“It has always been my dream to have a dog of my own since I was very young but my parents did not agree at that time. Thinking that it would be impossible to convince my parents I left that thought of having my own dog hanging open for a few years.
It was only recently when I received a text message from my girlfriend that told me about this Labrador that was abandoned by his family because they didn’t want to keep him anymore. I wanted to bring him in badly but decided not to as he was not HDB-approved. I started thinking at how life would change for this boy and it got me thinking seriously about the commitment of being a dog owner. I started doing my research about the costs of keeping a dog as well as the commitment of an owner, for instance how many times to feed as well as the regular walks that a dog will need to stay healthy.
Since then, I’ve been keeping a lookout for adoption drives as I wanted to save and take in a dog from a shelter instead of buying a dog from from the pet shops. I started following SOSD on Facebook and found out about the adoption drives that they hold regularly. I went to one during to merely take a look at the puppies that were recently rescued. On that particular adoption drive, there were 11 puppies and I immediately took notice of the puppy named Jessa (who thankfully has now become a part of my family). At that time, she was only four months old and therefore I could only foster her until she turns six months old. Thankfully all went well and she is officially part of my family after two months of home stay. I must say a lot went into convincing my parents this time round and they surprising fell in love with Jessa when she came over.
After making the decision to adopt, I was really impressed with the dedication that I saw from the SOSD volunteers and I too wanted to help make a difference to the lives of as many dogs as possible. Therefore, I decided to join SOSD as a kennel volunteer in August 2015. Although I am still very new to the organization, I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to be able to make the dogs at the shelter happier during the weekends whenever I can make it down. SOSD has done so much to make sure all stray dogs can have a lovely home and I hope to be able to play a part in doing the same too. As always, adopt – don’t shop – because these rescued dogs are waiting for a family to live with. They will so grateful for your love and you will be very happy for theirs too.” – Jessa’s adopter, Melvin
