TOA
PAYOH VETS"Well, they said that I should get my leg cut off! A dog needs the tail to wag." I was shocked that the grandchildren had been so bold and disrespectful.
The grandmother said solemnly to me: "You have better charge me lower fees since the grandchildren will pay from their savings!" The new generation is disrespectful but they put their money where their mouth is by saving their pet dog and being responsible instead of abandoning or killing them off.
On the grandmother's
instructions, I removed the wart and cleared the
anal sacs and sent the dog home at the least cost as soon as
possible. In 2009, dogs have much kinder treatment as the younger generation grows up. I still remember a horrible incident around 1959 when I was a child running around my Redhill Close neighbourhood with all the other naughty boys after school. Suddenly, there was a loud blast and loud crying of a dog.
Curiosity kills the cat but at this age, I was not worried. It could even be a big robbery but I did not care about personal safety. I sprinted towards the scene of blood splattered against a Singapore Improvement Trust apartment wall.
The official dog shooter approached his prey. The killing field was now 3 metres. He moved closer, lifted up his shot gun, aimed at the wounded cross bred dog now seeking cover behind a bicycle parked against a wall. Seeing no shelter, the dog burst out from the bicycle. A second deafening blast extinguished its life as it tried to escape. It was an unforgettable scene for a kid. I am glad that boys and young men nowadays blast each other via the War of Worldcraft, with no real blood and suffering to animals.
Has much changed for the stray dogs in Singapore in 2009? Nowadays, the pendulum of kindness has changed for the betterment of stray dogs as shot guns are not routinely used in built up areas unless there were exceptional circumstances requiring their use. Dog shooting of stray or feral dogs is also practised in other countries such as the U.S and Australia and is never a pleasant task.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF DOG SHOOTING IN SINGAPORE
Before 1950, Singapore was said to have a City Council. The dog shooters boarded buses carrying their shot guns to travel to locations by foot to shoot stray dogs. They would go on foot and bait dogs with food into cages. Then they would shoot the dogs. The dogs were buried but their tails would be retained to prove that the dog shooter had achieved his target.
In the 1970s, I was working in the Primary Production Department (PPD). The PPD dog shooters were better organised and travelled in a van and Land Rover to trap the stray dogs with a supervisor. They would bring them back to the City Veterinary Centre (now Kandang Kerbau Hospital) for euthanasia. Euthanasia was by electrocution or gas I was told, but I was not involved. Hence, no dog tails were required to confirm the shooter's performance.
In November 2, 1998, a dog shooter and the inspector were fined $7,000 each on a verdict of negligence. They saw a pack of 7 to 8 dogs under an expressway in Lorong Halus, a desolate area at that time. They fired 2 rounds. Mr Lim Cheng Choon was sleeping on the grass patch and was concealed by these dogs. He died immediately. The ambulance and police were called. His only family member was a sister who did not pursue the matter further. Dog shooting with shot guns were stopped since this incident. Stray dogs would be caught by lasso. Dog shooting would be considered in very exceptional circumstances in intractable and dangerous situations or where the stray/feral dogs would endanger members of the public.
Press release from the AVA - September 11, 2000
In 2009, I was surprised to hear that there was a private dog shooter who would be contracted to catch certain nuisance stray dogs at night. One man operation. He would be paid $200 per stray dog or puppies over 3 months. Puppies less than 3 months would be paid smaller amounts. He would be assigned difficult cases as the official dog catchers can handle other cases easily.
At night or after midnight he would use a foldable cage, put food inside and trap the dog. He had the advantage of not having strong doggy smells as this dog catching was not his sole occupation. In a good month, he would be able to earn $5,000 a month. Stray dogs are now found in distant and industrial areas like factories. An average of around 200 stray dogs per month would be caught. The advantage of this outside shooter is that the wild dogs don't smell him from >15 metres. Official dog shooters are easily detected by the smells from far away. Portable traps and bait.
SHOT GUN
1. In Singapore, the brand is Remington or Browning. Cost around $2,000.
2. Australia still uses the shot gun in shooting dingoes.
3. The shot gun used in Singapore could fire 5 rounds discharging 120 ball-bearing pellets/round. The shooter aimed above the fore-limbs, at chest level, not at stomach. Death would be instant. The killing field distance would be 10-15 m. Wild dogs could "see" the official dog shooters >15 m. away and would disappear fast. I guess they were experienced or they had smelled the scent of the shooters. Such cases would probably be given to the private dog hunter.
HUMANE METHODS OF STRAY DOG CONTROL
The stray dog population is under control as I seldom see more than one in the Toa Payoh Industrial Park. Sometime in 2008, a biting dam nursing her puppies was attacking people near my surgery. I saw a dog catcher and a big white van. I presumed he was not successful as I heard from my source that the private dog hunter was contacted. Cruel culling methods like shooting and poisoning to manage stray dog populations, electrocution and to control rabies are being replaced by humane methods. These include education about pet care, legislation, identification and registration of pets, sterilisation of stray and owned dogs and vaccination against rabies and humane catching and handling of stray dogs.
Responsible pet ownership is nowadays actively promoted by animal welfare groups and the PPD, now known as the AVA (Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority). Legislation is being enforced. Dogs found not to be licensed will result in dog owners being fined a maximum of $5,000. Annual dog licence fees in Singapore are $14.00 for any dog and $70.00 for intact dogs. Previously, it was $14.00 for male dogs that are sterilised or intact and this change meant some owners have a financial incentive to neuter their male dogs. Rabies vaccination is not necessary in Singapore dogs as Singapore has been rabies free for at least 30 years.
ABANDONMENT OF DOGS
In the past, many Singapore dog owners contributed to the stray dog problem by abandoning the dogs and their puppies when the owners had to be re-settled from the countryside to HDB apartments. This situation is common in other countries. For example, in Puerto Rico, people routinely abandon dogs at the infamous "Dead Dog Beach". Animal welfare groups in Singapore work hard to save stray dogs and rescue them from the streets.
P.S
World Society For The Protection Of Animals (WSPA) report in 2009
provides good information on stray dog welfare. There is a strange paragraph about Singapore that seemed to conflict with its announcement in its Press release from the AVA - September 11, 2000. I reproduce the paragraph below:
| At the OIE General Session, member state Singapore requested that shotguns be considered a humane population management method, signalling that there is much work to be done before stray dogs are safe from cruelty. |