Dogs have given us
their absolute all.
We are the center
of their universe.
We are the focus of their
love and faith and trust.
They serve us in return
for scraps.
It is without a doubt
the best deal man
has ever made.
- Roger Caras
Dear Friends and Supporters of Noah's Ark
Time really flies and it has been our usual busy 6 months for us at Noah's Ark.
As we continually face and sadly have to deal with the same issues of animal abuse and abandonment daily. We often ask ourselves "When will this ever end? Or "Will it ever stop?" Sadly the answer is probably no.
Recently we have been inundated with older animals, as more and more people have been abandoning their pets when they become old and may need costly medical attention. Their arguments are simple, it is cheaper to abandon an older dog that requires costly medical care and replace it with a younger pet. Also an older pet is not "so fun" sleeps more etc. Perhaps one should liken owning a pet to a marriage vow - should it not be till death do we part and in sickness and in health I will stand by you? Does this lack of commitment suggest an underlying issue with our society's values as well?
We think the hardest part about finding these older animals is that they are often heartbroken at being so cruelly dumped. We often find them patiently waiting at our gates hoping to hear or see their loved ones once more. Believing that their family will come back for them and it hurts us to know that this will NEVER happen.
Pet abandonment
The last 3 months we have had brought into our sanctuary such older abandoned animals. Big Ben a middle age Bassett Hound was found abandoned at a car park under the hot sun in Malacca. We knew we had to bring Big Ben back and when we did we found out that he was peeing blood. He was promptly brought to the vet for an x-tray and we discovered that he had several stones in his bladder.
Rosie a young Cocker Spaniel too has a sad tale to tell, despite her youth she too was left by her owners and she required expensive surgery. She was abandoned at a vet's clinic with several large open wounds so large that even a golf ball could fit into them.
Topaz a Bull Dog was half blind and been sent to the vet to treat a very large open wound by his owner. However, when he was told that the dog had to be hospitalized so that they could treat his wound and a deposit was required - the owner simply rushed off and was never seen again.
Not surprisingly, Topaz started to display some very disruptive and destructive behaviour which included banging himself against the cage. The vets felt that they could not cope with such behavior and asked Raymund if he would take Topaz in. Raymund knew that he could not refuse such a request. And Topaz is now at the sanctuary receiving his much needed medical care and attention.
These are just some of the dogs that have newly arrived at the sanctuary that required urgent medical treatment and the good news that they are slowly making progress but we know there are still a long road to recovery. Often the physical wounds heal much faster than the emotional scars that these animals suffer and it takes a lot of patience, love and understanding before these animals learn to trust people once more.
To highlight the plight of some of our many animals, we had two students from Chapman University, Roy Ng and Jessica Chua present a video of the sanctuary as part of their final year graduation project on "The Streets is Not Their Home". In this video both Big Ben and Topaz are featured, so if you would find it of interest please click to view.
The Streets Is Not Their Home
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We hope that small insight of the animals featured you will realize that all animals are able to experience similar emotions and feelings of pain, hurt abandonment and love like all of us. And that it will serve as a timely reminder that an animal is for life and not a plaything to be discarded once it is old.
Noah's Ark ABC clinic
At the sanctuary, we now have a no frills clinic - Noah's Ark ABC Clinic (ABC stands for Animal Birth Control). The clinic is for the residents at the sanctuary which has an ICU room for the animals, a quarantine bay for dogs that have just been sterilized under Noah's Ark low cost sterilization scheme.
Every month, Noah's Ark ABC Clinic sterilizes an estimate of 120 cats and 30 dogs in Singapore and Malaysia - our objective is to manage the stray population and to prevent unwanted kittens and puppies from being born.
To participate in our Spay & Neuter programme, please send us an email or contact Raymund at Hp: 019 715 9199.
Noah's Ark open house on Saturday, 20 July
Please mark that date, Saturday, 20 July on your calendar if you should want to visit our sanctuary with its 600 dogs, 300 cats, 5 horses - Yes! we have 3 new members in our horse family - two of our new resident horses represented Singapore in the Youth Olympic in August 2010, 1 pony - Melody, our oldest resident that moved from Singapore with the animals in year 2000, 4 primates and a hutch of bunnies.
Noah's Ark is the only place in Asia that you get up close and person with horses that roam free with the dogs. And if you are keen you can have Starbucks, our super star macaque to sit on your shoulder. For more details about the open house pls visit Open House.
We are often asked about our wish list for our sanctuary so we will unabashedly say that we are in constant need of the following items e.g. old newspapers, used (but clean) towels, cleaning detergents (dish washing liquid, floor cleaner), black garbage bags, dog shampoo, carrots and apples for the horses, fruits (papaya, mango, jack fruit, durian) for the primates, etc... For the complete details of our wishlist, it can be found at the right bottom column.
Any contribution that you choose to make will always be greatly appreciated by the animals and all of us at the sanctuary.
We and our animals look forward to seeing you on 20 July.
Tian Tian, a blind Shihtzu
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Tian Tian at the vet waiting for her eye surgery.
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Back in Singapore, we too have our share of abandoned older animals and just one story that we wish to mention is Tian Tian is a blind Shihtzu who was found tied at an industrial estate. He had been kept there for a few months and in order to survive ate any food scraps that were thrown at him. Being much moved by Tian Tian's plight, the rescuer managed to convince the factory workers to release Tian Tian to her care as she knew that such a life was not suitable for a blind old dog.
Tian Tian has just undergone a surgery to have both his eyes removed - the sad part about this was that his eyes had been so badly traumatized and not been treated for so long that we found a "nest of maggots" swarming under her eye balls. The pain and suffering she must have felt is something that we probably can never envisaged. As a result of this "discovery" both eyes had to be removed so she will no longer be able to see the things around her anymore. People often ask how does a blind dog cope? The same way a blind person does - once they are familiar with a setting they are able to move around quite confidently. We are now looking for a very special family or person who will adopt Tian Tian into their homes and heart. We know it will not be the easiest adoption but we also know that Tian Tian deserves a second chance at a better life. Do you think you could be that special person? Meanwhile, we are also trying to raise funds to pay for his vet bills. At the moment we estimate that his vet bills will cost $2,000.00 -so if you would like to contribute to his medical bill, please email to Noah's Ark CARES
Please click Tian Tian to read about her story.
Back at the sanctuary, another project that is long over due is the building of a new enclosure for our primates
We are planning to build a new enclosure 25ft x 10ft x 12 ft for the primates and we estimate that such a project will cost S$2,500.00 To date, we have raised S$900.00 and do need to raise another S$1,600.00. If you would like to help give our primate a new home, please email to Noah's Ark CARES.
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Noah's Ark wish list
Grooming kits for both cats and dogs
We
A pet shop has generously offered a very special price to Noah's Ark at S$30 each for all the various sizes. We need to purchase a total of 30 kits, 10 pieces of each size i.e. small, medium and large for the residents of Noah's Ark - 300 cats and 600 dogs.
Noah's Ark's also needs pet carrier for Project Cat Snip (spay and neuter of street cats). The cost of a medium pet carrier is S$78 each.
To sponsor a grooming kit or a pet carrier, please email to Noah's Ark CARES.
If you have used pet carriers to donate, small, medium or large, please contact us and we will arrange to collect it from you. |
Thank you to our sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the Pet Station's food donation drive in April - the animals received 96 (15 kg) bags of cat dry food, 196 (20 kg) bags of dog dry food and tin food for both cats and dogs. Your contribution has helped us to feed 600 dogs and 300 cats - every day the animals need 1.5 bags of cat dry food, 9 bags of dog dry food and 48 cans of dog tin food.
The cats are very grateful to have 6 ceiling fans and 1 industrial fan installed at the cattery to help keep the cats cool in the hot afternoons.
As you can see they are most appreciated.
To donate
If you feel that you would wish to contribute towards our work for the animals, perhaps help pay for some of our food, medical aid or support our spay & neuter programme and upkeep of the sanctuary, you may write a cheque to Noah's Ark CARES and mail it to 42 Cairnhill Road, #02-01 Singapore 229661.
If you should wish to make a fund transfer, you may transfer it to the following accounts, upon transfering please send us an email in order for us to track and to acknowledge receipt.
Bank: DBS
Account type: DBS CURRENT
Acct number: 012-900823-0
Acct name: Noah's Ark CARES
Branch Code: 012
Bank Code: 7171
Bank: OCBC Bank (OCBCSGSG)
Acct No: 501-827745-001
Acct Name: Noah's Ark Companion Animal Rescue & Edn Society
Branch: OCBC Head Office
Branch Code: 501
Bank Code: 7339
To sponsor a pet
If you would like to sponsor Big Ben, Topaz or Rosie's stay at the sanctuary, please print the sponsorship form and send it to Noah's Ark CARES. Its costs $50 to sponsor a pet at Noah's Ark.
Noah's Ark calendar of events
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Thank you for your support towards our work for the 800 animals at the Sanctuary.
If wish to subscribe our mailing list, to volunteer, to sponsor a pet or to support our work please send us an email to keep in touch.
You may also keep in touch with us on Facebook by clicking Noah's Ark CARES.
Sincerely,
From the Volunteers at Noah's Ark CARES
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