Baybe's Journey

By Jasmine

I've never had the intention of keeping a pet dog. But, the first time I met Baybe, he totally melts my heart, it’s love at first sight and so I’ve make the decision to keep him forever till death tear us apart. But things started to change... From good, to the worst end...

The first day when Baybe went home with me, my life totally change, because of Baybe... I am much more happier than before...


Had been keeping him by my side ever since mid-July 2009, things changed during August 2010, HDB had been visiting us weekly regarding Baybe’s matter. My family and I tried to avoid by not opening the door each & every time they drop by. Till one day, during end Oct 2010, my boyfriend came back home from downstairs after taking Baybe out for a walk. Just when they gonna step into the house, the man from HDB stopped them. Due to the noise outside, I went out of the house to see what’s going on & was informed that I must remove Baybe from the flat. Otherwise, I will be fined up to $4,000.

Due to all the stress that HDB is giving, I seek for help from Baybe's trainer. Her advice was bringing Baybe to the factory side & release him there. Being helpless, I followed what she say. When I’ve reached the factory side, I feed Baybe & release him. Once I’ve released him, he ran off. He ran across a bridge, till my brothers shouted loudly in Chinese "Baybe 我们回家咯 快点回来 (we are going home, come back!)”. He ran back to us, we leash him & walk back home.

While on the way heading home, we met Baybe’s friend’s owner. She gave me a good scolding and she promise that she'll help me with this matter. She then called her friend, Elise and inform her regarding this matter, Elise called me on the next following day, telling me that she'll be fetching me & baybe to a farm at Pasir Ris. When reached the farm, I was asked to pay a monthly deposit & a monthly boarding fee. Due to the shortage of cash, Elise paid half of the amount for me.



When Baybe arrived at Zeus Play House he was all skin and bones

Each & every month I’ve been paying Baybe's rent regularly, I am the only person working in my family, I've to support my mom & 2 little brothers with $800 that I am earning monthly, it’s really hard for me.


Till starting of Aug 2011 , I've no choice but to seek help from the boarder, I asked if he's able to take over Baybe's ownership , he disagree hurriedly and say if I am unable to pay him the boarder fee he'll send Baybe back to my place, I was panic.

As i am not allowed to keep Baybe at home due to the HDB. I went around asking for friend's advice, one of my friend advice me seek help from Mel, I had been thinking for days till I decided to send Mel a Facebook message. Mel was really kind; she told me she'll help me with it.


After waiting for some days, she replied, telling me that a friend of hers might be able to help. As soon as I received Mel’s message, Lynda called me and arrange to meet up with my dog. Till now, my dog had been settled down at Zeus Play House. I am really glad to have met Mel & Lynda.


They're like the guardian angels of my dog. Thank you for the help!


Footnote from the Editor:

When Baybe arrived in August 2011, he was skin and bones; he was so hungry as though he has not eaten for days. From his reaction, we knew that he did not get enough food at the other boarding facility. We gave Baybe some time to settle down and gave him more food to fill his stomach. Within a month, Baybe grew to be a very confident dog and he wanted to take charge. Baybe was staying with a few young teenagers (dogs) and we had to balance the yin and the yang in the kennel – or else the male dogs would start and want to gain control.

Baybe has put on weight and he will be ready to be sterilised in December. If you would like to sponsor Baybe’s:

Sterilisation i.e. $120.00

Vaccination i.e. $10.50

Heartworm Tests i.e. $45.00

Monthly Sponsorship of $100.00

Please write in to dogstalk@starhub.net.sg.

Pet Sponsorship will help with the upkeep of the dogs at the shelter – the funds will be used for food and boarding. Thank you.

Its Time for Changes for Our Street Dogs

Dear Friends,

The following article was sent to the Straits Times, Forum.

We would like to share with you that a group of passionate people who are involved in animal welfare are voicing their views from their hearts on behalf of the dogs who have shared this universe with us. 

We are hoping that the authorities will hear their views and it's time to make changes to our system.

We want more compassion for the animals; do not cull the dogs and cats that have been sterilised. Caregivers have spent thousands of dollars to have them sterilised, so why should our hard earned money go down the drain?  Sterilisation is the only key to reduce unwanted dogs and cats on the streets.  In no time - these sterilised animals will eventually pass away one day from old age and the number of dogs will eventually be reduced.

Abandonment is the reason we find strays living on the streets. Is this how we treat our animals who were once part of our family members? Just because their owners are sick of them and dispose them, we kind souls end up feeling sorry and bring them home?  Abandoning their pets will only create bad karma for them and they will have to live with guilt for life! 

That said, how many of these abandoned pets can we actually rescue? How many can be kept alive?  A pet is a lifetime commitment and even though AVA keeps promoting Responsible Pet Ownership, there isn't much improvement. So what has gone wrong with our system?  I have come to the conclusion that we need not educate and convert responsible pet owners, but instead it should be the non-pet owners who should be fully educated.

Every year, animal welfare groups have been appealing to AVA and HDB to let Mongrels be HDB approved.  Years have passed and we still see no change in the system.  If pet owners are responsible, why can't we keep Mongrels in our HDB apartments?  I have seen some Mongrels staying in HDB flats and they are just as well behaved and obedient as purebreds. Fearing neighbours' complaints, these owners have to take their dogs out in the middle of the night just to play safe. The fear resembles sneaking a mistress into the house! Why should we live in fear?  What we want is change - we want HDB to relook into the system and to allow responsible pet owners to keep a Mongrel in their apartment. 

Many people do not mind adopting Mongrels, however they do have one concern and that is - "Mongrels are not allowed in HDB flats." Majority of us Singaporeans are HDB dwellers, so can you imagine how many of our special breeds would have a home today if they were finally HDB approved? 

We hope that you will take time to read Anita's letter to the forum.  And let's start referring to our Singapore Specials as "Cross Breeds" instead of "Mongrels", for they are special in their own ways and have their own inner beauty which we can appreciate.

Yours sincerely

Lynda Goh

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Letter to the Forum by Anita

Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)

We are a small group of friends who have been actively feeding and rescuing  stray dogs  at different locations in Singapore for many years.  I am writing in to highlight the plight of these dogs.

Due to the recent development of the Lorong Halus Wetland, many of these harmless dogs have been trapped and culled. Some of us have been working tirelessly to rescue as many dogs as we can. But to do so, requires a long period, effort and finances on our part. To date, we have managed to rescue more than 20 dogs in the last 4yrs, a very small number, as compared to the hundreds that have been trapped and culled indiscriminately by the authorities.

All those dogs that had been rescued, were treated by the vet, sterilised and vaccinated, some have been successfully adopted. For those that aren't so lucky, are housed in various boarding kennels or released back to where their original habitat were. These unfortunate dogs (due to no fault of theirs) have faced insurmountable odds to survive. Hundreds of these dogs have been culled through the years, to make way for the fast growing expansion and development in this nation. Most are trapped inhumanely, suffering horrific injuries before they are culled. We implore the MND to intervene. Stop the culling of these harmless dogs. AVA (the government agency  ~ AGRICULTURE and VETERINARY Authority) charges a hefty sum of S$400 +, for each dog to be released to volunteers like us. VET and boarding are a astronimical cost to us. We would like to make a request to AVA to waive this fee. The waiver of this fee will be a reflection of AVA's true commitment towards animal welfare and humane practices.

Here are some of our thoughts on how the government can be more pro active in controlling the stray dogs population.

Finding homes for these dogs are mired by a huge obstacle, one being, that a large population of Singapore live in HDB flats. We implore the HDB to review it's current policy and allow these dogs to be adopted into HDB homes. Non-profit organisation like The Singapore Kennel Club can help. The SKC provides a wide range of courses, including obedience classes for dogs. These classes are essential tools to help rehabilitate and train these dogs to better intergrate and co-exist in our society.  

A big contributing factor to the stray population is irresponsible pet ownership. The government should legislate compulsory micro chipping and licensing and advocate sterilisation of pets. Heavier penalties should be meted out to owners if they are  proven to have abused or abandoned their pets.

If the above measures, are taken into consideration, we are convinced that there will be significant and visible results in the stray dogs (and cats) population. We strongly urge for the government to initiate change in our nation and strive towards a more compassionate and humane society. May I quote BG TAN, (Minister Of State for Ministry of National Developement)  6^th Aug from the online portal ~ "people must acknowledge that pets and strays are inevitably part of the living environment and should find ways to best live alongside them".

We would like to salute the founders of the various animal welfare groups, Ricky (ASD ~ Action For S'pore Dogs), Ms Cathy Strong (ALL ~ Animals Lovers League), Raymond Wee (Noah's Ark CARES), Lynda Goh ( Zeus Communications ).  Many thanks to Mr Ong, Mr Han and Mohan for rescuing a stray dog (named Xiao Hei) that had lost mobility on his right leg, and giving him a chance to live instead of putting him down; to Alysha and Tara who donated all their birthday 'ang pow' collections to Zeus Communications (animal shelter); and to the many other volunteers island wide who have dedicated their whole lives to saving our street dogs.

Let's note that ~ "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated"  ~ Mahatma Gandhi 



Xiao Hei was rescued by Mr & Mrs Ong and Uncle Han who have been feeding strays for the last 5 years with the help from Mohan of Animal Lovers League .  Xiao Hei disappeared for 2 days, the caregivers were so worried that they did not give up and kept looking for him.
Xiao Hei fell into the canal that was almost 5ft deep.  Mrs Ong in her 60s used her heart to search for Xiao Hei by sliding into 5ft deep canal - she did not even think of her safety or danger by doing what she did.  We are thankful that it did not rain when Xiao Hei was stuck in the canal. Stay tune for Xiao Hei's story...
(Picture was taken before Xiao Hei's surgery, his right front leg had to be amputated)



Dr Teo attending to Xiao Hei's wound.  Part of his bone could be seen.  Xiao Hei was in great pain and frustration for days.