Dog adoption in Singapore: Elvis is alive, and he needs a home

This is part one of a three-part series exploring the issue of dog adoption in Singapore

·Senior Editor

5 November 2015 at 10:28 pm

Elvis, a Singapore special, has been waiting eight years at the Causes For Animals Singapore shelter to be adopted. His size, which makes him ineligible for an HDB flat, is one of the main reasons he has not been adopted.

Meet Elvis, a brown mongrel rescued as a puppy from a heavy vehicle car park in Pasir Ris in 2007. A Singapore special, or local cross breed, he was part of a litter of five. His mother and three of the puppies were taken in by Causes For Animals Singapore (CAS). The rest had been poisoned.

Eight years later, Elvis, now weighing 35kg, is still waiting to be adopted. Other than being slightly overweight, he has no health issues and is “excellent with people”, says CAS co-founder Christine Bernadette. “He’s like a big polar bear. He will just bulldoze his way through and cuddle. He loves cuddles.”

So why has Elvis waited so long to find, in the parlance of animal adopters, his forever home? Bernadette explains, “A dog that is Elvis’ size cannot be adopted into a HDB flat. People are also generally reluctant to welcome an older dog into their home.”

And while Elvis is in good hands at the CAS shelter, the passage of time has not helped either. “He has grown so used to shelter life and loves the long-term volunteers that it has been difficult getting him to love other people as well,” says Bernadette.

She laments, “At his age, there’s probably zero chance of him being adopted.”

Elvis is just one of many dogs residing in shelters all over the island that are waiting for adoption. “There is actually a growing demand for dogs in Singapore, just that most people still prefer to buy. Every year, the number of licensed dogs increases and increases,” says Siew Tuck Wah, president of Save Our Singapore Dogs (SOSD).

Many owners are even prepared to import their pets. According to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), the past three years has seen an increase in the imports of cats and dogs, with popular breeds including Labrador retrievers and malteses. In fact, last year saw around 200 commercial and personal consignments of dogs and cats imported into Singapore. Commercial consignments usually hold as many as 30 animals, while personal ones hold between one and five animals.

Aesthetic preferences, which often drive the preference for pure breeds, are also a determining factor in an animal’s chances of being adopted. Bernadette notes, “If they have spots or longer coats, or they look a bit different, they tend to get adopted faster.”

SOSD shelter manager Kieran Kua, in her late 20s, and rescued stray Brenda. The petrified puppy, covered in faeces, had initially refused to come out of her carrier. Kua had to wrap her in a towel and calm her down before she would be carried.

Save Our Singapore Dogs (SOSD) provides refuge for up to 150 dogs, divided almost evenly between fosterers and a shelter. It sees an average of 12 to 14 adoptions a month. On bad months, this can drop to between six and eight. Noting that the SOSD takes in between 20 and 30 dogs a month, its president Siew Tuck Wah says, “(Our adoption rate) is not good enough, because there are so many more dogs out that need help.”

Alongside other animal welfare groups such as Noah’s Ark Cares and Action for Singapore Dogs, SOSD regularly carries out rescue and sterilization campaigns in areas such as Jurong Island, Pulau Ubin, Bukit Brown cemetery and Jurong Island.

Puppies at SOSD are typically adopted within two to six months, while adult dogs can wait up to 18 months. There are even dogs that have been with SOSD since its inception in 2011. Over at CAS, its shelter currently houses 35 dogs, and between five and eight dogs are adopted each month. It has also taken care of dogs till their dying days.

Save Our Singapore Dogs (SOSD) president Siew Tuck Wah with two of the shelter's dogs, Lady (cream coloured) and Rusty. Rusty was found abandoned outside Siew's home several months back.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) houses approximately 140 animals, many of which are pets surrendered by their owners. Executive Director Corinne Fong says the breed and size of its dogs may well be the biggest obstacle to their finding a new home.

Fong says, “Pure bred regular-sized or toy breeds - or their crosses - stand a better chance of being adopted than a mongrel mutt, even if the pure bred - or its cross - is older than a mongrel mutt. That said, a puppy mongrel stands a better chance at being adopted than the older mongrels.”

From July to September this year, an average of about 90 animals were adopted at the SPCA each month, 17 of them dogs. But while the adoption rates for cats, rabbits and small animals have remained fairly consistent, those for dogs have gone down in the last 10 months. Besides the size of the dogs, Fong attributes this to competition from breeders and pet shops, as well as rescued dogs from other shelters vying for the same adopters.

She says, "If the dogs aren’t adopted out fast enough , there is a choke at adoption and this presents a problem as other dogs are currently waiting to be featured in the adoption area. This leads to our inability to accept more surrenders if our capacity is full."

Behavioural issues are another possible deterrent. Bernadette of the CAS says there have been cases of adopters returning dogs as they are unable to manage their behaviour. “Some families expect the dogs to warm up immediately and sadly this does not always happen,” says Bernadette.

SOSD president Siew advises potential adopters to take into account factors such as the cost of taking care of a dog, your family members' needs and how much time you can commit to the dog. "Be ready to take care of it for life," he says.