Ming Ming is at the vet now,

awaiting her operation to be done. Her muzzle wound has dried up nicely, though that bump may remained for a longer time.

She looks pensive, solemn. Guess no dog ever enjoys a trip to the vet. I'll update more later.

Thanks to all who have been with her during this time in her life. You have made a difference. Thank you.

FOSTER/ADOPTER for Doby

Dear all

Scott was rescued with his siblings from a flooded drain when he was just 2 months old. Soon after, he was rehomed but unfortunately due to family issues, he was returned to us.

We managed to find a very kind and patient foster who has taken Scott in. With a change of home and change of name - Scott or Doby (his new name) is settling down well with his new foster. No longer a latch-key pup, Doby is steadily growing into a mature adult.

Doby is about 6 months now and looking for a good family who will have him as their own. Someone ready and committed to the happiness of a young, boisterous, intelligent, sometimes disobedient pup who will sooth all the headaches of puppyhood with his own unique brand of loyalty and love.

* Meanwhile, we are also looking for another foster who can help relieve our current foster for a period (minimum 3 months). If you can help foster Doby, please get in touch with us asap. Greatly appreciate.

projectjkteam@yahoo.com.sg

the foster

In Singapore, we do not have any form of animal rehabilitation centre where there are dedicated professionals to rehabilitate an animal, be it nursing physical wounds or retraining a dog to be able to socialize normally.

But, it is a major fact that we have disparate fosterers who offer their homes and 24/7 commitment to animals in need of homes, in need of a leader to give them a second chance in life, to make them unlearn bad habits and assure them that they are not street animals to be impounded or taken away, to give them hope as worthy beings who have a stake in this world.

Our fosterers are heroes behind the scene. Ineluctably, a foster develops emotional bonds with the animals under their charge, as he or she integrates them to society and along the way, integrate them to their homes. The animal might have suspicions that the foster home is never his permanent abode but the relationship between foster and animal is undeniable.

As they learn new things about each other and reconcile with their differences, they grow into each other and nurture ties that I can only say are almost akin to those of a family.

For a foster to give her dog away when a good family comes along, it is often a rocky dilemma and an emotionally-charged occasion. It is difficult for anyone who has taken care of his or her dog to discount the beautiful relationship that dog and foster have built. To move on from the successful adoption, to return to a home where you no longer see Max or Sassy and get on with life as it is, is a reality hard to grapple with and a brutal one at that.

But this is the strength of the foster. To lend a hand to the homeless animal in need and see through it that the dog or cat or rabbit finds a good home. The fortitude of our noble fosters makes up the support network, the pillar of animal welfare.

To the fosters who unfailingly give our animals hope, we can only thank them.

Our K8 are doing good too

It had rained in the early noon and the dogs were lazing around in the cool wet air. Piko has a new toy today, err....doesn't it look like a toilet bobber?




She has another toy too - K's sandal.


Piko on the sandal while Mr Brown looked on.

Mr Brown himself is recovering well from his mane, his coat is filling in nicely. This guy has a perpetual worried look that's endearing.



Mr Brown's siesta

Fat Boy is well...still fat. Whenever the pack dashes on their chase, Fat Boy rushes along happily. Few minutes later, you see the pack return, cool and steady. Then comes our chubby fellow, ambling back, with the heaviest panting..haha! He needs boot camp.




Fat Boy


Fat Boy, Mr Brown & Piko grooming one another


Fat Boy's butt with Blackie in the background, on her guard duty again.


And as usual, our queen of the pack keeping her distance from me.

K8 has integrated well into the pack. You see him wisely giving in to the rest of the original pack, submitting himself gently to their inspections whenever they want to. He would offer his hind for sniffs of approval, tail wagging, gentle countenance. The pack has accepted him which is good. Cos when we first saw him, he was a fugitive. With a huge wound on his head, he had taken cover in the previous farm of this pack, but was chased out. We thought we had lost him too, till he reappeared, wound dried up but leaving an obvious scar. He is a bit wary of me, but I can tell that he has an easy nature. Soon, he'll come to me.

Remember more than 1 month ago,

Bob (right) with his bro more than a month ago.

we were trying to get big boy Bob (right) who had a horribly rotten ear, putrid-smelling and full of maggots and pus. He was so miserable that you hear him crying at a corner, and with each shake of his ear, you see a spray of black oozy pus.

Unfortunately, that one time he came all the way up to me, we had that urgent episode with Beth, and had to drive Beth immediately to Dr T, no manpower to handle Bob.

And from the next day on, Bob disappeared. We all thought we had lost him. But our hope was revived when K spotted him on and off, coming out for food and then retreating to his hiding place.














Well, guess what? I just met Bob few hours ago! What a wonderful feeling that is. He looks fine, still the hunky fellow that he is. You can see the lovely shade of copper fur around his shoulders. Tough macho guy. His face has weathered the rough street life he is living, evidencing the ocassional fights he gets himself into, most likely over a cute babe.

He is still hanging around with his bro, Beth and one of Coca and Cola's sister. V calls her Pepsi. ;) Beth is looking good herself too. Her tri-colour coat is showing nicely.

It has been a good reunion with Bob.


Bob (right) and bro few hours ago.



Pepsi (Coca & Cola's sis) with Beth at the background.

Responsible pet management

According to Junior's and Ginne's owners, they often leave the gate open late at night so that the dogs can dash out and roam around the neighbourhood unleashed, footloose and carefree.

Usually, the two girls will return, galloping after a good gallivanting at the park and along the quiet streets.

Once, someone did complain about the free-roaming dogs and the family was visited by the police and given a warning. But the footloose-ness ensued.

Of course, time and again, I cautioned the owners not to continue with letting the dogs run wild, because, there ARE people who are afraid of dogs; Ginne is not that friendly a dog to strangers; traffic can be dangerous even on neighbourly streets; there might be stray dogs around and dog fights will result; other dog owners walking their dogs might be displeased; the dogs will provoke the street cats... and the list of points going against the habit of letting the dogs run wild in a neighbourhood goes on.

By letting our dogs run wild, unleashed and unmonitored, what are we showing to our dog owners -- that we are poor animal disciplinarians and owners? An irresponsible lot?

What are we showing to the public, people we are working so hard to educate about responsible pet ownership and animal awareness? That our canine friends are a nuisance-causing bunch?

Every single act of irresponsibility counts and builds into a collective 'argument' for people to resist the notion of animal welfare and conservation, or completely reject it. We do not wish the work we've done so far to defeat the very cause that propels it. Very importantly, we'll strive and continue to educate.

Educate and educate.

Constructively.

We do have

some progress with the case of Junior and Ginne. And we'll be back with more.

In the midst of Junior & Ginne's case,

things must go on still.

Ming Ming's operation is scheduled for 29 Nov, Wed morning. We will update all of you then.

Meanwhile, please keep an eye open for Junior & Ginne.

It would be really helpful if you could print out a few copies of the poster below and put them up at your nearby petshops/vets/Cold Storage etc..

Thank you.

POSTER APPEAL: Missing Dogs -- Junior & Ginne

We were told Junior's and Ginne's missing case involves foul play. We will do our best and we are determined to find them. We need all the clues we can get to get to the bottom of this.

I hope you are safe, wherever you are

Ginne: black/tan, Junior: all black

Both females.

with a heavy heart, i pen this post. i recollect the times i spent with junior, fostering her with every determination to find the best home for her. i remember those times a year ago when i'd return to find her always, always, in unfailing, eager anticipation to spend some quality time with me. i remember sneaking out of the house and hiding behind the walls of my neighbour's house, playing silly peekaboos with her, knowing fully well that she knows fully well where i was hiding. the innocent face peering through the old fence behind the foliage of potted plants. and a tail wagging in excitement.

which is probably why she was always so excited to see me whenever i dropped by at her home to walk both ginne and junior.

because i missed her.

and the difference between myself and the many others that i have met time and again, is that i treat her like a child while they don't. i draw this from the 'analogy' that should i be reduced to devastation, i'll never cast her out to the streets. for the very simple fact that my dog is my child.

responsibility. commitment. love and connection.

please come home, junior and ginne.

PLEASE LOOK OUT FOR JUNIOR & GINNE

Dear all

Last evening, we went around the neighbourhood where Junior and Ginne lived to speak with the neighbours and security guards with the hope that someone saw something on late Thursday night, that could give us some clue where Junior and Ginne are right now.

There are some pointers that just don't gel.

Junior and Ginne are very very familiar with their neighbourhood. Even when they wandered for a walk on their own before to the nearby park, each and every time, they have found their way back.

Last Thursday night, they simply disappeared without a trace.

If they had indeed gone for their regular walk on their own, they would have come back. It seemed to imply that someone might have taken them and driven them far away from their neighbourhood - but WHO? WHY? And so vital now - WHERE ARE THEY?? And to catch both of the dogs so easily? It just is not plausible, for they are not that friendly to strangers.

SPCA and AVA as of now has not picked up any dogs resembling Junior and Ginne. They also did not receive any animal nuisance complaint calls to that area that night. We have also made police reports.

PLEASE, THIS IS AN APPEAL, KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR JUNIOR & GINNE.

If you have friends or relatives staying at Jalan Selanting, please ask if they had seen or heard anything on late Thursday night. Looking at the scenario of things right now, they could be anywhere around our island. So even if you do not stay around Bukit Timah/Jurong Kechil area, please keep an eye out for them.

Thank you.

LOST - Junior & Ginne. Please look out for them.

Ginne and Junior

Junior


Junior and Ginne are lost around Bukit Timah area (near Beauty World) yesterday evening. But they could have wandered much further and lost their way back. Both are adult local breeds, medium size, microchipped. AVA and SPCA have been informed.

If you spot this pair roaming about, pls try to hold onto them and contact me immediately at 9090-8592. Thank you.

JK kitten revisited

On the first day Suci was rescued: notice his hind legs covered with dirt. This is back in 31s May, this year.

Suci in the carrier we put him in. Still in trauma.

Missing Dog - One One

Posting on behalf ASD

One of our adopters have lost one of their dogs, a 14 year old deaf female Shar Pei. She is light brown in color and her snout is spotted with age. She wandered off when the gardener inadvertently left the gate open.

Her place of origin is at Caldecott Close and it is suspected she may have wandered into the Bukit Brown Cemetery off Lornie /Sime Road.

She has been lost since last Wednesday, and her owners have taken 3 full days off to look for her to no avail and they have also put notices into every house there and around the area. Having surveyed the vast area, they have some idea where she could be but would need help to search the huge area.

We are really worried as she is totally domesticated and will not know how to forage for food and our fear is she will literally starve to death because of her age and ailment.

A 3 person search party was activated last Sat and Sun, but unfortunately she has not been found.

Anyone who would like to help find this poor dog please contact BoonKiat at 96908336 and identify yourselves as ASD volunteers. Terrain maybe hilly, bushy or wet, so dress appropriately. If you are in the vicinity jogging or know of people who frequent that place, please also let Boon Kiat know. They are worried sick about her and would appreciate any help anyone can render.

ASD

Singapore Cats Group

It's not just about dogs. Neither is it just about cats.

It is all about LIFE and life as it is meant to be - a GIFT to the living - and never just labelled as a number in the crowd, treated with a callous attitude as if the living, breathing, sentient being who responds with the same spectrum of emotions as you, is nothing but a commodity for selfish and perverted acts of cruelty and neglect, profit and exchange.

Where LIFE is bred without a residue of emotional attachment. Pups and kittens churned out like donuts on a conveyor belt. The sheer repetitive and numerous production further hardening the senses of people who are unfit to be in the animal industry in the first place, for the very simple reason that they have not even grasped in their small minds the TRUE VALUE of LIFE.

How can he, whose heart feels nought in the presence of hungry and distressed cries and whimpers of need, in an environment not even of acceptable hygiene levels to boldly let your premises be seen ... how can he, who looks at a new life with an eye trained on dollars and cents, who gives himself the power to snuff out newborn lives whom, in his 'professional opinion' will not make it on the markets, that no one would buy them for they are born deformed, disabled, weak. Who also decides when the breeding moms and dads have outlived their 'use' and then have you wondered whatever happens to them?

Think and think hard again if you have the intention to buy a pup from one of our petshops. Make sure you know full well where the pup has been bred, who are the parents. Ask for pups who are microchipped, which is the least we can ask of, in an environment where honesty may be compromised for profit.

A microchip will offer certain levels of assurance:

- It will assure that the animal is indeed imported from such a country and such a reputable breeder, instead of being churned out from a pet farm of dubious origins.

- It will assure that ALL animals are properly accounted for. Take a minute now to imagine: how many dogs do you think are now being kept in breeding farms, behind doors closed to the public eye? How many do you think come and go? What happen to those who are no longer 'useful'?

If we do not take up the efforts to properly identify each animal in the breeding trade, what are we exactly saying? Is it too much work? Does it cost too much? Is it not economically viable to want to know what happens to each life?

Is our non-action and tolerance proclaiming that the life of these breeding dogs are not worthy of such efforts? Why spend money on identifying them when they are just meant for breeding and it is their offsprings who bring in the money?


When have we crossed the line? Have our levels of acceptance risen so much in our developing years, that now, we quietly tolerate an industry where life is hidden behind closed doors? And we silently stand outside, hearing the cries, but not bothering or maybe not daring to lift a finger to help, nor even lifting a hand to query - hey, just what is happening behind those doors? And just where are the people who HAVE the authority to go behind those doors? Until the next unfortunate discovery gets splashed in the papers.

The very presence of closed doors implies there is something to conceal. Or does it?

You have a right to know the origins of the animal if you have an intention of purchase. If your queries are met with blank walls and avoidance, then do the animal trade here an uplifting favour - do not purchase from that shop, and make it a point to share your experience with people around so that, in time, the professional standards and more vitally, the HEART of people involved in our pet industry, will improve to acceptable levels.

It is through small, conscious acts on YOUR PART that will make positive difference and bring much relief to countless, faceless, nameless animals out there - who are now, at this moment, put through manmade processes - which are NEVER meant as part of their gift of life.


Check out the Singapore Cats Group here:
http://groups.msn.com/SingaporeCats

a JK kitten

I remember 31st May this year, while a few of us were giving our best shot at getting Scruffy (so that we could send her for sterilisation), V and J drove by the row of shophouses at JK and discovered, in close proximity to rushing traffic, a little speck of something smacked right in the middle of a parking lot.

On closer inspection, it turned out to be a kitten, merely a few weeks old, blue-eyed, scrawny and dirt covered. Smacked on the parking lot -- any car could've rolled him over, the tiny thing he was.

And so, while we rested under the umbrella at the farm, waiting for Scruffy to get "friendlier", V and J returned holding the little speck they'd rescued. V said to send him to SPCA to be put down. I remember his ears looked disproportionately bigger than his head, his blue eyes told me he was born not long ago, and his matted, dry fur, dehydrated skin and scrawny condition would qualify him the perfect candidate to be put to sleep. In a world where we have too many stray animals, anyway.

It was a make-it or break-it decision. I told V I would take him back and entrust him in a caregiver's home. I made the decision to take him away from the dangerous public. I made the decision to take him away from the needle that would have immobilized his body forever.

And with time, thanks to all who have the heart for these little ones, the kitten survived the conventional fate of stray life --> foster home --> owner (and this is the most ideal of situations) in rehoming work. The JK kitten became MY cat, against the odds. An addition to my family, a life to my life, a friend t0 Kangkang, who was once a stray from Jurong under the care of a strayfeeder.

We named him "Suci" -- pure in Malay. And his name pretty much sums up his innocence and innocence of all the animals in the world.

Suci, a miracle and hope for all of us.

Puppy Boy's summer camp!

Puppy Boy's admirer, Sparkles!

Went to see how Puppy Boy is doing at his summer camp. The very first day Puppy Boy went over, Sparkle the bull terrier was very interested in our handsome fellow. So interested is she that J said she kept tailing Puppy Boy around, nuzzling him, rubbing against him, doing all she knows to get his attention. But alas, out heartless dude gave her the cold shoulder. I don't think he meant to be rude, he was probably just feeling bit lost initially without C.


Puppy Boy at 2 months - rescued from under the rundown container of a construction site, grumpy and flea-infested.



At 5 months, his 'sam-seng' attitude was flowing. C went thru the terrible juvenile months of nips and bites and long red scratches down both arms and legs ... if not for her amazingly enduring patience, we wonder where Puppy Boy would be now.

Now, our handsome fellow is having a whale of a time at his boarding place. He and Blackie are getting very chummy. Muzzling each other, licking each other, play-biting, exploring together. But I think Puppy Boy's never-ending energizer power may be giving Blackie a tougher work-out than he expected! When Puppy Boy goes home on Wed, Blackie could well have run down a few pounds, ha!




Okie! A kiss to end it all!

Blackie was also rescued from a construction site when he was a pup. He is about 2 years old now, very steady and good-natured. He's still looking for a home. So, if you or you know someone who is looking for a mature, easy-going adult dog for a companion, think of Blackie.

Think of Doby too.

Update on Ming Ming - Part 3

Went to visit Ming Ming today. She is doing pretty well so far. Her muzzle wound is drying up, just looking bumpy and rough for now, but give it some time, I'm sure it'll be fine. Dr R gave her an elizabethan collar so that she won't paw and scratch at it.

She has been getting used to moving about on her 3 good legs, lifting her right hind off the ground when she's on the move, putting it down occasionally when she's standing still and sitting on her rump.

She'll go for another blood test next week. Hopefully her liver enzyme count is normalised by then so that she can be scheduled for the operation. Then she can get about on all 4 again.

Take me home?

Treat! Treat! That's why I look so eager!

I can curl my tongue...see!

Lucas is really just such a jolly little (okay.... not so little...) boy with hardly a care in the world. Wherever he is, there is his playground.

He wags, he ambles, he hugs, he rushes right up to you...all 30kgs of him, and snuggles his whole tubby frame smack into you so you better hold your stance firm. He smiles so expectantly at you, he comes when called, he retrieves naturally, he gleams brightly at you for treats, he paddles in any pool of water he can find.

Lucas boy. He is all ready for a good home who has the same love of fun and adventures as he exuberantly displays with each wag at life.

Lucas met Cash today

So, will these 2 become brothers? Let's see...