Monday, May 25, 2009

Final call for the "Better Owner, Better Dog" seminar!



Saturday, 30 May 2009
1.00pm to 6.15pm
NTUC Auditorium
(One Marina Boulevard)


The Better Owner, Better Dog seminar is back this year in its second year running! Organised by Pets Magazine, the Better Owner, Better Dog seminar is the largest scale dog care seminar of its kind in Singapore. Dog owners, both new and experienced, can all learn something new from this seminar with a local panel of 5 speakers giving valuable and practical insights and answering questions covering pet health, diet, training, alternative therapies, grooming and bonding. There will also be new faces and new approaches to the topics as most of the speakers are contributing for the first time in this seminar.

5-speaker panel with new speakers
-Gain insights on pet health, diet, alternative therapies, training, bonding and grooming
-Learn and ask from the experts
-Share experiences with fellow dog owners
-Two rounds of tea refreshments
-Product samples, free T-shirt and exclusive offers for attendees worth more than $50!





Learn almost all you need to know about caring for your dog from our panel of experts who will be there to reveal tips and advice on dog-related issues affecting dog owners today. Please visit http://www.petsmagazine.com.sg/bobd2009/ on how to sign up and register! Also, enjoy up to 40% discount off registration fees and receive freebies worth more than $50!

If you haven't signed up, do hurry up and SIGN UP TODAY!

** For the full article, please click on the following website: http://www.petsmagazine.com.sg/?p=1552

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Bonnie & Clyde

Hi! My name is Bonnie and here is my friend Clyde. We are both safe and sound at Noah’s Ark right now, thanks to the timely intervention of a kind and caring lady. She is our saviour! Oh how we adore her! It wasn’t such a rosy picture many months ago and here is our story.



If you had been to Loyang Offshore Base, you would have noticed the bunch of us, me, Clyde and the rest of our friends hanging out along one of the side roads. The place is so full of nooks and crannies that we can have fun with. It is not the cleanest of places, with dust kicking up every time one of those heavy trucks come rumbling down the road. Sounds dangerous doesn’t it? But being young and restless, we do not feel too endangered as long as we had a place to play in.

One fine day, a lady walked into our part of the neighbourhood and spotted us. I think to myself:
“Hmmm…. What is she doing here? Looks harmless enough, smiling and all. Hey! She is walking towards us. Should I run away? Sniff sniff… what’s that smell? Smells… delicious!”

Some fluffy white stuff that tasted nice and soft, and also our favourite… meat! We were young and needed all the energy to play so we started to devour the food. Turns out that there wasn’t enough to go around, with the bigger dogs having most of the share. Oh well, it’s the animal kingdom after all :(

The next day, the lady came again and brought more food for us. This lady is so wonderful, kept bringing us food, she must really love dogs! She came day after day without fail and we had gotten so used to her that we always waited for her at the same spot, craving for her yummy delicious food.

Ah … life was good … for a while.

Loyang Offshore Base is full of other creatures lest you have the impression that it is overrun by us dogs. Those creatures known as humans pretty much runs the place. We bear with them, always moving things about and talking loudly. For a while, humans and dogs live in peace till one day they started getting aggressive with us, and they came for me and Clyde! CLANG! The metal cages came down on us and we were trapped!! We were kept at a corner where it was dark, dirty and damp. Yucks! And the cages were so small we could hardly move. I realised one important thing:

“How is that lady going to find us?!”

The lady came the next day and looked kind of puzzled at where we had gone. She came in to view of our cage and we barked frantically at her. She turned around; her eyes squinted and were shocked at our new accommodations. She hurried over to one of the humans and pointed at our cage. I prayed that she was asking for us to be released but alas the human shook his head. The lady pondered and walked away. We barked and whined to get her attention.

“Hey lady! Don’t go away! Come rescue us please!”

In the meantime, the cage was really getting very uncomfortable. I could see that Clyde was struggling to adapt and I guess he was stressed out. We were constantly wrestling with the bugs and rats and trying to ignore the smell of scrap metals and diesel. It was dark and hot, we were not given any water, and I couldn’t see what bit us. As time passed I developed an itch on my face and started scratching it. It bled one day and I could feel the rest of my face and my lower body starting to itch as well. Oh horrors of horrors! Good thing that Clyde did not have such a problem. Bless him!

One day, after a month, we heard some commotions near our cage, and we noticed that the lady was there among the humans. Is she coming to save us? After many finger pointing and loud noises, someone opened our cages. Freedom? We were led out and up into a van. Where were these people taking us?

Clyde and I ended up in a place where there were other dogs too. They call this place the Pet Hotel. Yippee! More friends! We were showered and looked over by a vet. Clyde seemed to be all healthy and dandy, just a bit thin I suppose. I was the unlucky one. The bloody wounds on my face hurt really badly and it stung when the vet put some medicine on it. Ouch! We were housed in a much bigger cage this time and the humans that run this place are very friendly. We had a great time chatting up with the rest of the dogs. However, at the back in our minds we were thinking: is the kind lady was going to visit us soon?





And she did come to visit us! She looked worried nevertheless and I think it must be my still raw wounds that caused her anguish. She took us out for walks in the sunshine and let us run about. Ah… the smell of freedom. We were really glad she came and we sure let her know our feelings.
The day finally came when we had to say goodbye to Pet Hotel and start our journey to Noah’s Ark. I heard that the place has lots more dogs plus cats and horses, and we are free to run about. Yippee!

And so this ends our story of our journey from certain oblivion in Loyang to the lush green fields of Noah’s Ark. Clyde and I are healthy and well-fed here. My wounds are still healing so I am kept in a cage lest the other dogs rub at my wound and make it bleed again.

We are really thankful for Agnes and her friends for finding us a safe haven. We will always remember her and hope she visits us at Noah’s Ark soon.

**Bonnie & Clyde's stay at Noah’s Ark has been kindly sponsored by Agnes Tay.
** Story written and contributed by Agnes Tay.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Junior, my christmas present from Noah's Ark

I am always surrounded by dog lover friends who always talk about the pitiful state of an abandoned dog. When a chance came to look for a dog, my first instinct was to adopt one! When he first looked at me with those big black eyes, I immediately fell in love with him. That was my first encounter with Junior, a 1 year old male German shepherd mixed breed. Eventually, we did decide to adopt him from Noah's Ark.


Love at first sight?


When Junior first arrived at our house, he seemed to settle down immediately. Like a parent with a newborn baby, we fussed over him quite alot. We grew worried when he scratches too much or when he becomes too quiet. When he started his teething and chewing of items around the house, he also received his first scolding. Slowly but surely, he adapted to the rules and regulations of living in our house.


Junior, the new addition to our family




As a young and newly rehomed dog, he initially did not seem to be very sociable with other dogs. When he first came to live with us, he could go crazy, constantly barking with at the surrounding neighborhood dogs when they went past. Previously, there was a period of time that when we walked him, it was quite a dreadful task as we had to keep having to pull him back when he got into his usual "argument" with the other dogs. Thankfully as time went by, he gradually managed to find peace and establish his place within the neighborhood.


Meeting and greeting the family

Since then, Junior has easily fallen into the routine of the daily morning and evening walks. During the day, he amuses himself with chasing bees, playing with his toys, sleeping or amusing himself with whatever that catches his fancy. Once in a while, he will insist on his playing ball with us. I guess that is what life should be like for any dog out there. To have a nice, warm home to live in and people to love him for who he is.




Learning to accept a dog unconditionally is equivalent to accepting your partner as who he/she is. I have had my fair share of challenges especially with such a playful and young dog. I remember Junior’s foster parent once told us that we are his best Christmas present. However, I would like to think that the truth is that Junior, is the best Christmas Present that my family has ever had.


*Story and photos contributed by Christine Liew, Junior's Mommy

Monday, May 11, 2009

ALIVE '09!

Dear readers,

We have an event lined up this Sunday, May 17, so mark the date in your calendar!

NUS has kindly invited Noah's Ark to be part of their event ALIVE ’09:

Date: 17th May 2009, Sunday
Time: 9am-8pm
Location: Tampines Mall

The Science Volunteer Corps of the NUS Students' Science Club will be organising a carnival-cum-exhibition at the Tampines Mall on 17 May 2009. The project, entitled ALIVE! '09, will provide animal welfare societies such as Noah's Ark Cares, the opportunity to share with members of the public the work we do, as well as to create more awareness on Noah's Ark Cares. We hope to also promote the spirit of volunteerism.

Noah’s Ark will be conducting the following:

Exhibition
Great Noah’s Ark Sale of stainless steel accessories

We are extremely fortunate to be the only Animal Welfare present. Our volunteers will be hard at work spreading the message of Noah's Ark, manning our booth and doing our part for the animals. Come lend your support by visiting our booth or just dropping by to say hi!

See you there!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Better Owner, Better Dog



Saturday, 30 May 2009
1.00pm to 6.15pm
NTUC Auditorium
(One Marina Boulevard)


The Better Owner, Better Dog seminar is back this year in its second year running! Organised by Pets Magazine, the Better Owner, Better Dog seminar is the largest scale dog care seminar of its kind in Singapore. Dog owners, both new and experienced, can all learn something new from this seminar with a local panel of 5 speakers giving valuable and practical insights and answering questions covering pet health, diet, training, alternative therapies, grooming and bonding. There will also be new faces and new approaches to the topics as most of the speakers are contributing for the first time in this seminar.

5-speaker panel with new speakers
-Gain insights on pet health, diet, alternative therapies, training, bonding and grooming
-Learn and ask from the experts
-Share experiences with fellow dog owners
-Two rounds of tea refreshments
-Product samples, free T-shirt and exclusive offers for attendees worth more than $50!





Learn almost all you need to know about caring for your dog from our panel of experts who will be there to reveal tips and advice on dog-related issues affecting dog owners today. Please visit http://www.petsmagazine.com.sg/bobd2009/ on how to sign up and register! Also, enjoy up to 40% discount off registration fees and receive freebies worth more than $50!

Don't forget to sign up and pen the date in your diary!

Beneficiary of Animal Merchandise :)

Noah's Ark CARES Supporters