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Singapore volunteers help walk dogs from animal shelters

This article is more than 12 months old

Volunteers help care for dogs at animal shelters

They are best friends to man's best friend.

Every weekend, many volunteers turn up at the 15 animal shelters in Pasir Ris Farmway to walk the dogs that are kept in kennels there.

They spend hours bathing, feeding and walking the abandoned dogs. Some arrive in the morning and stay until lunchtime, while others are there the whole day.

These volunteers are from all walks of life and include professionals, couples, groups of students and three-generation families.

For some, volunteering at the shelters is a chance to spend time with dogs they cannot keep as pets at home.

Reasons include family members who are not keen on pets and being unable to take on the full-time commitment.

EXCITED

ITE Central student Tiffany Tan, 17, found out about the shelters when she moved to Pasir Ris five years ago.

"I initially started coming with my elder sister," she said.

Now, she volunteers at one of the shelters in the area.

"There aren't that many volunteers who can make it on weekdays because of work. So when the dogs see us on the weekend, they get really excited because it means they can go out and play," she said.

Another volunteer, Ms Cindy Lee, 43, said she boarded some dogs at a facility. The dogs had been abandoned when a factory closed down,

She said: "We can't just leave them on the streets. Since we boarded them here, we have been coming once a week to spend time with them."

She said she spends $360 a month per dog to board them.

So when the dogs see us on the weekend, they get really excited because it means they can go out and play.

- Student Tiffany Tan, a volunteer at one of the shelters in Pasir Ris Farmway

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