Shelter offers $10K reward in mutilated dog case

SINGAPORE, 11 March 2011: Outraged by the extent of torment suffered by a helpless canine recently, the local shelter that cared for it has been incensed enough to offer a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the abuser.

The female dog called Wander was living in an industrial park under a lorry. Sometime in October 2010, an unfamiliar foreign worker encroached her territory and Wander reacted by barking. The worker responded by brutally hitting her with a thick bicycle chain. The commotion attracted the attention of another worker at the site who shouted at the abuser, upon which the culprit cycled away.

A local feeder of the vicinity, Mr Ng, then came across Wander who he had been feeding over the past 6 years. He established the facts from the witness and tended to the wounds himself.

However, the injury did not heal well and thus Mr Ng referred Wander to Mdm Wong's Shelter which houses a number of stray dogs. At the shelter, Wander was treated for her injuries by a veterinarian and subsequently transferred to Mutts & Mittens whose volunteers provided constant care.

Unfortunately, the severe injuries resulted in "chronic inflammation of her wounds and this most likely led to a tumour growth on her face. Her condition deteriorated and the caregivers made the humane decision to euthanise her as she was in so much pain” according to Dr. Eugene Lin, a veterinarian at Animal Recovery Centre.

The tumour, which was diagnosed as cancerous, had grown rapidly and caused a block in the nasal passage forcing Wander to breathe from her mouth. A secondary cancerous growth on the right side of her gums compounded the situation by causing difficulty in eating as she also needed to use her mouth for breathing at the same time.

Thus, on 5 March 2011, at about 12.55pm, Wander was humanely euthanised and cremated later that day.

The almost six-month ordeal for Wander which resulted in her unnecessary death has now prompted Mutts & Mittens to actively pursue the perpetrator by offering the substantial reward of $10,000. With Wander's story having attracted mainstream media attention, Mutts & Mittens believes that someone will be motivated enough to come forward and identify the culprit. Its director, Mr Cohen Ng says, "Only with the public’s help will we be able to bring the person who abused Wander to task and end this injustice.”

Anyone with information can call Mutts and Mittens at +65-65837371 or email the organisation at enquiries@muttsnmittens.com.

Mutts and Mittens is a boarding kennel and shelter based in Singapore that was established in 2003 which currently provides sanctuary to over 150 homeless dogs and 80 cats. More information on the organisation is available at www.muttsnmittens.com.