History of Dog Shooting in Singapore

"I told my grandchildren that I will get the vet to cut off the dog's tail since it has a wart," the young looking grandma said. "So what did the grandchildren say?" I asked.
"Well, they said that I should get my leg cut off! A dog needs the tail to wag." I was shocked that the grandchildren had been so bold and disrespectful.

The grandmother said solemnly to me: "You have better charge me lower fees since the grandchildren will pay from their savings!" The new generation is disrespectful but they put their money where their mouth is by saving their pet dog and being responsible instead of abandoning or killing them off.

On the grandmother's advice, I removed the wart and cleared the anal sacs and sent the dog home at the least cost.

In 2009, dogs have much kinder treatment as the younger generation grows up. I still remember a horrible incident around 1959 when I was a child running around my neighbourhood with all the other naughty boys after school. Suddenly, there was a loud blast and loud crying of a dog. Curiosity kills the cat but I was not worried. I ran towards the scene of blood splattered against a wall. The dog shoots gave another blast. The stray dog had been limping away wounded and was hiding behind a bicycle. It was an unforgettable sight for me.

Has much changed for the stray dogs in Singapore in 2009? Nowadays, the pendulum of kindness has changed for the better for stray dogs as shot guns routinely anymore unless there was exceptional circumstances requiring their use. Dog shooting of stray or feral dogs is also practised in other countries such as the U.S and Australia and is never a pleasant task.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF DOG SHOOTING IN SINGAPORE
Before 1950, Singapore was said to have a City Council. The dog shooters boarded buses carrying their shot guns to travel to locations by foot to shoot stray dogs. They would go on foot and bait dogs with food into cages. Then they would shoot the dogs. The dogs were buried but their tails would be retained to prove that the dog shooter had achieved his target.

In the 1970s, I was working in the Primary Production Department (PPD). The PPD dog shooters were better organised and travelled in a van and Land Rover to trap the stray dogs with a supervisor. They would bring them back to the City Veterinary Centre (now Kandang Kerbau Hospital) for euthanasia. Euthanasia was by electrocution or gas I was told, but I was not involved. Hence, no dog tails were required to confirm the shooter's performance.

In November 2, 1998, a dog shooter and the inspector were fined $7,000 each on a verdict of negligence. They saw a pack of 7 to 8 dogs under an expressway in Lorong Halus, a desolate area at that time. They fired 2 rounds. Mr Lim Cheng Choon was sleeping on the grass patch and was concealed by these dogs. He died immediately. The ambulance and police were called. His only family member was a sister who did not pursue the matter further. Dog shooting with shot guns were stopped since this incident. Stray dogs would be caught by lasso. Dog shooting would be considered in very exceptional circumstances in intractable and dangerous situations or where the stray/feral dogs would endanger members of the public.
Press release from the AVA - September 11, 2000

In 2009, I was surprised to hear that there was a private dog shooter who would be contracted to catch certain nuisance stray dogs at night. One man operation. He would be paid $200 per stray dog or puppies over 3 months. Puppies less than 3 months would be paid smaller amounts. He would be assigned difficult cases as the official dog catchers can handle other cases easily.

At night or after midnight he would use a foldable cage, put food inside and trap the dog. He had the advantage of not having strong doggy smells as this dog catching was not his sole occupation. In a good month, he would be able to earn $5,000 a month. Stray dogs are now found in distant and industrial areas like factories. An average of around 200 stray dogs per month would be caught. The advantage of this outside shooter is that the wild dogs don't smell him from >15 metres. Official dog shooters are easily detected by the smells from far away. Portable traps and bait.

SHOT GUN
1. In Singapore, the brand is Remington or Browning. Cost around $2,000.
2. Australia still uses the shot gun in shooting dingoes.
3. The shot gun used in Singapore could fire 5 rounds discharging 120 ball-bearing pellets/round. The shooter aimed above the fore-limbs, at chest level, not at stomach. Death would be instant. The killing field distance would be 10-15 m. Wild dogs could "see" the official dog shooters >15 m. away and would disappear fast. I guess they were experienced or they had smelled the scent of the shooters. Such cases would probably be given to the private dog hunter.

HUMANE METHODS OF STRAY DOG CONTROL
The stray dog population is under control as I seldom see more than one in the Toa Payoh Industrial Park. Sometime in 2008, a biting dam nursing her puppies was attacking people near my surgery. I saw a dog catcher and a big white van. I presumed he was not successful as I heard from my source that the private dog hunter was contacted. Cruel culling methods like shooting and poisoning to manage stray dog populations, electrocution and to control rabies are being replaced by humane methods. These include education about pet care, legislation, identification and registration of pets, sterilisation of stray and owned dogs and vaccination against rabies and humane catching and handling of stray dogs.

Responsible pet ownership is nowadays actively promoted by animal welfare groups and the PPD, now known as the AVA (Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority). Legislation is being enforced. Dogs found not to be licensed will result in dog owners being fined a maximum of $5,000. Annual dog licence fees in Singapore are $14.00 for any dog and $70.00 for intact dogs. Previously, it was $14.00 for male dogs that are sterilised or intact and this change meant some owners have a financial incentive to neuter their male dogs. Rabies vaccination is not necessary in Singapore dogs as Singapore has been rabies free for at least 30 years.

ABANDONMENT OF DOGS
In the past, many Singapore dog owners contributed to the stray dog problem by abandoning the dogs and their puppies when the owners had to be re-settled from the countryside to HDB apartments. This situation is common in other countries. For example, in Puerto Rico, people routinely abandon dogs at the infamous "Dead Dog Beach". Animal welfare groups in Singapore work hard to save stray dogs and rescue them from the streets.

P.S
World Society For The Protection Of Animals (WSPA) report in 2009
provides good information on stray dog welfare. There is a strange paragraph about Singapore that seemed to conflict with its announcement in its Press release from the AVA - September 11, 2000. I reproduce the paragraph below:

At the OIE General Session, member state Singapore requested that shotguns be considered a humane population management method, signalling that there is much work to be done before stray dogs are safe from cruelty.

3. Re-homing dogs

Friday, Nov 21, 2009, 4.30 am

Nowadays, it is not so simple just to post any picture of a dog for rehoming as there are just too many dogs wanting a new home in Singapore.

I have created an attractive advertisement of TTT for you. Good pictures help a lot in rehoming dogs. With a good visual advertisement, TTT has a better chance of finding a good home. The picture shows her looking hopefully into the horizon "LOOKING for a new home."

Yesterday, one of my clients came in for his dog's annual vaccination and check up. I noted that his Jack Russell, a neutered male of around 3 years was rather stout and has a thick neck. An canine equivalent of the sumo wrestler. He looked 80% of the size of my neighbour's neutered male Jack Russell. Too much of good food and an excellent appetite, I would say.

This dog is much bigger in size than TTT who is athletic and slim even though she was spayed. She had lots of exercise. This stout Jack Russell should command your alpha female's respect. Dog size seems to matter in Toffee's canine relationship.

I asked the owner whether he could adopt TTT. He had wanted a puppy, but Jack Russell puppies for sale in the internet cost more than $400.



He agreed to take TTT for a 2-day trial. TTT will be in a good home with a garden. I hope she wil be happy with this bigger male.

A picture of TTT is attached for your friend to post on the internet if things don't work out well for TTT.

Best wishes

Dr Sing

Picture created and captioned using Photoshop. Time taken 30 minutes.

2. Young Dog Keeps Licking 4 paws

Toa Payoh Vets Clinical Research
Making veterinary surgery alive
to a veterinary student studying in Australia
using real case studies and pictures
Paw Licking in A Young Dog in Singapore
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
Case written: 15 June, 2009

Toy Poodle, Female, DOB Feb 25, 2008.
lst heat Sep 2008, 2nd heat Apr 2009 (Heat starts at around 7-monthly intervals).
Consultation at Toa Payoh Vets: Jun 14, 2009. Yearly Vaccination and Check Up.
My Observation: I noted that all 4 paws are dark red due to excessive licking of the paws.

Problem: Continually licking 4 paws daily for the past weeks. Sometimes it is hard to know the cause. In this case, I suspect this case is due to dampness from daily washing of the feet with the dog shampoo after her daily exercise. The owner uses a piece of cloth to dry the paws after washing. However, residual dampness cause itchiness. The young dog licks the paws to relieve her itch. Continual licking leads to more itchiness and saliva-stained darker hairs on the paws. Here is one suggestion from me:



Management:
Owner: Young lady in her 20s
HDB apartment
Elimination: Newspapers on pee pan usually. Sometimes floor mat.
Feeding and water usual
Goes downstairs daily for exercise.
Wash feet, dry with a piece of cloth.

Suggestions:
1. Clip off all paw hairs including underside, up to carpal/tarsal area.
2. Don't wash paws daily. Leave it dry.
3. Buy booties for daily outing.
4. Bathe once a week. Avoid shampoo on paws.
5. Consult your vet. Medication includes antibiotics, anti-fungal, anti-fungal wash.
6. Anti-fungal wash dip 3x/week for 2 weeks. Then 2x/week for remaining part of 2 months. Rinse paws thoroughly with plain water inside a cup. Keep paws dry after washing and by use of booties when going outdoors.
7. Review by telephone in 2 months.

Conclusion:
This case has a high chance of success if the owner keeps the paws dry and clean.
It is unlikely that the owner will provide feedback. However, dampness and continual licking is a vicious cycle leading to hyperpigmented thick paw skin in later years. Therefore, early treatment and prevention of paw dermatitis when the dog is young is very important. How to do it? Much depends on the owner to know how to keep the paws dry and clean at all times in the young dog.

1. What happens when a new dog goes to an animal sanctuary?

"What happens when a newcomer is rehomed in the TAS, the animal sanctuary?" I asked Ms Swettenham whom I met one fine June 2008 evening outside the Toa Payoh NTUC supermarket. "How did Mr Smile fit in? Was he attacked by a dominant dog or groups of dogs protecting their turf? Just like warlords in Afghanistan?"

"I don't know how Mr Smile initially fits in," Ms Swettenham replied.

"Do you think there is a war zone in TAS?" I asked. "Where groups of dogs ally and protect their piece of ground, preventing other dogs from stepping into the land by barking or biting the newcomer?".

Ms Esther Seah who had rehomed Gatsby in TAS told me that the neutered dog would never step into another location inside TAS when she visited him. Gatsby would just not follow her into the new turf. It was as if there was a no-go zone, a de-militarised zone as between South and North Korea.

Ms Swettenham said: "Men behave worst than animals." I presume she meant that men behave worst than animals with so many genocides, suicide bombings and fighting for power and land still going on in this world.

But Ms Swettenham suddenly recalled: "XXX will have no restrictions going anywhere." XXX is quite prominent in TAS. He is a Rottweiler and he is bigger than the majority of the dogs. So, who dares to oppose him if he wants to go into any place inside TAS?

In the dog pack, there is a hierarchy. The strongest and bravest will be the alpha dog and the others just submit to him or her. But in TAS, most of the dogs are sterilised. Possible exceptions are the very old males and they have no strength or are they threats to the young ones.

A male adult monkey* can become the alpa male in a group if he is strong or has a male supporter. The supporter is in the background ready to back him up during the display of dominance and fights against the opposition.
*Jane Goodall - Dale Peterson

"Food is amply provide for," the caregiver told me one day. "So there is no need for the dogs to be aggressive and fight for food." I observed that the dogs were not rushing or fighting during feeding time when I visited TAS twice and saw the feeding being done.

If not for food, how about the dominance to breed? Yet the TAS dogs are sterilised. So, in theory, there should be peaceful living and all dogs can go from one place to another. In that case, Bobby should be able to wander anywhere when Ms Esther Seah visited him.

The over 1,000 TAS dogs are territorial as this is the natural behaviour of the canine pack.

Why? There is no need for a dominant male to fight for the females since all females are sterilised. We presume that there is no sexual hormone production since the dogs are sterilised. So there should be no out-of-bound markers inside the spacious land of TAS. However, the adrenal glands sited above the kidneys in the dog still produces some sexual hormones and these may explain the territorial behaviour of groups of dogs. Obviously the dogs ally themselves to protect their turf, in my opinion as no one male dog is strong enough as his testosterone level had been cut off during neuter.

Now, what is the distance between two groups of dogs before they will fight to protect their turf? How many turfs are there in a community of 1,000 dogs? How does a newcomer get integrated into the community? Does he get attacked by a group of dogs? Is it "every dog for himself or herself?" Do groups of dogs attack non-canine animals like racehorses when their territory is invaded? What about goats? What about geese wandering around? Do they get killed? How did Bobby fit in? Has Max free run of the land in TAS?What happens when a new dog goes to TAS?

More research needs to be done. Any new info will be much appreciated. Please e-mail to judy@toapayohvets.com