Butterballs all, butterballs me.
I didn't spend my break doing utterly nothing meaningful, guys.
Yesterday was Gentle Paws's (a privately run dog shelter) 13th Furry Day event. It's a day when humans head down to bring the shelter dogs out for their once-a-month outing at Pasir Ris Park/Beach. I was roped in by my cousin Pooh to join in this good (and fun!) cause -- actually, I would have gone anyway once I knew about it. I mean, there're furkids there for the picking to rough house with and there shelter folks are more than happy to have volunteer photogs around. As such, I headed down with Syon, a bag of scrap cake (the kind you can get at the bakery for a dollar a packet) -- for myself! -- and basically nothing much else. They don't really ask for much, just for you to have ready, strong hands and your wits and compassion about you. (Oh yes, you also need to be at least 17 years old. :D)
While the time I spent with the dogs wasn't long, what little I got to know of them had my understanding of local dogs (a.k.a. Those Stray Mutts) turned a 180-degrees. I learnt that, if these dogs are given the right kind of attention and love that their luckier, born-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time-to-the-right-set-of-blue-blooded-dam-and-sire counterparts receive, they can be smashingly lively and lovely doggy friends. The route to making them so's definitely a lot more challenging (and sometimes heartbreaking) than if you were to work with the clean slate of a pedigree flown in direct from the Oz, but somehow, I should think that it makes them all the more worth it? If I were to sit down and think of it properly, I can probably come up with a dozen reasons why I'll recommend adopting a furkid rather than buying one, but let's leave that for another day.
... Alright, I bet you were just waiting for the photos to come up, yeah? XD
The following are some portraits I'd taken of the dogs that were in my cousin's and my group. (The dogs at the shelter have their own excruciatingly exclusive cliques, so if a dog has caught your eye and you happen to be there with your friends to walk them, you all have to choose ones that are part of a pack if you wanna stick together.)
This is Doris, a pure-breed Golden Retriever. I think she's the only one who defies the 'clique rule', 'cause it seems like most of the other dogs don't mind her. She's old, barrel-bodied and ambling but perfectly lovely. Her story's a sad one, yet pretty typical of a breeding dog at a puppy mill: In her prime, she was used to churn out those adorable golden puppies with melting eyes you can get around the island; when she out-lived her use, the pet store owners had intended to kill her off together with the other old mama-dogs. Thankfully, someone was able to intervene and managed to send her off to the folks at Gentle Paws. I think she's been staying there for quite a while now.
These two are a pair of siblings -- Dyana and Dexter. They have another sister named Donna, but that girl has a much fouler temper. Isn't Dyana pretty? <3 I don't have much of an impression of her, 'cause she was walked by my cousin's friend, but I don't recall there being any problems with Dyana. On the other hand, I've heard a lot about Dexter-boy even before I'd gone down to see him. My other cousin Koko had walked him at the Furry Day two months ago. "Hyper dog," she'd said. IMO, he's the sweetest dog around, the shelter dog equivalent of sugar and spice and everything nice (in other words, he's a target for the bullies. >_<). He just loves his walks, ends up being too quickly exhausted and having to take multiple breaks. Their mother's Dior, who looks kinda like them but without the cute floppy ears.
It's kinda heart-warming to know that there're 'happy families' that make it to the shelter, 'cause some of them are not so fortunate. I heard that there's an entire stray dog family that was fed poisoned feed a while ago. The white mother dog had perished together with her pups and it was too late for the Gentle Paws folks to do anything for them. However, they were able to save the one boy that shared his mother's colouring...
I don't have a good photo of him, but this is Mario taking a bath. (And that's my cousin Pooh and her friend hosing him down.) He's a jolly fellow. :3 Dior and her kids have accepted him as part of their pack, so the 4 of them, together with another black dog named Dribble share a hangout/enclosure. (Ah. Dribble. He was a bad boy that day. If I tell you guys what actually happened, it's not gonna help with your perception of stray mutts. So please ask me personally if you're acutely curious about it.)
AND AND AND. THE FOLLOWING TWO! THE FEARSOME COUPLE-DUO! THE PAIR THAT NO DOG DARES MESS AROUND WITH.
... I know you wouldn't believe me if I told you that they're the Fearsome Twosome of Gentle Paws, Xiaobai and Emily. (小白/Xiaobai is white, as his name suggests. He and Mario are the only two pure white dogs at Gentle Paws. You tell them apart by their ears: Xiaobai's left ear is chipped and the other kinda round-edged, while Mario's are both erect.) Admittedly, they look rather much like sheep here. In fact, they behave almost exactly like that -- around humans, that is. They love people; they scorn other doggies. For the record, I heard that Xiao Bai has a record of biting off pieces off other dogs' ears (4 dogs, I think, but it's hardly anything to boast about. >A<) Emily growls and lunges at other dogs when they're too close. They only behave civilly towards each other. Joy. :D The moment I'd stepped into the shelter, these two had caught my eye. (Not the least because they're so pretty togther -- yes, yes. Steffi's superficial. We all know that by now. =A=) Emily came up and licked my hand moments after I entered their hangout. Xiabaii took a while to warm up to me, but I ended the day with him.
Now, I ought to explain why I'd said earlier that these dogs have 'excruciatingly exclusive cliques'. Besides each being housed in living arrangements such that no dog will end up a mess of wounds and whimpers, when being transported to the park for their monthly long walk in a small van, they've got to be ferried in these groups. This means multiple trips, sometimes with 5 dogs, sometimes with a loose group of individuals who are generally fine around other dogs. Then there's Caspian&Qiqi and Xiaobai&Emily. I ended up chilling out with Xiaobai and another volunteer who was with Emily near the end of the outing. Since there was no way that he and Emily could be transported back to the shelter with the other dogs, we ended up being the last group to go back. It happened that Caspian and Qiqi were also around. For a panicky moment, the logistics people had to figure out how to save time and not waste petrol while ensuring that us volunteers handling the dogs don't end up traumatised while sitting with the dogs at the back of the van. There's no way they could've put all 4 dogs and us in there. (This is what I meant by 'excruciating'. The number of things you have to consider. The number of repetitions you have to make just 'cause the dogs have their finicky social habits. T_T The possibility of ending up with injured dogs, maybe even intervening human, at the end.) Luckily, the coordinator Ann managed to sit in the front with the huge Caspian and Qiqi on her lap, while I and two other humans formed a human shield keeping Xiaobai and Emily apart from the two in front. >AAAAA<
... Whew. It really does seems like a ton of work, doesn't it?
But I can attest to the fact that it's immensely rewarding, plus a lot of fun (if you've got a sense of humour, you should be able to realise the fun parts, if belatedly). Most of the dogs crave human company, since the shelter is only opened for visitors on weekends. (That's right, they're holed up there with only 1 human caretaker, Wee, for 6 days of the week. DX) I'd go down again. The Gentle Paws owners/main volunteers keep a pretty free-and-easy structure, so it seems like you can pretty do anything if it helps the dogs and isn't totally out of their capabilities. They've a lot of room to grow and aren't a registed charity organisation yet, unlike other more established animal shelters like (the notorious, in my book, at least) SPCA and Action for Singapore Dogs. They can do with more humans helping out along the way.
Ah. And to close off, here's a boy that could do with some of our thoughts and prayers.
This is Drago, a Very Recent Rescue. His coat is evidently covered with bald patches and there may be sores on his skin. I heard that he has only partial sight right now. I hadn't really interacted with him much (and wouldn't have at all, if not for Xiaobai and Emily being housed next to him) but you can tell that he was pretty forlorn in his sorry state. I patted him a bit, took a few shots and wished I could have done more at this time in point. The shelter's asking for sponsors for him right now, so if anyone's interested, please drop them a mail.
Love,
Steffi
P.S. It's been a while since I've written up a long post like this, with no mention of dolls. I feel oddly proud.
P.P.S. If anyone's interested in joining me the next time I'm heading down to the shelter, please tell me! It doesn't have to be next month's Furry Day, or the one after that. It can just be a free weekend. :)
Yesterday was Gentle Paws's (a privately run dog shelter) 13th Furry Day event. It's a day when humans head down to bring the shelter dogs out for their once-a-month outing at Pasir Ris Park/Beach. I was roped in by my cousin Pooh to join in this good (and fun!) cause -- actually, I would have gone anyway once I knew about it. I mean, there're furkids there for the picking to rough house with and there shelter folks are more than happy to have volunteer photogs around. As such, I headed down with Syon, a bag of scrap cake (the kind you can get at the bakery for a dollar a packet) -- for myself! -- and basically nothing much else. They don't really ask for much, just for you to have ready, strong hands and your wits and compassion about you. (Oh yes, you also need to be at least 17 years old. :D)
While the time I spent with the dogs wasn't long, what little I got to know of them had my understanding of local dogs (a.k.a. Those Stray Mutts) turned a 180-degrees. I learnt that, if these dogs are given the right kind of attention and love that their luckier, born-in-the-right-place-at-the-right-time-to-the-right-set-of-blue-blooded-dam-and-sire counterparts receive, they can be smashingly lively and lovely doggy friends. The route to making them so's definitely a lot more challenging (and sometimes heartbreaking) than if you were to work with the clean slate of a pedigree flown in direct from the Oz, but somehow, I should think that it makes them all the more worth it? If I were to sit down and think of it properly, I can probably come up with a dozen reasons why I'll recommend adopting a furkid rather than buying one, but let's leave that for another day.
... Alright, I bet you were just waiting for the photos to come up, yeah? XD
The following are some portraits I'd taken of the dogs that were in my cousin's and my group. (The dogs at the shelter have their own excruciatingly exclusive cliques, so if a dog has caught your eye and you happen to be there with your friends to walk them, you all have to choose ones that are part of a pack if you wanna stick together.)
This is Doris, a pure-breed Golden Retriever. I think she's the only one who defies the 'clique rule', 'cause it seems like most of the other dogs don't mind her. She's old, barrel-bodied and ambling but perfectly lovely. Her story's a sad one, yet pretty typical of a breeding dog at a puppy mill: In her prime, she was used to churn out those adorable golden puppies with melting eyes you can get around the island; when she out-lived her use, the pet store owners had intended to kill her off together with the other old mama-dogs. Thankfully, someone was able to intervene and managed to send her off to the folks at Gentle Paws. I think she's been staying there for quite a while now.
These two are a pair of siblings -- Dyana and Dexter. They have another sister named Donna, but that girl has a much fouler temper. Isn't Dyana pretty? <3 I don't have much of an impression of her, 'cause she was walked by my cousin's friend, but I don't recall there being any problems with Dyana. On the other hand, I've heard a lot about Dexter-boy even before I'd gone down to see him. My other cousin Koko had walked him at the Furry Day two months ago. "Hyper dog," she'd said. IMO, he's the sweetest dog around, the shelter dog equivalent of sugar and spice and everything nice (in other words, he's a target for the bullies. >_<). He just loves his walks, ends up being too quickly exhausted and having to take multiple breaks. Their mother's Dior, who looks kinda like them but without the cute floppy ears.
It's kinda heart-warming to know that there're 'happy families' that make it to the shelter, 'cause some of them are not so fortunate. I heard that there's an entire stray dog family that was fed poisoned feed a while ago. The white mother dog had perished together with her pups and it was too late for the Gentle Paws folks to do anything for them. However, they were able to save the one boy that shared his mother's colouring...
I don't have a good photo of him, but this is Mario taking a bath. (And that's my cousin Pooh and her friend hosing him down.) He's a jolly fellow. :3 Dior and her kids have accepted him as part of their pack, so the 4 of them, together with another black dog named Dribble share a hangout/enclosure. (Ah. Dribble. He was a bad boy that day. If I tell you guys what actually happened, it's not gonna help with your perception of stray mutts. So please ask me personally if you're acutely curious about it.)
AND AND AND. THE FOLLOWING TWO! THE FEARSOME COUPLE-DUO! THE PAIR THAT NO DOG DARES MESS AROUND WITH.
... I know you wouldn't believe me if I told you that they're the Fearsome Twosome of Gentle Paws, Xiaobai and Emily. (小白/Xiaobai is white, as his name suggests. He and Mario are the only two pure white dogs at Gentle Paws. You tell them apart by their ears: Xiaobai's left ear is chipped and the other kinda round-edged, while Mario's are both erect.) Admittedly, they look rather much like sheep here. In fact, they behave almost exactly like that -- around humans, that is. They love people; they scorn other doggies. For the record, I heard that Xiao Bai has a record of biting off pieces off other dogs' ears (4 dogs, I think, but it's hardly anything to boast about. >A<) Emily growls and lunges at other dogs when they're too close. They only behave civilly towards each other. Joy. :D The moment I'd stepped into the shelter, these two had caught my eye. (Not the least because they're so pretty togther -- yes, yes. Steffi's superficial. We all know that by now. =A=) Emily came up and licked my hand moments after I entered their hangout. Xiabaii took a while to warm up to me, but I ended the day with him.
Now, I ought to explain why I'd said earlier that these dogs have 'excruciatingly exclusive cliques'. Besides each being housed in living arrangements such that no dog will end up a mess of wounds and whimpers, when being transported to the park for their monthly long walk in a small van, they've got to be ferried in these groups. This means multiple trips, sometimes with 5 dogs, sometimes with a loose group of individuals who are generally fine around other dogs. Then there's Caspian&Qiqi and Xiaobai&Emily. I ended up chilling out with Xiaobai and another volunteer who was with Emily near the end of the outing. Since there was no way that he and Emily could be transported back to the shelter with the other dogs, we ended up being the last group to go back. It happened that Caspian and Qiqi were also around. For a panicky moment, the logistics people had to figure out how to save time and not waste petrol while ensuring that us volunteers handling the dogs don't end up traumatised while sitting with the dogs at the back of the van. There's no way they could've put all 4 dogs and us in there. (This is what I meant by 'excruciating'. The number of things you have to consider. The number of repetitions you have to make just 'cause the dogs have their finicky social habits. T_T The possibility of ending up with injured dogs, maybe even intervening human, at the end.) Luckily, the coordinator Ann managed to sit in the front with the huge Caspian and Qiqi on her lap, while I and two other humans formed a human shield keeping Xiaobai and Emily apart from the two in front. >AAAAA<
... Whew. It really does seems like a ton of work, doesn't it?
But I can attest to the fact that it's immensely rewarding, plus a lot of fun (if you've got a sense of humour, you should be able to realise the fun parts, if belatedly). Most of the dogs crave human company, since the shelter is only opened for visitors on weekends. (That's right, they're holed up there with only 1 human caretaker, Wee, for 6 days of the week. DX) I'd go down again. The Gentle Paws owners/main volunteers keep a pretty free-and-easy structure, so it seems like you can pretty do anything if it helps the dogs and isn't totally out of their capabilities. They've a lot of room to grow and aren't a registed charity organisation yet, unlike other more established animal shelters like (the notorious, in my book, at least) SPCA and Action for Singapore Dogs. They can do with more humans helping out along the way.
Ah. And to close off, here's a boy that could do with some of our thoughts and prayers.
This is Drago, a Very Recent Rescue. His coat is evidently covered with bald patches and there may be sores on his skin. I heard that he has only partial sight right now. I hadn't really interacted with him much (and wouldn't have at all, if not for Xiaobai and Emily being housed next to him) but you can tell that he was pretty forlorn in his sorry state. I patted him a bit, took a few shots and wished I could have done more at this time in point. The shelter's asking for sponsors for him right now, so if anyone's interested, please drop them a mail.
Love,
Steffi
P.S. It's been a while since I've written up a long post like this, with no mention of dolls. I feel oddly proud.
P.P.S. If anyone's interested in joining me the next time I'm heading down to the shelter, please tell me! It doesn't have to be next month's Furry Day, or the one after that. It can just be a free weekend. :)