Our Construction Girls

Every dog has a story to tell.

Unfortunately, dogs can't speak. 

So for some of them, their stories will always remain a mystery. 

For others, we are a little luckier. 

We - okay fine, I - would wrangle their stories excitedly from the people who knew them before their shelter days.

It seems like each year, we never fail to have one particular rescue that would characterise the rest of the year. Last year, the rescue of the offshore island dogs saw the addition of fourteen dogs to the shelter. One passed away, six have been adopted, one is on a trial homestay currently and the rest remain with us at the shelter. 

What about this year? 

It's only May but I daresay life at the shelter has been drastically changed by the rescue of a group of five dogs known as our Construction Girls. 

This is really not my story to tell - at least not the beginning. 

What I know of them began only when we took over their care at the shelter. 

This is in part the story of their rescuer and stray feeder, Emily, who very kindly took me through their pre-shelter days. In my role as messenger, let me share with you the miraculous story of our gorgeous Construction Girls. 

The story began when Emily found a little white and brown puppy in a long drain, the very puppy we now know as DanDan. She followed the pup along the drain, deeper and deeper into the thicket until she managed to get hold of her. The frightened puppy bit her in the arm but it wasn't enough for Emily to desist. She eventually helped the little one out.

That was not the end. 

Once on safe ground, DanDan scurried off in a hurry.

Emily followed. 

In her frenzy to get back, the silly puppy unwittingly exposed her pack to her rescuer. Emily discovered DanDan was part of a group of five dogs at a construction site, including her mother, two sisters and it seems a friend, in the form of another adult dog. We later knew them as Delphi, Dairy, Dilly and Dora respectively. 

And so began three months of stray feeding for Emily.

The dogs started off a little wary of her. But these dogs were irrationally trusting. It didn't take long for the barrier of ice around their hearts to thaw and for Emily to become a friend. 

Over the weeks, their different personalities surfaced. 

Mommy Delphi was the undisputed leader of the pack. She was a calm and independent dog who enjoyed roaming the construction site. Her unique black and white coat made her stand out against the drab gray site. The little puppies had coats that bore such an uncanny resemblance to hers that they had to be her flesh and blood.

As for the puppies, in Emily's own words...

Runt of the litter, Dairy, was friendly.

DanDan was shy.

And Dilly was angry!

Were there any other puppies around, I asked Emily, amazed that a large and majestic dog like Delphi only delivered three pups. Emily replied in the negative. 

The site was vast, barren and arid. There was no cover from the elements and food supply was sporadic. I guess it was a miracle even for three of them to survive past puppyhood. As it was, Delphi did good.

And then, there was the family's special friend Dora. 

Dora was a black medium-sized stray dog with pointy ears, an elegant face and the friendliest nature. She had a weakness for tummy rubs and had no qualms about running out of the site, across the road and flipping over happily in front of Emily in anticipation of a tummy rub.

Emily would worry about the silly girl's safety, running over towards her like that without a care in the world... In the photos, Dora's paws were often caked in dried mud. But discomforts such as these were just not enough to squelch the joy she got from an impending tummy rub. Little things that we could dispense so easily meant the world to her.

For three months, Emily fed these dogs. Their life wasn't the easiest, but it was peaceful enough. What little peace they had was broken when works began on a massive excavation of the site that would precede piling.

The land they had been living on the past few months caved in and like a large pothole, began to collect water.

While the adults, Delphi and Dora, were large enough to waddle across the water and reach the other side, the puppies were too tiny and fearful to venture anywhere near the water. Left on their own, they were often found cowering uncomfortably under an old generator as shelter.

Emily didn't know how long they would survive like that. Worried, she dropped us an email, asking if we could take the three puppies in. 

That is where our story began.

I don't consider us a typical shelter.

We started out as a bunch of strangers of all ages, from all walks of life.

But the dogs needed to be fed, the compound needed to be cleaned, they needed showers and walks. Dogs were born, they fell sick and they died.

Over the years, we jumped for joy together and wept in each other's arms together. We dreamt of setting up our own shelter together and saw that dream through together.

Some left us, some joined us.

Rollercoaster rides like our shelter experience have a way of bringing people closer together. We were passengers in the same capsule on the same journey.

And so from strangers, we became family.

The decision making within a family can be a rather amusing process.

Florence said she would leave me to make the decision on this matter, which left me feeling very uneasy.

Having just pushed through the rescue of Laifu, Doudou, TongTong and initiated the rescue of Laifu's wary mother which subsequently fell through, I was uncertain about making impulsive decisions again. We were lucky to find homes for all three of them. But would we keep getting lucky?

I hated the responsibility of decision making. I was uncomfortable with the idea that one single decision meant potentially foisting a ten to twelve year responsibility on us all.

I know well that in the course of shelter work, we had to learn to say no. By virtue of our limited resources and the theory of diminishing returns, we could not save all dogs. 

But at that point in time, I was undeterred. I wanted take in the dogs. In fact, I had been going through the email requests recently and given each serious consideration, bringing the more urgent cases to the attention of the rest.

Was it my impulsivity at work again? Was I becoming a unhealthy dog hoarder? Dog hoarding was a disease!!! What was wrong with me?

Horrified, I turned to Choo for help. He always had a way of helping me put things in perspective and making me feel better.

As usual, he did.

In his very logical and patient way, he guided me through my thought process. 

Why do you think we can afford to take in more dogs? He asked. 

We had the capacity for 35, I told him, and we currently had about 30 dogs. I really felt we could do more. I knew we had not secured premises beyond the end of 2014, but I didn't think that building an iron curtain around our shelter was the way to go for the next two years.

There, I had my answer down pat, Choo pointed out. What was holding me back and causing this frenzy? Take the dogs. 

My unease, I confessed, lay in the guilt of increasing the burden on us all. 

To that, Choo replied simply that we were a team... That once a decision was made, we would all step up to support it. 

He raised an extremely corny example to illustrate his point, but one which brought me so much comfort and which I am not going to forget in a jiffy. We were different parts of the same body, he said, it was inevitable that we thought and worked differently. Ultimately, we are all in this together. 

He also said that he felt my need to take in dogs would die a natural death when I truly felt we could no longer afford to do so.

And then suddenly, everything fell into place. 

Wee, being Wee, was supportive of the venture from the start. When Florence heard from Emily that Dora might possibly be pregnant, she insisted that we not only take in the three puppies as initially proposed but the two adults as well. When Feng was notified of the dogs' impending arrival, she immediately started the process of booking the vet appointment for their vaccination prior to their arrival at the shelter.

Choo was right. We are a family. Even though it was I who started the ball rolling, I was never in this alone.

I had no time to dwell on any uncertainty of mine because the next problem we faced was the issue of whether or not to vaccinate Dora.

When we agreed to take the dogs in and take over their care for good, our only requirement was for Emily to vaccinate them and bring them down to the shelter. Vaccination was crucial because the shelter was located in an area where thousands of other dogs were congregated. Diseases were prevalent and any unvaccinated dog was in serious risk of contracting one ailment or another. It could be deadly.

Although Dora showed no signs early on, Emily told us the workers at the construction site suspected she was pregnant. That immediately put us in two minds about vaccinating her. Vaccinating her might potentially harm any babies she was carrying. Not vaccinating her would leave her vulnerable to the diseases in the air. We decided to leave the decision up to the professional. 

The vet decided to vaccinate Dora.

I was worried and guilty, afraid that the decision to rescue her was also the decision that would kill her babies. Everything on the Internet screamed that no one ought to vaccinate pregnant canine mothers. For that whole weekend, I recalled being extremely volatile and moody. 

But in the end, we were convinced that Dora's well-being was of the utmost concern - not so much that of her unborn puppies. Dora needed the vaccine to survive the shelter environment. Daphne was not vaccinated previously and she fell prey to Parvovirus. She was lucky to have made it through. We didn't want a repeat of that horrible experience. 

With their vaccinations settled, it was time for the dogs to join us at the shelter. I recall Delphi was so stiff she had to be dragged into the shelter. Instead of hiding behind their mother, the three little ones stuck close to their Aunty Dora.

All five of them looked at us sullenly and went to hide in the room, away from our prying eyes.

It was rather comical. First days at the shelter always were!

It didn't take too long for them to get comfortable - and for us to get to know them. 

Delphi was the calmest and gentlest of them all. She loved to jump on top of the kennels and look at the world from above. Even though she froze on the leash on her first day with us, she grew to relish her walks. She enjoyed it when we allowed her to run out of her kennel and along the corridor. Don't mistake Delphi's unruffled exterior for oblivion. At one of our outings to the park, when she heard her puppy Dilly cry in fright from afar, Delphi's ears pricked immediately. She whined and struggled to go to her baby's rescue.

Are pregnant dogs supposed to be more aggressive? It certainly didn't seem like it to us! Dora was the most affectionate of the lot. It took awhile for her stomach to show. At first, we contemplated sending her for an ultrasound to confirm her pregnancy. But when we were informed that only an X-ray was available, we were hesitant. An X-ray sounded invasive and we didn't want to do any further harm to her puppies, if any. The vaccine administered to Dora would already have done enough. We decided to let nature take its course. If Dora was really pregnant, so be it. If she was not, we could start her process of rehabilitation pronto.

With the passage of time, Dora grew steadily bigger. She wolfed down her food and began to bully the other puppies! Her stomach grew large and tight. Our suspicions were confirmed and we counted down to the day of her impending delivery. 

As for the three puppies, they were three of the most beautiful little ones we had ever seen. 

DanDan's brown and white markings made her resemble a Jack Russell Terrier. At the beginning, we received so many enquiries about our "Jack Russell" up for sale or adoption that I grew quite exasperated! DanDan was smart, gentle, good natured and so very gorgeous! We needed people to love and accept DanDan the special mongrel that she is, not the Jack Russell she resembled.

Because adoption queries were slowing down, Florence mooted the idea of a training class led by Choo to instill in our younger dogs some basic commands to boost their chances at adoption. We were each randomly assigned to a dog. I got DanDan and had the good fortune of discovering first hand just what a fast learner she is. She's our star pupil! I would announce brazenly to everyone at class. Because truly, that's what this little girl was!

Dilly was the slowest to warm. I recall she would scurry away hastily when we walked towards her. But we had many extra opportunities to further our interaction with her. 

Dilly had a genetic condition known as hairy demoid, where cells on the skin were found in her eye. This effectively meant there was fur growing from her eye. While it wasn't giving her discomfort, we were advised that it was better to have it removed. This meant extra trips to the vet for consultation, surgery and post-surgery reviews.

The extra time we spent with her helped break down the wall that she built around herself. This girl was no longer the puppy Emily first laid eyes on... the one who seemed to be angry with the world. This little girl now positively sparkles in human attention and runs towards you joyfully when you squeal her name. Dilly had her surgery a fortnight ago and to aid in her recuperation, she is being fostered by one of our beloved regular volunteers.

Dairy was the littlest one of the three and also the only one with ears that stood. She was afraid of the bigger puppies sharing her kennel and would often hide under the bench for protection, the clever girl.  We didn't get the chance to know Dairy as we did the other two. But that is really a blessing in disguise, because the reason behind that was her early adoption!

Liz and Jachin adopted another one of our dogs Donut from us about a year or so ago. They felt Donut needed a playmate because their other dog was too old and frail to tussle about with her. After some contemplation, they decided to take Dairy home and from their frequent updates, we learnt the two immediately got on like a house on fire! Who said anything about three being a crowd? This family is coming together wonderfully.

As the days turned into weeks, we knew it was mere moments before Dora would deliver. We took to locking her up in her own room at night just so that if she did give birth, she could have her privacy. 

On Sunday, 17 March 2013, one of our hardworking regular volunteers Venn arrived at the shelter early to start cleaning up. She was shocked to find about six wriggly black lumps by Dora's side. Yes, Dora was in labour at last! When Venn informed Florence of the news over the phone, I was by Florence's side listening in with bated breath. 

This was it. How many new members would be joining us? 

Dora's labour was an extended one. When Wee, Florence and I rushed down to the shelter that day, Dora was still delivering her puppies. In the next three to four hours, one puppy after another was born. The final count stopped at twelve. We didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 

We had an entire football team plus one.

Size of the litter aside, we were just extremely thankful that Dora had a safe delivery. Despite the vaccination administered on her in the course of her pregnancy, the babies were doing fine. There were no stillborns. Also, a less cooperative new mother we never met! Dora allowed us to pick up her babies and clean the compound right from the start. She had completely no defenses against us and in the face of her whole-hearted faith in us, we were humbled.

As the news of Dora's birth settled in, the fact of the twelve new additions began to weigh more heavily on us. The puppies were tiny now but they would grow up rapidly. We were expecting a litter in the region of five or seven puppies. Never in our wildest imagination did we expect twelve!

Where were we going to house all of them in three months' time when they started to run around and demand the space that they needed to live and play?

That awful feeling of panic began to creep in... and I asked Wee... How? How are we going to pull this off?

In his calm and lighthearted way, Wee chuckled and said that we would find a way. Meanwhile, Florence was already busy concocting ways to rearrange our dogs to incorporate the twelve puppies into our current structure. I have been involved in shelter work and under the wing of these two stalwarts for about five years now. Yet I still find myself learning something new from them each day. When life throws you curveballs, they showed me that you don't get into a fluster - you deal with it.

Twelve puppies was a lot for a single mother dog to handle. When four of the puppies didn't appear to be gaining sufficient weight after three weeks, we decided to remove them from the litter and have them fostered by Suat. We also kick started a nightly duty roster so that there was always someone around to feed Dora to ensure she has enough nutrients to cope with the heavy duty nursing. Of course, we weren't in this alone. Our beloved veteran volunteers Suat, Denise, Jiawen and Venn stepped up to the plate ever so readily to help out with the night duties.

To combat the distemper virus afflicting the other shelters in the area, we made it a rule for all volunteers and dogs to wash their feet and paws before re-entering the shelter after their walks. It was troublesome, but we firmly believed that collectively, this would go a long way in helping to protect our unvaccinated puppies.

With everyone pitching in, we managed to see the pups through the first two months of their life on earth. From the time they first opened their eyes to the time they started walking on their wobbly paws... From the time they were totally dependent on Dora for food to the time they gradually began to consume solids on their own... We have come a long way. I experienced a bizarre sense of euphoria when we finally saw the twelve puppies off to their first vaccination at the vet. They had reached their first safety zone!

Choo was right. I can no longer look him in the eye and say we are able to take in more dogs. We are filled to the brim. So if your request for us to take in a dog is declined, we hope you understand. With twelve rapidly growing little monsters, our hands are tied. The next few weeks will probably see a reshuffle of the living quarters of some of our dogs in the shelter to accommodate the puppies who are outgrowing the enclosure they currently live in.

No, this story doesn't have an end. This is only the beginning of things to come. I did my best to relate to you the story of our Construction Girls. I hope I also managed to impress upon you the type of shelter that we are. We aren't high profile. We aren't glitzy or glamourous. We do the best we can in ways that we know how.

The Ethics of Dog Rescue

It is the Chinese New Year period. 

It should be jolly and festive, but more than anything, we've been feeling like big bad guys. 

For some reason, during this time of the year, the number of requests for us to take in dogs is higher than any other.

Do we reject dogs, you ask us. We are sorry to say, we reject requests for us to take in dogs on a regular basis. Far too regularly, we feel. 

Florence always takes it upon herself to be the bad person, to be the one who says no. But if you know Florence like we do, we can tell you that behind every emphatic rejection beats a heart fiercely protective of those she loves. This includes every dog currently under the roof of Gentle Paws. It takes courage to say no, to prevent overcrowding, to stem the practice of dogs being left on our door step, to protect the well-being of our existing dogs. Florence often laments that she is common enemy no. 1. But in my heart of hearts, this straight-talking, task-oriented skinny monkey of a lady is a hero. 

So let me give you an insight into the type of requests that we receive and the skinny on what we really feel. 

1. If you don't take in the dog, we have no choice but send it to SPCA. 

This is not a request. This is a thinly veiled threat. What you're asking of us is to take on a 8-12 year responsibility. We need to know the situation, be provided with information and pictures and consider whether we are in a position to take in the dog in question. We need to know that you have tried but that nothing worked out. We don't want to be your first option, we can only be your last resort. Telling us that we have two choices - to help or see the dog die - is not an incentive for us to take in the dog. We do understand that the dog is the innocent victim and we should rise above the unpleasantness and focus on the well-being of the dog. But the truth of the matter is, we are almost always full house and this mode of communicating most certainly does not help in our decision making process. 

2. There are a few stray dogs near my house and I am afraid the authorities would come capture them. Can Gentle Paws take them in? 

We love stray dogs. Wee does stray feeding every day and through the days, weeks and months, he has built a shaky but growing bond with the dogs in that area. Some are closer to him than others. His persistent presence in their lives and the way he continues to bring them food each day be it rain or shine have managed to crack the wall around their wary hearts just a little. Yet, it is still not enough to lure them close enough to touch, let alone capture. 

Stray dogs are beautiful, hardy and vulnerable all at once. The greatest trouble is that they are also so very smart. So, unless you have built up a solid relationship with the dogs in question and short of bringing in the necessary equipment, it is impossible to bring them in, no matter how hard you try. It also won't change things if we were to go down personally to the site. We are mere strangers to these dogs, invaders to their land. The chances of them shunning us like the plague is almost 99% certain, no matter how dog friendly we may look or smell! 

So to this email, our usual response will be to enquire... what are the chances of the authorities coming? If the dogs look comfortable where they are, they aren't creating a ruckus and it looks like someone is feeding them, our advice would be to... leave them be. Shelter life is not all it is made out to be. Some strays who are used to roaming the world might not adapt well to the shelter. So let them enjoy their environment. Do not interfere artificially and remove them from their home if you aren't prepared to watch over them for the next decade or so. 

3. I've had the dog for five/seven/nine/eleven years but I can no longer keep him. (i) I just got married/pregnant and my parents-in-law are not comfortable with a dog around. I don't want to wreck my relationship with them. (ii) I am emigrating in a month and I can't bring the dog along. (iii) My parents are squabbling over the dog and threatening divorce. Could you please take my dog into your shelter? He is healthy, toilet trained and good with people. 

Angry? Yes, every time we get an email like that, I feel a big sense of injustice for the dog wash over me like a great uncontrollable tidal wave. How can anyone give up a friend of five/seven/nine/eleven years? The longer the relationship, the greater the injustice. 

Okay yes, sometimes there are very adequate reasons for giving up the dog. Perhaps your child is allergic and has been having serious asthma problems as a result of the fur. You do not think you can provide proper care for both your child and dog. We respect your decision. But you owe it to your dog to find a second home for it - a shelter is simply not the option. 

You can post on adoption websites like crazy, updating your posts once very few days so that it would be on the top of the list and hard to be missed. The Rehomers and LostPaws are some useful sites to look to, just to name a few. You can start a website, use social media, make flyers, posters, send a desperate email to every friend on your contact list, place your dog on temporary home boarding until you find a suitable alternative. Our point is... there is always something you can do, short of writing to a shelter to take your poor dog in. 

If your dog is a small little frisky Maltese or other toy breeds, our shelter is most certainly not the place for it! Much to our trepidation, most of our medium to large sized dogs get a wee bit too excited when they catch sight of these teeny little ones. If your dog is old or sick, then even more so, the shelter is simply not the place. The onus becomes even greater to do something to secure a second home. 

If letting your dog loose in the streets is even an option for you, then we are speechless. And let us tell you, we've been rendered speechless quite a number of times. 

We are not speaking from a moral high ground. I most certainly do not think I am the kindest, most virtuous person ever to walk this earth. Because plainly, I am not. But when we are put in a dilemma whether or not to rescue these dogs, it can get so frustrating. What makes one dog more worth rescuing than another? Why should we reject a request for us to take in a dog out on the streets to save another dog whose owner is turning it in to the authorities? How do we value one life over another?

What really is the ethics of dog rescue? 

How do we set a criteria on when we should take in dogs and when we shouldn't? I have had futile discussions with Florence over this a number of times. We have been unable to come up with an answer. 

Add an uncertain future to the matrix of factors to consider when taking in new dogs and you've got a big headache and a sleepless night as I am having now. As you can see, the more I write, the more impassioned I become. 

If we are able to look into our crystal ball and see a semblance of stability and some hope of relocating at the end of 2014, we would most gladly take in more dogs. Unfortunately, the situation now is hazy, to say the least. No news has been released on land that has been set aside for the Pet Industry once the current area has been reclaimed for re-development. What will happen to the current place where more than a thousand dogs call their home? What will happen to our dogs at the end of 2014? 

The only back up plan we have is to rent kennels at private pet boarding businesses to house the dogs in until their final days and how long are we able to sustain that? To do so, we have to keep the number of dogs we have as low as possible - which means that the most responsible thing to do right now is to stop taking in dogs. Florence pointed this harsh truth out to me ever so starkly which I found extremely unpalatable. 

Rescuing, rehome, rescuing. It's a self-affirming cycle. A driving factor for us to find homes for the dogs is so we can rescue more dogs. That is part of the joy of dog rescue. The presence of so many limiting factors threatening to render this well-traversed cycle topsy turvy is discouraging. 

As the familiar Singaporean refrain goes... What to do? Perhaps instead of trying to save more dogs physically, the wisest thing to do right now is to divert my attention on finding out just how we can secure a new site in two years' time. And even if we don't rescue more dogs - then so what? We have rehomed almost 50 dogs the past two years. We have another 30 on our hands, for whom come hell or high water, we vouch to take care for the rest of their lives. That's 80 lives for which we made a difference. While that's a drop in the huge ocean out there, it's something. 

Ghandi once said that... In gentle ways, we can shake the world. This is Gentle Paws, creating our small ripples in the great big world of dog rescue. For every rejection we make, we do so with an extremely heavy heart. No dog deserves to die. If you see the pictures that we receive, the innocent faces of the dogs staring out at you with no clue of their impending fate, perhaps you would get an inkling of the temptation we get to take in every single dog and the greater courage it takes to walk away. 

Good night. 

Her Pursuit of Happyness

We all want to be happy.

Some of us get it easy, others aren't so lucky.

This is Donna and here is her story of how she chased after that elusive little thing...

Called happiness.

Donna was born at the shelter but we hardly got to know her. 

She was quickly whisked away by a teenage girl who wanted to adopt her. Adopt away, we encouraged, thrilled that at least one puppy out of five wouldn’t need to grow up in the shelter. 

One of the rare few pictures of a 2 month old Donna with us

So Donna was known as Mikki and led a life very different from her siblings, away from the shelter. At home, she quickly got the hang of commands like sit, stay and down. She loved her family and life with them was all she ever knew. 

Donna at six months during one of our house visits

Unfortunately, things just weren’t meant to be. 

There were plenty of unresolved issues within the family about Donna. Every time there was a disagreement, the issue of Donna and her future dangled perilously in the air. 

After six to eight months, when Donna was almost all grown up, the decision was at last made to send her back. 

A fuzzy picture I took from Donna's first adoptor long, long ago

Donna found herself all alone at the shelter. 

Her mother and siblings were still around, but because she was removed from the litter so early on, they no longer recognised her as part of the group. 

But Donna never did let the past get her down. She did not sulk, she did not brood – or at least, she didn’t let it show. Instead, she was desperately eager to please and gave us little trouble. 

And so we christened her Donna. The name was bright and happy the way that she was. We were hoping a new name and a new beginning would pave the way for new happiness ahead. 

Hello Donna

Because Donna experienced life in a home, she, more than any other dog, knew the hardships of shelter life compared to home life. We didn’t want her to stay at the shelter for long. This dog was house trained and affectionate and completely ready for a new home. And so we did our best to find one for her. 

She went for one trial homestay after another, which did not work out because the potential adoptors realised they weren’t ready for a dog in the family. It wasn't anyone's fault, just a case of bad luck time and again. Lady Luck seemed particularly adept at hiding where Donna's homestays were concerned. 

After two failed attempts, Donna was visibly lethargic. She began to retreat into herself and display erratic behaviour, such as refusal to walk. I remember feeling particularly angry when the silly girl stopped in the middle road one fine walk and refused to move, oblivious to the oncoming cars heading our way. But my instinctive anger was quickly tempered by the frustration I could sense in Donna. The poor girl could not help feeling confused over the state of things. 

Nobody loves me?

We decided to give it a rest – at least for a while. Donna needed to feel like she belonged and if no one wanted her… we did. We always did. 

Donna began life proper at the shelter. She was naughty at times, loving at others and she captured the hearts of many of the volunteers. More importantly, Donna learnt to be happy again at the shelter. After some shuffling around, we housed the sunny girl with our senior resident, Buddy. They were an odd pair but these two… they became friends. 

And she smiled again

Things fall into your lap when you least expect it. 

It had been two years since Donna came to us and suddenly, into her life walked Ping Liang and Jing Xuan. They dropped us an email informing us they were exploring the possibility of adoption. They even filled up a form found on our adoption portal that no one ever bothered to read. As potential adoptors go, these two were very sincere and we felt hope spring instantly within us. 

They had no preference for a dog and took our advice readily on the dogs that might be suitable to their lifestyle and circumstance. Florence took the chance to introduce to them three year old Donna with the floppy ears, orange markings and cheerful personality. 

Floppy ears, orange markings, big big smile, yup, that's Donna

They say going slow and steady wins you the race. We learnt that it really does. 

Ping Liang and Jing Xuan didn’t rush into things. They kickstarted the adoption process by coming down to the shelter regularly to take Donna for walks. They got to know Donna and the way she was at the shelter... from how she just could not stop barking at Grace to how affectionate she could be with those she loves, both dogs and humans alike. 

When it was finally time for a homestay, this couple had a better idea of what they were in for. We did a couple of short weekend stays to acclimatise on one hand, Donna to the domestic household environment and on the other, both Ping Liang and Jing Xuan to the experience of having a four legged fur friend in their lives.

Off they go on their first homestay!

The adoption process can sometimes be a long one. But we couldn't help feeling anxious that this might not work out after all. It was time for our annual adoption drive in December. When assessing the number of dogs we had available for adoption, we were uncertain whether to add Donna's name to the list. 

With bated breath, we decided to ask the couple. They were the only ones who could give us the answer. 

And they said... 

No. 

Donna was not up for adoption. She was going home with them. It was only a matter of when. 

So with much elation, we dropped Donna's name from the list and went about organising our event. Perhaps elation is understating it. What we felt was more like euphoria... These people saw the good in our little girl... The good we always lamented that only we could see. 

Christmas rolled by and January dawned, brand new and hopeful. A couple of weekends ago, Donna went back with her folks. Ping Liang and Jing Xuan informed us that Donna wasn't going to be returning to the shelter. (Ohhhh, how our hearts sang!)

Family shot before they set off on the final homestay toward adoption

And just like that Donna was home. 

It is still very much early days for the lovely family. We do know that anything can happen. But we are feeling pretty upbeat. 

Donna sitting pretty on one of her walks with her folks

For the couple, adoption wasn't a snap decision. It was very much a journey. To go through the whole process the way they did requires a certain level of persistence and patience. We hope these very traits see them through whatever ups and downs await and make their home a permanent one for Donna. 

At home, we were told Donna is Queen of the couch

Uncertainty, scepticism, frustration, hope, joy, euphoria, grief. Adopting and owning a dog can be a rollercoaster ride. 

But very often, you'll find out, it can be the ride of a lifetime. 

For good?

For Donna, we hope this marks the end of her chase toward a home and happyness. 

Good luck baby. We love you.

The Gentle Paws Walk-A-Paw 2012

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, dogs are barking. 

What is Christmas without a little Christmas jingle? 

And what is Christmas without a little love for the shelter dogs? 

We want our dogs to feel the fuzzy warmth of the Christmas season.

And so in lieu of the usual furry day, we are doing something a little different this December. 

Dogs always like a change of scenery. 

Instead of Pasir Ris Park, we will be bringing them to the picturesque Lorong Halus Wetland Park. 

We want to bring them one step closer to nature, help them see that the world we live in is a beautiful one... and that they are not alone. 

This is furry day with a twist. This is Walk-A-Paw 2012. 

What is on earth is Walk-A-Paw?

Walk-A-Paw is an annual event we hold each December, in conjunction with our year end flea market and adoption drive, to ready ourselves for various financial demands we foresee in the upcoming year. 

We were once a fledgling new shelter, upbeat about the future and ready to take on the world for our dogs. Then, we were faced with wave after wave of medical crises that almost crushed our spirit. 

In 2010, Dollar passed away within days from acute kidney failure, Daixi whittled down to skin and bones from chronic kidney failure, Doris' platelet count was found to be abnormally low, Dada and Dillon were suspected to have consumed rat poison... Wham Bam. Everything came all at once.

Watching our dogs fall ill was hard enough. It didn't help that we were caught off guard and left scrambling to raise the money for their treatment. We were driven to set up the aptly named SOS Fund and the kindness we received from folks we have never met helped us tide through this very horrible period. 

Gratitude was sweet. We were glad for the whole episode to go away. But I doubt we would ever forget the panic and anxiety we experienced when the bills just kept on mounting. 

We never want to go through that kind of anxiety again. We don't want to be as reliant as we once were. For the shelter to be a long term venture, we had to be self-sufficient and resourceful. It was our initiative to save the dogs and we didn't want it to become your burden every time something cropped up. 

And so we got to work. 

We were ordinary people with no special talents but we charged on ahead and did the best that we could. Besides our Sponsor-A-Dog Program, we began to participate in and organize flea markets more actively and started producing our own calendars, badges and T-shirts for sale. Last year, we organized our inaugural Walk-A-Paw to much good cheer and support. 

We are hoping it will be the same this year :) 

Just like last year, we will be walking 1.6km from the shelter to the park. For the less physically inclined, fret not. Barring the fast five minutes of irrepressible doggie excitement, the walk will be a leisurely one with some good scenery along the way. What's more, unlike last year where we had to walk on the grass, there is now a cement pathway to help facilitate walking. 

A friendly, experienced guide of ours will be attached to each group of dogs. So if any difficulty is faced in the handling of the dog, our guides will be there to save the day. They will also call for the appropriate water breaks for both dogs and participants along the way. Our van will also be patrolling the route to rescue any stubborn dog that refuses to walk. Don't worry, we've got it all covered. 

We should arrive at the park within 25 minutes, whereupon we would all settle down for a well-deserved break and some photo taking. When the dogs have had enough of a breather, the guides would lead the groups on an exploration around the park until it is finally time to cover the final 1.6km back to the shelter. Back at the shelter, showering would commence, after which, the event would draw to a close. 

The excitement of the day, a good shower and their lunch afterward will all culminate in a very blissful night's sleep for our dogs. That is probably the best Christmas present for us all. 

To participate in the Walk-A-Paw, there would be a registration fee of $35.00. In return, the participants would receive a goody bag, consisting of a special edition Gentle Paws Walk-A-Paw 2012 Participant T-shirt (designed by our wonderfully talented volunteer, Adeline), a badge, a drink, a snack and other paraphernalia. 

Confused? Perhaps a step-by-step guide is in order. Do note however that more details regarding payment and collection of goody bags would be released upon confirmation of your participation. 

At its barest and most essential, the Walk-A-Paw is just a walkathon involving our own shelter dogs. But it is symbolic in so many ways. 

It is a walk for a better future for the homeless dogs around us. 

It is a walk showing that we are a community that cares. 

It is a walk... of love.

In the world of animal rescue, let's not learn the hate and cynicism that is so prevalent. Let us work - and walk - toward our goals with the positivity characteristic of the Christmas season. 

Care to join us this 22 December for the Walk-A-Paw? Drop us an email today!

We wish you a merry Christmas! ;)

Please be informed that all proceeds of the Walk-A-Paw will go towards the shelter dogs, be it for medical expenses, maintenance of infrastructure, for food or rent or possible relocation needs.

Credit to Sebas, Lorna and our surprisingly tolerant doggies for the beautiful, amusing and thoroughly enjoyable Christmas themed photos. 

Credit also to Adeline for our simple but beautiful T-shirt design and for so patiently catering to all our requirements. 

Please direct any queries to farmwaylove@gmail.com.