Louis Ng Wants Owners To Try To Return Pet First, Loki’s Owner Explains Why He Didn’t Ask Exclusively Mongrels
It’s been more than 4 months since Loki, a healthy 2-year-old dog, was put down by his owners after a series of biting incidents.
However, some animal lovers are still hurt by his death. While the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) has cleared Loki’s owners of wrongdoing, it didn’t clear up a major question: Why didn’t they go back to Exclusively Mongrels Limited and return the dog to them?
The owner explained why in an interview with Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
In response, Nee Soon MP Louis Ng said on Facebook that he will call in Parliament for there to be a requirement for owners to explore returning their pets to their original source before putting them down.
AVS said it’s ‘decision by owners’
While it didn’t find any wrongdoing by Loki’s owners, AVS had noted – according to CNA – that they didn’t approach Exclusively Mongrels for help in finding the dog another home.
Ultimately, it said that was a “decision by the owners”, and AVS didn’t investigate why.
That’s because the adoption agreement is a private one between the owners and Exclusively Mongrels.
That adoption agreement is now the subject of legal proceedings brought against the owners by Exclusively Mongrels.
Loki’s owner didn’t have faith in Exclusively Mongrels
In the aftermath of AVS clearing him of wrongdoing, Loki’s owner, a Denmark national who wanted to be known only as “Christian”, spoke to CNA.
He was asked in the interview why he didn’t ask Exclusively Mongrels for help in rehoming Loki, considering that they had adopted the dog from them in the first place?
He told them that he didn’t have faith in Exclusively Mongrels as a rehomer.
That’s because he felt they “would not have reacted constructively” if he approached them for help.
Owner approached people he knew
He also said the people he approached were those he personally knew who didn’t have children and understood Loki’s history.
However, he also said in the same interview that he had decided to send the dog to a shelter in Malaysia but couldn’t get to it due to Malaysia’s Covid-19 lockdown.
He also regretted not approaching the Malaysian shelter and animal welfare groups earlier.
Louis Ng doesn’t want any more regrets
In his Facebook post on Saturday (26 Sep) night, Mr Ng specifically referenced Christian’s regret.
Quoting the owner’s words in the CNA article, Mr Ng said it’s unfortunate that there are regrets after a dog’s life is lost.
Thus, he doesn’t want there to be any more regrets.
Louis Ng will speak in Parliament on pet euthanasia
To order for this to happen, Mr Ng will speak in Parliament on this issue.
Specifically, he will ask Minister for National Development Desmond Lee if he can include a requirement in the pet euthanasia guidelines.
That requirement is for the owners to attempt to return the pet to where it adopted it from, before deciding on euthanising it.
This will mean that euthanasia is chosen only as a last resort, and owners will no longer have regrets like Christian did.
Louis Ng held public consultation on pet euthanasia
Previously, Mr Ng had called the rules on pet euthanasia “insufficient”, and staged a public consultation that produced a 720-page report.
He also asked the Ministry of National Development to set up an independent committee to propose new guidelines on pet euthanasia.
Preventing needless deaths and regrets
While Loki has gone and can’t be brought back to life, the fear is that there may be many healthy pets out there who may follow in his footsteps, and be euthanised when other options are available.
That’s why it’s commendable that Mr Ng isn’t letting this case go. His advocacy can prevent the needless deaths of animals.
It may also avoid the situation where owners have regrets that they didn’t explore all adoption avenues before hastily putting down their healthy pets.
Featured images adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
