Yesterday (24 March), Singapore’s volunteer group for dogs’ welfare, Chained Dog Awareness in Singapore (CDAS), publicised an open letter on Facebook with an intention to seek justice for a senior dog that had been euthanised by its owner.

The open letter was addressed to the National Council of Churches and Bethany International Church because the dog’s owner is a pastor who had not been named.

Prior to the open letter, CDAS described their encounter with the dog and its owner in another Facebook post. The dog was reportedly being kicked and shoved underneath a cabinet by a woman and it was seen lying on its side attempting to eat from the floor instead of a proper bowl. Besides, with the dog’s mobility issue and an inadequate shield from the unpredictable weather, it was unable to seek shelter on its own.

According to CDAS, the volunteers, Ben and Suzie, approached the pastor on 23 March to ask about the dog. The pastor stated that the dog belongs to his wife, and it was estimated to be eight years old. Ben proposed to bring the dog to the veterinary clinic and promised to drop by again to provide treats and supplements.

After returning to the pastor’s house in hopes that he would agree to let Ben bring the dog to the clinic, Ben was unable to catch hold of the owner. Ben went on to speak to the pastor’s immediate neighbour in regards to the dog, it was then revealed that the dog had been in that state for the past 18 months. The dog had been dragging its feet and barking relentlessly despite its appetite was still good.

Here is a video uploaded by CDAS:

Without giving the dog up, Ben left CDAS’s contact number with the pastor’s neighbour with the intention to return on that same day (22 March) or latest on 23 March.

Although CDAS was unable to catch hold of the pastor, the latter called CDAS on the night of 22 March, agreeing to meet up to discuss his dog’s welfare. Representative from CDAS and the pasor agreed to meet in the afternoon on 23 March. At about 9:30am on 23 March, CDAS sent text messages to confirm on the time to meet up with the pastor.

Things took a turn when the pastor texted CDAS that he had already “put his dog to sleep” at 11:15am even though he agreed to meet CDAS for discussions that afternoon.

It was nothing but shock for CDAS that the pastor decided to euthanise his senior dog even though they had agreed to discuss for its welfare.

In the pastor’s text message, he claimed that his dog was “healthy” but it was already “too old”.

The sudden change of events left CDAS angered and disgusted as they could not fathom why the pastor chose to euthanise his dog after the volunteers reached out to him to help the dog.

To honour this dog’s life, CDAS decided to name the dog Angel in the process of seeking justice. They took this matter to Facebook on behalf of the public, pleading the aforementioned parties to investigate, provide answers, take appropriate actions and “give justice to a life wasted in vain”.

Other than that, CDAS also listed down five questions for the councils to investigate on:

CDAS urged everyone who wishes to seek justice for Angel to send e-mails to the church councils. Other than the councils, the team had also requested NParks to carry out an investigation in regards to Angel’s case.

Netizens were angered upon reading about Angel, and many had followed CDAS’s request to email the church councils, hoping that justice would be served. These netizens also hoped that the church councils would be able to respond to this issue.

Patricia Yeo commented that other than sending e-mails to the church parties, she had also lodged complaints to SPCA and Animal and Veterinary Service.

To avoid unnecessary problems stemming from this case, CDAS reminded their supporters to be as mindful as possible while they condemn the pastor’s cruel acts. The supporters were told not to reveal the pastor’s name as it is a punishable crime in Singapore.

As of today (25 March), CDAS updated their supporters regarding the status of the open letter. It seems like they have not gotten any response from the relevant parties yet. CDAS expressed gratitude to the huge amount of support towards this movement. They reminded the public that it’s a test of perseverance and determination to seek justice for Angel, urging everyone to follow through to ensure that the relevant parties gave their responses.