Speaking of Dogs......

[sundaymorningstaple]

Ours is a platonic relationship!

[seasider]

I think the discussion was originally about human nature, not a local v expat thing, but as usual some people will do their best to stir things up.

I'm totally sick of having to justify my words so - whatever. I'd rather talk to my cats; I'm out of this one.

[Wind In My Hair]

Aiyoh, what a mess. We're literally fighting like cats and dogs.

First of all, I wasn't dissing seasider, at least not intentionally. If I'd meant to take her to task I would have quoted her post or mentioned her by name. She was incidental (no offence meant) to my disagreement with SMS. She said she 'heard' rather than 'experienced' or 'witnessed' and then SMS ranted about that, so it became an 'I heard that someone heard...' situation and that was what I was against - making judgments without first-hand knowledge.

Secondly, I re-read the thread and both SMS and seasider are right that nowhere was it specifically mentioned that they were ranting about Singaporeans. It's just interesting that cutiebutie read it that way and so did I, and even Superglide's (yes I'm going to get you in trouble mate, just for fun ) "kaipoh" implied some local flavour.

Perhaps, given that most rants here are about Singapore and Singaporeans, it would help if posters indicated when their statements are exceptions to the rule? Or else it's natural to misunderstand since the mind works on some sort of mental average.

Thirdly, SMS, what's wrong with a platonic peck on the cheek? Thanks for the PM.

[mayamomi]

I agree absolutely, but what would you say to getting a call asking "how much is the reward" before even letting someone know if you have the dog? What does that say. Was the pet dognapped only for gain?

maybe if the $$ is tempting enough, the caller might be motivated to search for the pet???

[mayamomi]

Most pets that are happy tend to stay nearby home.

i agree with this one, once my neighbour lost her dog and after 2days, it was found sniffing at each and every house on the same level...

maybe i'm wrong but most pets who are happy with their owners usually know their way home or simply hang around the vicinity if lost...

when i was a teenager, we lost our pomeranian too and we were frantically searching for him till midnight, when we finally gave up and went home, he was found scratching at our door!! neighbours reported that he ran up the stairs (we were on the 14th floor!!)

i guess its fairly widespread here -- taking dogs for a quick profit.

OMG... this never came across my mind!!! i'd better tell my family to keep a close watch on the dogs at home ...

[road.not.taken]

i went back and re-read this whole thread because i thought maybe i missed something. i still don't understand how this has turned into a expat/local thing. if my post added to the hard feelings i apologise. i was just recounting what the police told me. i didn't mean to stir the pot at all.

[DimWit Kid]

Thirdly, SMS, what's wrong with a platonic peck on the cheek? Thanks for the PM.

What's wrong indeed...
.... and while at it, maybe there's also nothing wrong with .......

[Wind In My Hair]

i went back and re-read this whole thread because i thought maybe i missed something. i still don't understand how this has turned into a expat/local thing.

I guess some of us got defensive, because again our country was being criticised. And in my view, this time it was unwarranted. Bad driving, yes. Rushing onto the MRT before people get off, yes. Not looking where we walk, yes. But widespread cruelty to animals? Already one poster has concluded that Singapore is not a safe place for pets and that's ridiculous.

Of course some people abandon pets and don't treat them well. Animal abuse is punishable by law when discovered. But making it sound like dognapping and returning a lost pet only if there is a reward is commonplace here is painting an inaccurate picture of my country and my countrymen. Do you expect us to take it lying down? Have the naysayers here met the many Singaporeans who feed strays everyday? Who adopt homeless pets? Who go from door to door trying to find the owners of lost pets? Who pick up strays and take them to the SPCA?

Don't judge a barrel by just a few bad apples, and then broadcast that judgement to the world. Generalise if necessary, but do it responsibly. Making a few isolated cases sound like the norm is irresponsible.

Sermon over. Amen.

[road.not.taken]

Of course some people abandon pets and don't treat them well. Animal abuse is punishable by law when discovered. But making it sound like dognapping and returning a lost pet only if there is a reward is commonplace here is painting an inaccurate view of my country and my countrymen. Do you expect us to take it lying down? Have the naysayers here met the many Singaporeans who feed strays everyday? Who adopt homeless pets? Who go from door to door trying to find the owners of lost pets? Who pick up strays and take them to the SPCA?

Don't judge a barrel by just a few bad apples, and then broadcast that judgement to the world. Generalise if necessary, but do it responsibly. Making a few isolated cases sound like the norm is irresponsible.

Sermon over. Amen.

yes, i guess a nerve was touched. apologies. just to be clear, a singaporean police man gave us the advice we received when our dog was taken. and since 'one pure bread dog with a value up to $750' was claimable on our renter's insurance, we figured we needed a police report. we were new here and didn't know the procedure. of course it doesn't apply to all circumstances and all singaporeans. in our case, the policeman was making the judgement call, not us.