Touched By An Angel

On Saturday, we discharged Angel from the vet and took her to visit her owner. She was happy to be out of the cage and willingly walked with us to the car. It was as if she knew she was going to meet her owner.

Angel leaving the vet and walking to the car

In the past one week that she had been at the vet, she has had some visitors who brought toys and treats for her but she somehow only had one thought on her mind, her owner. There was no life in her eyes and she spent her days howling and pining away for her owner. Numerous walks outside the clinic didn’t help very much; even the clinic staff felt extremely sorry for her.



On the way to see her owner

In the car, on the way to visit her owner, Angel was extremely alert. She sat upright and looked out of the window, as if memorizing the route we were taking so that she could take that route on her own. This is one amazing dog! And when we stopped at the petrol station and a car pulled up next to us, Angel barked and growled at the person outside – despite not knowing us very well, she was protecting us and the car she was in. Suddenly I understood what the people at Rowell Road meant about Angel; they had said she would protect Salma while she slept. I had never seen this side of Angel and was impressed by her fierce sense of loyalty and responsibility.

Alert in the car

Years of hardship shows on Angel's face and body, even though she is estimated to be only 3 years old

When we arrived at the welfare home, Angel instantly knew that her owner was near. She pulled and walked quickly towards the building. Dogs and photography were not allowed inside the welfare home and security was tight, so we got permission to carry the chairs out of the building and sat near the car park so we could chat freely and Angel could be with Salma. Chris and his wife, Su San, met us there as well. Salma could not remember who Chris was, despite having spoken to him on the day that Chris found Angel wandering along Orchard Road. Chris had to relate the entire incident to Salma again.

Fiona and Lynda with Angel

Chris chatting with Salma

Salma giving Angel a treat



Looking at her hip bone jutting out, Angel could sure do with more nutritious home-cooked food

Angel jumped and licked Salma’s face continuously and it made me tear knowing that they had to be separated. Salma cried too and she asked who was taking care of her dog, was she eating well, when can she see her again etc. She also pleaded with me to “bail” her out saying that she promised to feed Angel well, she promised not to live on the streets and begged to be released. It made me cry harder because there wasn’t very much I could do. Salma, like a child, gave all kinds of excuses to leave the Home. She didn’t like the TV programmes they were watching, she only liked Western food, which they didn’t serve and the Home was like a prison etc. Her comments must have been rather similar to what Angel was feeling; Angel didn’t like her food (kibbles) because she had never ever eaten kibbles, she doesn’t like what she sees from her cage, she would much rather see the real action on the streets and she hated being imprisoned (kennel).

We stayed at the Home for about an hour before we had to leave because Angel had to be boarded at a boarding kennel and it was near closing time. Angel whined and started crying again as we led her away from Salma. Salma made us promise that we would “bail” her out within the week and she also made us promise to bring Angel to visit her on Saturday again.


The New Paper, 14 November 2010



The New Paper, 14 Novermber 2010

e observed that when Angel was beside Salma, her eyes were very different. Look at the photo below. When Angel is with Salma, there is a sense of purpose in her eyes, as if she was working, on duty, guarding Salma. She was alert. When they are apart, she has no life in her eyes at all.

Can you see the difference in her eyes?

Angel has been miserable at the boarding kennel. She is not eating well, she is depressed, she misses her freedom and most importantly, she misses her owner; an owner she devoted her life to. We hope not to have her live in the kennel for more than one month. We hope someone would come forth to adopt or foster her.

Look at the joy in Angel's eyes when they are together

We have not given up hopes that they will someday be together again. We spoke to an officer at the welfare home and understood that where Salma is, it’s what they call an “intake centre”, where she will remain for a maximum of one month. After which she will be transferred to a permanent home and ANY TIME we manage to find a Home that would accept Salma AND Angel, we are free to discharge Salma and transfer her to that new Home. So dear readers, please do continue to help Salma and Angel. Help us by calling up various welfare homes to see if they would accept the both of them, entry requirements into the Home, etc and let’s see if we can change this story from a bittersweet ending, into a happy fairytale ending because dreams do sometimes come true.

Angel has not eaten since we put her at the boarding kennels on Saturday evening. She is depressed and feels she no longer has anything to live for. We plead with anyone who can foster her for the time being, until we work out a better solution for her to be with Salma. In the meantime, friends and volunteers are taking turns to visit her, to try to coax her into eating and to take her for walks so she does not feel too depressed caged up. PLEASE, if you can help in anyway, please email me at dogs_ink@singnet.com.sg or sms Lynda at 91996247. We urgently need a foster for Angel.

This song is for Angel; for her love, dedication, courage and loyalty to her owner.

Written by Fiona