A netizen shared how his family’s pet Shih Tzu’s dead body was found inside a trash compactor after going missing while they were out at work.
Here is what he said
Dying is normal part of life. Not being to bring family home to rest, is a whole other thing.
As much as we do not like to call people or entities out, there is no way I will keep quiet about this for the sake of other pet owners out there.
Yesterday our family dog Cindy, passed away due to misadventure at the void deck of Blk 214 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh and was found by a members of public in the afternoon. We were all out for work so we only knew she was missing after we returned.
After sister and mom handed out flyers to find cindy, and finding Cindy’s collar in the void deck. We got a call and picture taken at 1.55pm to verify it was Cindy with her collar on the floor beside her.
We later found out from EMSU that Bishan Toa Payoh town council was informed earlier about the body and was taken away. But we were not sure where.
This morning, after calling the town council, we learnt the horrible news that Cindy was thrown into a trash compactor the day before, as ‘no one claimed the body’. Mind you, we were all at work and my parents and sister only started looking for Cindy after 6.30pm.
With no calls, indications or signs where to retrieve her, a 6hr window was all it took for a town council officer to decide that a trash compactor was right place to dispose our dog.
Key points below:
– dead dog found with collar at void deck.
– dog was a shihtzu, clearly not a stray
– collar had her name, license, my dad’s name and contact number
– Cindy was microchipped and had her details
– body was taken, collar was left behind by cleaner for us to find, at the same spot she was found
– SPCA, AVS and my family were not contacted at all, and no efforts were made to check the collar as the collar was still at the same spot at 7pm.
– Town Council Officer gave the go ahead to the cleaner to throw our dog into the trash compactor.
This morning, my sister and mum managed to get the cleaner, town council officer and the supervisor of the trash disposal place near my parents house. They said we cannot retrieve the body nor can they retrieve it for us. We gave our points above but currently we have filed a complaint to AVS and is currently investigating with the town council.
Cindy was family to us. We failed her by not bringing her back home with us to rest. No pet deserves to be treated like rubbish. We cannot do much for her at this point. But we can prevent this from happending.
But my family and I demands some answers on why did this happen. This is no way to treat our pets, even if they have passed. And unless we have answers and accountability taken by the necessary parties, I will not hesitate to blow this matter over personally from the top down.
Shame on you guys who decided to not treat our dog’s body with some respect.
SPCA reached out
To everyone that has shared the word around and has made my family and my voice heard, thank you so much. Because of this, people from the top has been alerted and stepped into this matter. As much as it is an internal issue, we owe it to everyone who owns a pet, whom they treat as family, that we be the force to drive change.
Thank you SPCA Singapore for reaching out to me personally and offering to make a difference from the top down. Thank you for stepping in and offering to push to have a change in protocol to make sure this never happens again.
Thank you also GM of Bishan Toa Payoh Town Council for reaching out to me and organising a meeting and visiting us tonight at my parents home in toa payoh. All we want is some accountability in this matter and proper protocols are in place.
Again, I owe it to everyone to provide an update on how this will be handled in the future for peace of mind for all pet owners out there.
On a final note, as my family is grieving this matter, please redirect all communications and queries to myself as I will represent my family as the main spokesperson, to ease the stress on my family.
Here’s to making proper change and having the people who can make a difference, hear us.
Images source: Arthur Andre Resurreccion Pandaan Facebook