" to all those who responded to this call to help Dale. No one actually knows how long he suffered out in the rain and sun, but all that is not imporant now. Thanks to all of you, Dale is released from hell. Now has a future to look forward to, thanks to Mr. A and no more will he be tied to a tree or forever drenched and the water spray from the hose is just a bad memory.

Raining beagles
We have been busy with Polo's rehoming, working closely together with his owner. It has not been easy as the owner works as a cook and has erratic work schedule and whatever time he has, he dashes to the hospital to see his wife. Viewing was done in whatever times he could spare and last minute postponements were common. But we did get a couple of very serious adopters visiting.

Polo is now being fostered by a family who loves him completely and trying their best to make the transition as easy for Polo as they can. On the first night, they told us they took turns to keep him company so he would not be worried or anxious. That is so sweet of them as they have the dog's concerns first and foremost. Below are photos of Polo in his new home.

The handing over from Polo's owner, the cook to the new owners was heartbreaking. He was literally sobbing as he handed to us, Polo's toys, comb, brushes and cleaning stuff. It was very sad for us who had to witness this scene. We know he loves Polo with his whole heart and he would rather his heart be broken than have Polo at home, neglected. We are just glad we could help him find Polo a very good home. The fostering is in deferment to the cook as the new family were keen to adopt on the spot, but we didn't want the cook to feel the sudden loss. This is fostering for several days before the actual adoption by which time, cook can visit Polo in his new home and see how happy Polo is, in a house with a garden to roll and explore.

There were a few serious and interested parties coming forward to adopt Polo, and very timely too. On Friday night, April 3, we received an alert that there were 5 beagles looking for homes. They used to belong to a farm and by the time we called up to check, we found out 2 had already been sent to SPCA. We were given the weekend to find the remaining 3 homes. Since we did have some interested parties for Polo, we asked them to consider these instead.

And yes, the news have been happy ones, 2 of the 3 beagles were adopted on the spot and taken to vets for check ups. They are in relatively good health. The owner upon seeing how serious we took the rehoming effort, called SPCA to return the dogs and now the original 2 are back with them for us to help rehome.

This is Amber, one of the rescued beagle adopoted by Ms. WH. Amber is active, curious and playful. She has been bringing her toys to initiate play. Amber is also sweet to the resident rabbits, she does not approach them. It is wonderful to see that inspite of being caged up for a long time, Amber is adjusting very quickly and well to love and good care. Ms. WH will share her story with Amber soon.

There is now one male and two female beagles for rehoming together with one white terrier male dog. The beagles and the terrier (presumably a maltese cross and smaller in size than a beagle) is approximately 5 years old. If anyone is keen to adopt or foster a beagle or the white terrier, please do drop us a line at anaterry@singnet.com.sg or call 98383820.

Mini Adoption on Easter Sunday, April 12 (2 to 5pm)
We will be running a mini adoption drive for our RATS pack namely, Milo, Horlicks, Cara and Mama Brown. Ms J has very kindly allowed us to hold this at her pet shop “Loving Pets” at 168 East Coast Road.

Do come and visit us and support the shop who has always given a hand and opened their place for the rescued and the strays. Come and meet the Pack. It will be good for them to meet people other than just us and interact with visitors. It will be fun day for them as they hardly get a chance to get out.

Devoted Cara - Sterlised Female http://theratspackadoption.blogspot.com/2009/03/devoted-mia-cara-for-adoption.html

Classy Milo - Neutered Male http://theratspackadoption.blogspot.com/2009/03/classy-milo-for-adoption.html

Gentle Mama Brown - Sterilised Female http://theratspackadoption.blogspot.com/2009/03/gentle-mamabrown-for-adoption_18.html

Macho Horlicks - Neutered male http://theratspackadoption.blogspot.com/2009/03/dog-with-heart-of-gold-macho-horlicks_18.html

Easter is spring and rebirth and Christ resurrection. Easter is new beginnings. Let our mini adoption on Easter Sunday bring a new beginning for our RATS pack.

APPEAL TO LOOK OUT FOR LOST DOG

This is an appeal for a lost dog from a co-rescuer. (We are still running this appeal. If the dog owner has not given up hope, we won't too.)

We are looking for our female Labrador Retriever. She's cream/beige colour and small built. She ran away from home (Kuo Chuan Ave, near Marine Parade) in Nov 2008. We are not even sure if she's still in the eastern part of Singapore anymore. She's microchipped and licensed. We've reported to SPCA, AVA, Petcall, pasted posters, written to the vets, ran around, peeped into neighbour's houses hoping for a sight of her, and so on. We are still searching for her. She may have been kept by someone who doesn't want to return, or sold to someone who ignorantly bought her..

Please, please help keep a lookout. Perhaps your neighbour just got a new but matured dog? Or has someone offered to sell you a similar looking dog? Please, if anyone sees a dog that resembles that in the pictures, please call us immediately. 9389 9896 / 9106 2928 . Appreciate any help.

REWARD of S$5000 for information leading to the recovery of the lost dog. No questions asked.