Divine intervention it was that got the doctor started on his SOSD journey circa December 2011. That very month, a jogger was attacked by a pack of stray dogs at Punggol Waterway. Culling efforts by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore were swift in the aftermath. An agnostic at the time, Dr Siew was at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery attending the wake of a family friend when he offered up a prayer to Guan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion.

“I remember pleading to Guan Yin to protect the dogs. And that was when an inserted thought hit me: that I had to be the one to act. Her will was very specific: I had to alert the media and raise awareness. I did exactly that. Soon, it galvanised fellow animal lovers, and the incident caught the attention of our ministers.” Dr Siew and the early members of SOSD then went to work, doing what they can to rescue the strays. And as selfless as his motivation was, Dr Siew did get a gift out of this: Bacon, a big goofy dog that became his adoptee.

The greatest satisfaction Dr Siew derives is seeing stray dogs bounce back from debilitating illnesses. “Their will to live is very strong,” he says. Chica is a proud story. When rescuers found her, they initially thought she was dead: She was paralysed, furless and had mite infestation.  After nearly two months of rehabilitation which entailed trips to the veterinarian’s clinic and potty training, Chica healed and became a force of nature, her blithe spirit rubbing off on others.

But belying every rescuer’s pride are the ripples of emotional agony and much sweat. For every dog that SOSD saves, there is one that it cannot due to resource constraints. Some dogs are feral and dislike human contact, and they growl at the approaching rescuers — leaving the hands of the latter tied. For every dog that has a happy ending, there are many whose stories are heartrending. Joy was one such example. She was found chained up in a shophouse, and SOSD’s many calls to the tenant went unreturned. In the end, the rescuers had to take matters into their own hands by cutting loose her shackles.

“No matter how hard we tried, she just couldn’t get used to being in a home. She would stay cooped up in her shelter, crying and walking only in circles — it was the only freedom of movement she was allowed and knew when she was chained up. She passed away a year ago.”

The passing of their charges can hit the volunteers hard. Imagine expending much energy and time sterilising and feeding the dogs, only to have them succumb to a virus outbreak. Or to hear news of dogs in foster care being knocked down by a car. Such news cast a pall on the volunteers’ days. Extrinsic criticism sometimes follows, with the volunteers’ handling methods and training philosophies coming under scrutiny. Some are lambasted for failing to do more for dogs with terminal illnesses. But the hardest barrier to overcome, Dr Siew says, is self-blame. “‘What should I have done differently? ‘Was I at fault?’ — these questions haunt the volunteers.”

The noise of negativity

That someone doing good should be at the receiving end of vitriol is baffling, but that is the reality Dr Siew now grapples with. His work with SOSD has thrust him into the public eye, his every move unfairly dissected in the same fashion as nosy keyboard warriors encroaching on a young celebrity’s personal life. Detractors are all around.

Accusations of racism have arisen. “There is a sentiment floating out there that SOSD only rescues white but not black dogs. What really transpired was during an operation, my rescuer-in-charge took in a few puppies, and the three black dogs that she could not take were very timid. We had every intention of going back for them. Next thing I knew, it blew up and people were organising ‘justice for black dogs’ movements on social media.” SOSD’s track record proves that the number of black dogs it has rescued is comparable, if not higher, to the number of white dogs it has in its care, so accusations like that are unfounded.

There is a need for all of us to be constructive rather than destructive. We prosecute someone who has made a simple mistake — but what of it? What do we get out of it? Instead, build something positive out of it. Educate. Raise awareness of the issue. That’s how we can attract light, and keep growing. 

The online mobs were also all up in arms when Dr Siew adopted a dog from Korea last year. He met a fellow rescuer, a cancer survivor who had just shut down a dog meat farm, who now had the herculean task of caring for six hundred dogs. Dr Siew visited the organisation to lend some muscle and relocate the dogs. One particular dog caught his eye — a white one. Dr Siew’s adoption decision only fanned the flames and perpetuated the racism rumour. Thing is: All the dogs in the farm had fair coats.

The doctor also drew flak for his supposed predilection for foreign dogs. “When it comes to adoption, I believe in fate and connection. I do not see skin colours or nationalities. We live in a world where people are quick to draw lines and erect boundaries. Boundaries of ‘you’ versus ‘me’; ‘Singaporean’ versus ‘non-Singaporean’. It is this divisive mindset that plagues the world.”

Such wanton mudslinging is perhaps what got to the late Taiwanese veterinarian Chien Chih-cheng. “Tragic,” Dr Siew says of the incident. “I have had a volunteer who because of the stress of the job almost had a mental breakdown. It is my hope for SOSD volunteers to be kind to themselves, and to practise self-forgiveness. We cry; we cry so hard. But we learn from every painful incident and then soldier on so that we can do more and save even more street dogs.”

For more information on the work that Save Our Street Dogs undertakes, please visit http://sosd.org.sg/.

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