It’s a common tale among Gen Xers: they had a pet when they were young, but once life got busy, dogs and cats took a distant second place to career (and sometimes family). But now that the career is stable and the kids are grown, many are turning back to the pleasure of spending time with furry friends. Some take comfort in the company of their pet now that their parents have gone to heaven and they are alone. Others fill their empty nest with furkids that won’t go to university and stay on campus.
So you’re at a place where you are ready to commit to a pet. Next question: buy or adopt? The subject of animal adoption has only grown over the decades, as Singapore sees greater numbers of abandoned pets every year. The SPCA sees at least 200 unwanted cats, dogs and rabbits yearly. In fact it has become so dire that there is a lack of rescuers. The problem of breeders has made the situation much worse. The Animal and Veterinary Service is currently looking into tighter licensing measures for breeders and pet boarders in Singapore, to raise the standard of animal welfare in Singapore.
Instead of putting down hundreds, or even thousands for a pedigree dog or cat, why not consider adopting? GEN X Singapore speaks to four Gen X adopters who highly recommend adoption.
GLENDA CHONG: TALES FROM THE “FARM”
Glenda is a familiar face on television—she’s everybody’s favourite Channel News Asia presenter. But behind that sleekly dressed and flawlessly made up persona is an animal lover who lives with a variety of two and four-legged creatures. Glenda and her lawyer husband Justin have two beautiful Weimaraners, both adopted, three roosters and seven hens.
How did you come to adopt Meredith, your first Weimaraner?
We adopted Meredith from Voices for Animals June 2018. I had lost my Wire Fox Terrier, Pinto to old age a year earlier and was missing my furry friend when my pal Daniel Boey suggested I meet an adorable mini schnauzer dog that’s was need of a good home.
So Justin and I trotted down to VFA at Sunny Heights one weekend to meet this miniature schnauzer and get acquainted with her. Sadly, there was no chemistry; she was instead connecting with another couple.
We went to the dog café next door and I fell to chatting with Derrick Tan, President of VFA. I casually mentioned that the cutest puppy I’ve ever seen is a Weimaraner; they have the clearest light blue eyes as puppies but that changes to amber in their adult years. Lo and behold, Derrick said he had an adult Weimaraner and asked if I’d like to meet her.
Do you believe in love at first in first sight? That was what happened with Meredith when she entered the gated cafe compound. She ran straight to Justin and that was it. She was ours!
Meredith had been rescued on Valentine’s Day 2017 from an illegal breeder. She’s a Weimaraner, a German hunting dog whose job is to handle big game such as deer, bear and wolves. They are also known as the “Silver Ghost” of the dog world because of their ghostly grey coat and eye colour along with their stealthy hunting style.
Tell us about your first love affair with a pet.
I’ve always had dogs growing up. In fact, I grew up with all sorts of animals and reptiles. My dad loved animals and would rescue any injured creature and nurse it back to health. I remember we once had an injured monitor lizard living with us. And all sorts of birds, hamsters, rabbits and of course, dogs. My first dog was a stray my dad picked up from a factory. He rescued two dogs: one for me and one for my older brother. I named my first dog, Kimbo. Kimbo was a short-haired white stray and he was my best friend. He wasn’t allowed to sleep with us in the room but my brother and I would always sneak our dogs into our respective rooms when our parents went to bed. I’m sure they knew but “closed one eye” to our disobedience.
Why do you think there’s a trend of Gen Xers becoming pet owners?
There are so many reasons why people have pets, but increasingly I think it’s for companionship. Your pets don’t judge you when you have a bad day—they love and comfort you all the same on good and bad days. Plus Gen Xers might have more time to spend on their pets now.
You have chickens too! What sort of pets are they?
Yes I have chickens and it’s because Justin wanted them so that we can have fresh eggs. A friend gave us some and we adopted the rest from another who had one too many chickens at home.
It was quite fortuitous that we moved into our current place before the Circuit Breaker of 2020, and Justin took the opportunity during the forced home stay to build the chicken coop from scraps of wood, zinc and metal he found around the neighbourhood.
We currently have 10 chickens: three roosters and seven hens. I think one of the roosters has a crush on me, it follows me around like a shadow. We’ve given some away to friends and neighbours when chicks are hatched. And speaking of brooding chickens, ours are free-roaming which means they have the whole garden to “play” in, which leads to egg hunting almost on a daily basis. This has led to some interesting “laying locations”. I’ve found eggs in my straw hats, straw baskets, laundry basket and in the drains. One hen—we call her Chrome—likes to lay in my laundry basket in the house. The dogs let her into the house only when she’s brooding, other times she’s not allowed in. Don’t ask me how they communicate but it just works this way.
You now have a second Weimaraner. Tell us his story.
We adopted Rex just after the Circuit Breaker of 2020. Again, it was Derrick who contacted us. He said he had another Weimaraner up for adoption and this time it’s a boy, were we interested?
We’d been toying with the idea of getting a playmate for Meredith—her quiet demeanour and lovely personality lulled us into agreeing to meet another Weimaraner. (They are extremely high maintenance and demanding dogs.)
Rex was a former breeding dog who was given away when his “usefulness” was up. At the time of adoption he also suffered from hip dysplasia. Rex had been in the pound for more than a year up to that point.
We brought Meredith to meet Rex and she was indifferent to him, so we took it as a sign that she’ll accept him. Again, Justin’s heart melted on the spot after he took Rex for a short walk. Justin said, “We’ll take him home for one week to gauge if both dogs get along.” It’s been a year plus plus since. He’s home now!
I can write a whole chapter on my boy Rex who has such a big personality and the smartest dog I’ve ever had. Not one day goes without Rex getting into trouble. The neighbours are all very well-acquainted with him and if they aren’t, they’ve definitely heard his name! We are constantly yelling for Rex to “come”, to “stop it”, to “drop it”, to “leave it”… you get the picture.
What advice would you give a Gen Xer looking to adopt a dog now?
Spend as much time with them because they don’t have long to walk this journey with us. Be prepared to be loved and heart-broken at the same time when the time comes to say goodbye. Get ready for the best “love story” of your life. If you do adopt a rescue know two important things:
1. They usually need some form of rehab when you get them, and maybe life-long rehab);
2. They are the most loyal breed of dog in the world.
SHEN TAN: CAT MUM & MAKER OF GOURMET MEALS
Shen has a following of passionate food lovers, many of whom became fans when she ran Madam Tan’s Nasi Lemak stall at Maxwell Food Centre. Today, after having helmed the kitchen at Revolution Café, setting up her private dining business Ownselfmakechef, and co-hosting popular food shows such as Food King by NOC, she’s on the brink of a highly-anticipated return to bringing Singapore hawker centre nasi lemak, this time at Newton Food Centre. Shen is the cat mum of OG Dinks, a rescued ginger cat with a large personality and gourmet palate.
How did you come to adopt OG Dinks? Where did he come from and what was his story?
I got a message on 22 June 2019 while I was away in Norway for the Tromso marathon. My friend sent me pictures of a ginger cat which they suspect had been abandoned. The community cats were territorial and kept beating him up. When I got the message, he was at the vet for the second time to patch up lacerations on his shoulder. If no one adopted him, he was going to be released back into the community. He is your bog standard tabby, but he is quite small in size, and very affectionate. He loves human interaction.
Did you grow up with animals in the home?
My mother had cats but I grew up with dogs. I had a greedy dachshund called Terry and a mixed terrier Singapore Special called Sandy. Terry was a holy terror who was very attached to my mother since she was the one who took care of him. He was constantly on a diet, so he actually ate my grandmother’s Bally shoes.
Why do you think many Gen Xers are becoming or returning to being a pet owner in their 40s and 50s?
I think, for some of them, during these Covid times, they are home more and not travelling as much as before. So having a pet is logistically easier; there is no need to arrange for boarding and cat sitters. Also there is nothing like snuggling your pet while working from home! Perfect stress relief!
What does OG Dinks do for you? Does he bring your blood pressure down (or up)?
He isn’t a massive cuddler, but he likes to be between our legs. My better half and I started out not letting him sleep with us, but he yowled terribly and guess what, in the last four months he has gotten his way and sleeps with us. He sleeps with us on our bed, and he likes to wake me up at 4am by nudging my hand for pets. And nips me when I stop (because I have fallen back to sleep). He definitely brings my blood pressure down—he is a real sweetheart.
You make lots of delicious food… is OG Dinks your taste tester? Perks of having a chef mum?
Hahaha! He does not get to eat human food, it is bad for him. He is raw fed a variety of meats, grass fed beef, lamb, good quality chicken, quail sprinkled with “cat MSG” (ground up freeze dried ikan bilis without salt) and taurine. Supplemented with Ziwi Peak free range organic kibble. He is very spoiled!
He has a very long name. What pet names do you have for your pet?
Ohhhhhhh geeeeeee! Mr Dinks! Stinky Dinks!
DANIEL BOEY: THE DOGFATHER
Crowned “the godfather of Singapore fashion”, Daniel Boey may have a reputation for being tough at work—he is a fashion and lifestyle curator, author and showrunner of fashion events including putting together runway shows for the upcoming The Front Row Festival—but he is a pussycat when it comes to his beautiful three furbabies, Leia, Luna and Leopold.
You had a dog growing up. Tell us about your experience.
Hock was a pedigree that my family “purchased from a responsible breeder”. He “came from a line of championship dogs”. I suspect they bought him because we had just moved into a house with a big garden and that was what people in landed residences did. He arrived unceremoniously in a covered plastic basket so shallow he couldn’t even stand up.
We were first-time dog owners who were none the wiser, relying on trial and error or taking advice from “experts”. This was in the early 1980s. Hock was not allowed indoors, so he sat outside dismally watching the family as we dined or watched television. That broke my heart and I used to sneak out at night to sleep in his kennel to keep him company, because it killed me to hear him cry himself to sleep at night.
I disappeared from Hock’s life when I enlisted in National Service for two and a half years, followed by three years at university. When I finally graduated and moved back home, I was shocked at how much he had aged and how weak he had become. He had waited for me to come home before succumbing to his illness. The family put him to sleep and did not even collect his ashes.
To this day, I live with the guilt of having let him down.
Wow… what gave you the motivation to adopt Leia?
I did not know the first thing about caring for a rescue, which Leia was. I was, however, determined to give her the very best life I could accord her, and absolutely certain I did not want to repeat the mistakes and injustices inflicted upon Hock.
There are two types of dog owners: the superficial ones that purchase their cross-bred dogs from overseas, so they can say their designer pet was imported, and who care more about how good their dog’s meal looks on Instagram than how nutritious the food actually is.
Then there are the real, responsible dog owners. I found many of them in the community of adopters. From them, I learnt not just about pet care but also about the horrors of abandonment, neglect, abuse and puppy mills. The more I learn, the sadder I became and realised that these dogs need as many champions as possible. It doesn’t help that our animal protection laws are so lax and antiquated.
I started by tagging along with the volunteers to adoption drives and soon became a volunteer myself. I made it my purpose to try to be there for any rescue that needed my help, not just in rescuing and helping them find a suitable home but in nursing them back to health, teaching them how to love and trust again, allowing them the opportunity to be dogs again and fund-raising for dogs who need rehabilitation.
When my path crossed with Leia’s, I had these experiences to fall back on. I adopted Leia from Voices For Animals in 2017. She was one of many dogs rescued by the Animal Welfare Group after the owner of her puppy mill was arrested and charged with ill treatment of his dogs.
I had actually gone to the shelter to see another dog, but when Derrick (the president of Voices for Animals) brought Leia into the room, it was love at first sight. She made a beeline for me, we went for a walk and decided we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. Such is fate. At first, she walked with a limp. I soon realised she had issues with her limbs, her hips and her skin, but I was determined to carry on with the adoption. Three weeks after, she was admitted to the animal hospital for TPLO (Tibial Plateau Levelling Osteotomy) surgery—the first of two—sustained from ill-treatment, poor nutrition, unsuitable living conditions and gross neglect at the puppy mill. I was terrified that her impression of me would be scarred by the pain and discomfort of post-surgery, but when I picked her up, she laid her head on my lap and looked at me with her large, soulful eyes, as if to say ‘thank you’.
I have heard from many owners of adopted dogs that rescues tend to be so grateful, and I have experienced this many times over with Leia. Hock’s was a love that was borne from loyalty; Leia’s is one that stemmed from gratitude. Both kinds of love are special in their own way.
How did you come to adopt Luna and now Leopold? (And why are they all L names?)
Three years after I adopted Leia, I fostered Pepper, a miniature bull terrier that I suspect was a victim of a Covid impulse purchase. She was registered by her previous owner in March 2020, and thrown out of their house in October the same year. She was only 11 months old. Since she did not respond to her given name, I renamed her Luna. She and Leia got along like a house on fire, and I decided to give her a permanent home.
Luna is everything I would not have looked for in a dog. But when we gathered with the rescuer for screening, the dog leapt into my lap and fell asleep. My heart melted immediately, and when the owner gave the ultimatum that he wanted her out of the house the next day, I arranged for Leia to meet this young dog, and decided to foster her when Leia gave her approval.
Having a second dog – and a young, energetic, curious one at that – changed the dynamic of the household for the better. Leia enjoys her role as big sister, and the girls love nothing better than a wild romp in the garden and to snuggle up with their papa in the evenings.
I told myself I’d stop at two but I rescued a 13-year-old Samoyed in November 2020. He had been severely ill for two years but no one in the household had taken him to the vet. The maid that were supposed to care for him never took him out for walks, and his muscles just wasted away. I had tried for the longest time to persuade the owner to give him up, to no avail, till maggots started to fester in his wounds, When the owner wanted to put him down, I took over and worked with the vet at Gentle Oak to rehabilitate him.
When he got better, I decided to take him home and care for him myself. I changed his name from Ciro to Leopold. From a dog that was at death’s door, Leopold has regained some of his strength and loves to explore the nooks and crannies of the garden and nuzzle with his sisters in bed.
When I met Leia, the animal welfare group that rescued her had named her Elia. I figured Leia was an easy transition from Elia, and besides, I’m a Star Wars fan. I decided to start the L collective and named doggie number 2 Luna, after Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter. Leopold was named after Kate and Leopold, because he’s so handsome and regal, and really a young chap trapped in an old body from another time!
Sounds like you’ve found a new lease of (extremely busy) life with your three Ls! You’re one of a number of Gen Xers who have become pet owners in recent years. Why do you think that is?
In my case, I was too busy building up my career and travelling the world to give a pet the amount of care and love a pet owner must give. Having a pet is for life, and you need time to bond with them and to love them. I do not believe in absent parenting, like leaving the maid to walk and feed the dog.
I met Leia at a stage in my life when I was ready to accord the time and effort to any new member of my family. I was also financially more stable and had moved into a residence that I could share comfortably with a dog.
You have been actively encouraging friends to adopt and not buy. But Gen X grew up with a “buying” mentality – adopting was hardly heard of when we were growing up.
Many who ask me about my dogs are shocked when they realise they were all adopted. All three of them have done fashion shoots before: Leia has appeared on covers and Luna makes a cameo appearance in this year’s National Day music video.
Many have the preconceived notion that adopted dogs are either difficult, aggressive, unsightly or consist only of mongrels. No-one believes that every single one of my three have led difficult, abusive, neglected pasts. But all have clawed back to become the beautiful dogs with beautiful, loving souls that they all are.
When I was on the fund-raising committee of the SPCA gala in 2018, I shot a fashion spread with doggie and human models for the event. Many people were shocked that all the dogs in the spread were adopted. “But they’re all so beautiful, they cannot be rescues”, came many a response. This sparked the idea of photographing all the dogs in a series of fashion spreads, which eventually led to the book We Adopted, published by Marshall Cavendish.
For first-time dog owners, don’t to be in a rush to adopt. Work in tandem with the rescuer or shelter volunteer to see the dogs that they think might be suited for your personality, lifestyle and household. Dogs pick their owners, so keep an open mind. All my dogs picked me and they have turned out to be the most wonderful dogs that suit me to a T.
Put away all preconceived notions of shelter dogs and give them all a chance and it will be the most rewarding relationship. Be proud knowing that you have saved a life—that’s so much better than buying a dog from a shop. When the buying stops, the breeding will stop too.
JUSTINA TAN: A HEART & A HOME FOR RESCUES
For four years, Justina Tan helmed Pets magazine, a hugely popular publication about pets for pet owners. While she is now in a different role—she is the Communications Lead with the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences—she, together with her husband Bernard, remains a passionate dog and cat mother who actively promotes adoption over sale of animals.
When did you first adopt a pet? How did it happen?
My first adopted furkid was a nine-year-old Miniature Schnauzer whom we named Corrie. In 2011, my husband and I got our own place, so we wanted to find a companion for our then eight-year-old Chihuahua cross Mini Fox Terrier Obi (he passed away in 2013), but the little guy had been an only (fur)child for so long and wasn’t terribly fond of other dogs, so his new companion had to be very mild-mannered and forgiving. After viewing a few listings on Purely Adoptions, we found Corrie to be the perfect fit despite her age. She was from Australia where her previous owners used to reside. They had given her and one other dog up because they had twins coming and had brought a total of three dogs back from Australia. They felt their plates were too full to give adequate care and love to all three dogs.
Obi was purchased from a pet store in Brisbane when Bernard and I were studying in Australia. We bought him after a big fight! Lol. Back then, we didn’t know anything about puppy mills. All we saw was a cute puppy begging to come home with us. We didn’t know any better then, but once we knew, we couldn’t bring ourselves to buy another dog/cat.
How did you come to champion adoption above buying of pets?
It was very likely from watching Cesar Millan (I was a huge fan back then) and chancing upon Facebook posts that I learnt about the horrendous and cruel conditions the parents of those pet store puppies live in. When you purchase a puppy, you are promoting a vicious circle. Even if the puppy is sick, you aren’t “rescuing” the dog by buying it; you are giving puppy mill owners more incentive to squeeze more dams and sires together in a tiny space, and forcing the dams to bear more puppies than their bodies allow.
By the time these puppy mill victims are rescued, they often bear a ton of battle scars, from busted eye sockets to missing lower jaws (from terrible tooth decay) to severe joint issues from not being able to move much in their tiny, wired cages. Furthermore, many of the puppies from these mills have health issues, either genetic or due to the parents’ poor health from terrible living conditions.
After having worked at Pets magazine for four years and interacted with many folks from the pet industry, I can safely say that Singapore does not have any legitimate, ethical breeders who breed a particular breed because of their love of that breed. Typically, such breeders specialise in that one breed and there’s a long waiting list of buyers because they breed the dogs once a year at most. Prior to breeding, they get the dam and sire genetically tested to ensure they aren’t passing down any defective traits to the puppies. In Singapore, all we have are puppy mills and backyard/home breeders who are greedy and have no qualms squashing the dogs into tiny enclosures where they eat, defecate and urinate all in the same place. They are often roughly handled, neglected and underfed as well. If you did that to a human, it would be considered abuse.
What is the most rewarding thing for a Gen Xer adopting a rescue?
Adopting can be very fulfilling because you get to see an animal evolve and blossom. A good example would be my 8-year-old Miniature Schnauzer, Bella. When I adopted her seven years ago, she was emaciated, lived on a balcony and never went out. She didn’t dare to enter the lift or go down a flight of steps because all these things were so foreign to her. Today, she’s a completely different dog. She’s a big ball of love. She bounds up and down stairs and is the first to enter the lift because she understands it means she’s going out!
And perhaps more people in this age group now either have no kids or their kids are getting to an age where it’s uncool to hang out with Dad or Mum? A dog will never think it’s uncool to hang out with you. The closer the better!
How many dogs and cats do you have now? They are all adopted?
I have one dog (Bella) and one four-year-old cat (Scotty) now, and they are all adopted. We had another dog, Piper, whom we adopted eight years ago. She passed away in April at 13 years 8 months – she would have been 14 this National Day. Scotty is a black domestic shorthair who is a bit special physically. We adopted him from the Cat Welfare Society (CWS) at about six to seven months old. He was pretty healthy when I adopted him, but when he was rescued from a hoarder’s house as a tiny kitten, he was very sick. His fosterer nursed him to health. He had Feline Panleukopenia which caused his cerebellum to not fully develop (aka cerebellar hypoplasia). Hence, he’s not very agile. He can’t jump very high, he’s a bit clumsy and he sways when he walks. He has a mild version of what many cat people refer to as wobbly cat syndrome. But it doesn’t affect his health otherwise.
Where should a Gen Xer start if they are looking to adopt a dog or cat now?
For dogs, it depends on the Gen Xer’s lifestyle, who he/she is living with, and the space they have. If they live in an HDB flat, it might be a good idea to start small. Voices for Animals has a lot of ex-puppy mill dogs so they tend to have smaller breeds available for adoption. However, it is important to note that many of these dogs are older (upwards of five years old), have some health issues and may have behavioural issues as well. That’s understandable because many have lived in cages all their lives and had to fight for food. People who live in a bigger property or landed property may wish to consider Singapore Specials (local mongrels) from animal welfare groups like SOSD, Hope Dog Rescue, and Purely Adoptions. Do take into account how active (or sedentary) you are when adopting. You might not want a super active Jack Russell Terrier or energetic mongrel puppy if you are a couch potato!
For cats, there are many unofficial cat rescue groups but I strongly suggest adopting from CWS because the fosterers there are truly passionate people who put in the effort to make sure their foster furkids go to good homes. Scotty’s fosterer came to my home to recce his living space and make sure we had everything prepared for him. And among the many people I adopted from, she was the only one who paid Scotty a visit a few months post-adoption because she missed him and wanted to see how he was doing. All the other ex-owners of my adopted furkids asked whether they could visit when I adopted them (which I agreed to), but not one ever showed up at my doorstep.
