HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW?
Contact, A community newspaper of the South East District, Aug 2002 issue

In recent years, Singaporeans seem to have taken a fond liking for furry animals especially dogs and cats.

If you watch enough television programmes, you may have noticed that nowadays, local advertisers have been using these cute fur balls to capture the attention of audience. And with much success I would say.

Take Star Hub for instance. Almost everybody I know has been talking about Sparky ever since the advertisement went on air.

So I wasn't a bit surprise when masses of people swamped to Parkway Parade Shopping Centre on 7 July to attend the "Give Me A Home" - The Pet Adoptathon event organised by 'The Proposed' Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD), a nonprofit organization that helps stray and abandoned dogs in Singapore.

To get a glimpse of the dogs put up for adoption 1 practically had to elbow my way through the never-ending throng of people that seemed to flood the place relentlessly.

There it was. 14 darling puppies and three fully-grown dogs resting in the makeshift metal cages, obviously enjoying the attention it was attracting.

Anticipating a huge turnout, the organizers cleverly arranged three pet shows during the day. At each show, the host introduced the dogs to the audience, described the breed and explained the characteristics of each dogs.

Although some of them are strays and some are homeless, the dogs nevertheless look healthy and full of life.

So it was no wonder more than 50 people signed up with ASD with intention to take up the dogs.

But don't assume ASD will accept just anybody who registers with them. According to Ricky Yeo, Press liaison for ASD, candidates must go through two stringent interviews before they get to bring the dog home.

Even so, ASD will take time out to visit the adopter's home to make sure the pet adapts well to its new environment.

Also present were the Cat Welfare Society and the House Rabbit Society of Singapore. Some 20 over cats were also put up for adoption.

Rabbits, however, were disappointingly missing from this event, as grant was not given to the organization. So interested adopters could only view the profile of the rabbits from a folder.

Aside from these, visitors were treated to other interesting activities such as pet obedience demonstration, talk on rabbits and photo taking.

Also worth mentioning was the artist who drew animal caricatures for those who had their pets with them. In just minutes and a few swift strokes, he sketched delightful animal portraits that vowed audience.

Now 1 understand why people flock to such events despite the wicket heat.

This event is strongly supported by the South East Community Development Council, with the venue sponsored by Parkway Parade and publicity supported by Nutro.

- Mildred Ee