Faith in man restored by rescue of injured dog

Straits Times, 31 July 2006

A recent incident restored my faith in mankind.

On July 19, I was returning to my home in Canberra Road with my dog, Dinu. I called for an SMRT cab and one came. We were travelling along Admiralty Road East when we saw a lorry run over a stray dog.

My taxi driver asked if I minded if he stopped to help the dog. When I said 'no', he quickly got out to see to the injured dog. Another car stopped as well. A couple came forward to assist us. We tried calling the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A passing Auxiliary Police van then stopped to help because we had problems reaching the dog, which was in a drain. Two workers passing by also stopped to see if they could do anything.

Then, the couple decided they would take the dog to a vet in Stevens Road. In the midst of all this, my cab driver kept asking me if it was okay with me or did I want to continue my journey home.In the end, we managed to tie the dog's mouth and slowly ease it into the car. The cabby and the man had climbed into the drain to get the dog.

I was very impressed with all of them.

The taxi driver, who later dropped me at my home, offered to charge only the fare I usually paid instead of the $14.90 shown on the meter.

The couple went out of their way to take the dog to the vet and must have paid the dog's medical bill as well. And the lorry driver who hit the dog in the first place? He left once he saw the dog was not dead. He did not offer any assistance to the animal he had injured.

Despite this, I am very glad I met some decent human beings after all. I would like to thank the couple, the driver of the SMRT taxi, the Auxiliary Police on patrol and the workers. It is people like them who make the world a better place to live in.

Puspa Mala Vaitinadan (Ms)