Sunday, July 8, 2012

D.O.G.S



I have been very busy last month setting up a new dog charity with my good friend Manida, and that explains why I haven't had much time to update Style Canvas. D.O.G.S stands for Dogs Owners Guidance Support, a charity that aims to raise and allocate funds to various dog welfare organisations and individual dog rescuers in Singapore.

D.O.G.S is a non-profit organisation in Singapore that aims to be a collective voice for the dogs, and to assist various dog welfare groups and individual dog rescuers.


This is me with Bailey from Madam Wong's Shelter.


My good friend Manida with Rocky from Madam Wong's Shelter.


Our primary focus is on public awareness program to promote responsible dog ownership, good canine behaviour, equipping volunteers and fosterers with the right knowledge to help dogs. We will also help to rehabilitate rescued dogs and make them more adoptable. Our goals are to help re-home rescued dogs, impart knowledge to owners to ensure they have a meaningful relationship with their dogs, reduce dog abuse, abandonment and related issues.

Please like the D.O.G.S Facebook page if you support what we are doing. On our Facebook page, you will see pictures of the dogs that we have helped and you can also pick up some tips on how to rehabilitate dogs. You can also post a picture of your pet to show support for D.O.G.S.



Here are some of the dogs that we have rehabilitated at Madam Wong's Shelter since we started helping them 3 weeks ago. To read the full story and follow their progress, all you have to do is to visit D.O.G.S Facebook page.

#1 Success Story - Rocky
Rocky was happy to feel grass for the first time in his life. Madam Wong was so happy that we managed to get Rocky out for a walk. Due to his "aggressive" nature, he has been isolated in the kennel for maybe about 3-4 years. Rocky now enjoys walks with selected volunteers.


#2 Success Story - Bailey
Handsome Bailey had a sad past as his owner passed away while he was being boarded at a pet hotel. Madam Wong adopted him and so he won't be homeless. He was also deemed "aggressive" and un-leashable, and hasn't been on a walk for about 2 years. Bailey now gets excited at the prospect of going for walks and has transformed into an affectionate dog who loves to be petted.


#3 Success Story - Timber
Timber was a rescued dog who used to roam free around the Tanjong Pagar area. He is being isolated in the kennel as he has aggression towards certain dogs. He has also never been out for walks since he became a resident at the shelter. His first step out of the kennel saw him hiding under a car as he was so fearful. However, he has now discovered the joy in being taken out for walks by volunteers.


#4 Success Story - Xiao Bai
Of all the dogs we rehabilitated so far, Xiao Bai is the one with the most "aggression" when she sees a leash. She will show her teeth, growl, bark and then yelp. However, once we overcame that, she was happy to go for a walk and actually walks really well on leash. We now need to overcome her fear of water as we really wanted to give her a bath!


#5 Success Story - Shadow
Beautiful Shadow is also a rescued dog from the Central Business District area. She was extremely fearful and shy. Even after we managed to leash her, she will remain frozen and will not move. It was only on the 2nd attempt a week after that we discovered how to encourage her to venture out of her kennel on her own terms. She is now opening up and is walking a little more.

The reason why I wrote "aggressive" and "aggression" in quotation marks is because the dogs are perceived to be aggressive or with aggression. In fact, most of the times, the dogs are just fearful and insecure. Now that they opened up and are being taken for walks, they are mentally more stable and have less pent up frustration, making them easier to manage.

If you are interested in adopting any of the dogs featured, please email me at marie@alchemyc.com and I will put you in touch with the personnel in charge at Madam Wong's Shelter.


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