The SPCA’s Education Team, with the wonderful support of Young NTUC, held a very successful dog care seminar on the Tuesday 22 June at the NTUC Centre. Our three speakers, Deirdre Moss (Executive Officer, SPCA), Dr Paul McCutcheon (Author of the New Holistic Way for Dogs and Cats) and Kang Nee (Animal Behaviourist and Certified Dog Trainer) engaged the 80 participants in general care and responsible dog ownership, effective communication with your dog using positive reinforcement and how applying the holistic approach can benefit pets. If you would like to be kept in the loop of future seminars, please email updates@spca.org.sg
Operation No Release - NParks
"Operation No Release" is a special project piloted by National Parks Board. This year's "Operation No Release" would not have been possible without our fellow volunteers from SPCA , Singapore Polytechnic and Nature Trekker Singapore who are willing to sacrifice their precious weekend to make this special project a great success.
On a beautiful saturday (23 May 2010) early morning when most of us were still asleep, 12 volunteers from SPCA turned up punctually toreport for their duty as volunteer officials in the "Operation No Release" project. After a short briefing by Nature Trekker Singapore, the volunteers carried out their assignment with high enthusiasm.
All the volunteers who came forward to help were full of passion especially Mr Alvin Ng from SPCA who even motivated his other fellow volunteers to do better during the assignment. The volunteers while doing their duty also exchange pointers with each other as how to discourage the public from releasing of animals.
Although it was a long day for all the volunteers, everyone was glad that they spent their weekend for a good cause and went home with smiles!
The Voice for the Voiceless
Kudos to Nurlizaha and Nadhirah from Damai Secondary who found an abandoned rabbit in a cage on Saturday 20 March at Block 720 Bedok Reservoir Road. It was one of the worst cases we have seen. The drenched rabbit was sitting in sludge with ants crawling in close proximity. Nurlizah and Nadhirah carried the cage home and called the SPCA. It was suffering from pneumonia and was terribly emaciated. Sadly, the rabbit did not make it and died the next day following veterinary treatment to try and save it. Last Saturday 5 June, SPCA's Education Executive Selina Sebastian presented the girls with certificates of appreciation as well as SPCA t-shirts, for showing care and acting out of concern for an animal in need. Thank you so much girls, for being the voice for the voiceless!
"Cats R Purrfect" Camp
The Education Department organised an afternoon camp with the theme “Cats R Purrfect” on the 7 June for our youth supporters.They learnt about what it takes to be a great cat owner through talks, fun and games. What made the camp even more meaningful and special was that our young participants had the chance to interact with the cats in the shelter which was also the fun part. A big thank you goes to Victoria Junior College's PAWS for doing an amazing job in helping us organise the camp. If you are between seven to 16 years of age and would like to be kept in the loop of such activities, please email educationpr@spca.org.sg
'Pets For Life' Event
On 13 March 2010, we held a 'Pets For Life' event at the National Geographic Store at Vivo City. In our game booths, youngsters were able to learn about caring for animals in a fun and dynamic way. Our cat Mascot, Max, was also a big hit not only with the kids but with the adults as well. SPCA volunteers also brought along their pets so attendees could get up close and personal with some furry friends. The event created a huge amount of awareness about the animal welfare cause and our thanks go to the students on the Ministry of Education's Leadership Development Programme who designed the games and manned the booths. We are also grateful to our SPCA volunteers, and last but not least, to the National Geographic Store for being our kind venue sponsor. We all had a great time!
Mandarin Talk
We gave a talk in Mandarin about dog care on the 13 March 2010. This took place at Yishun Library and was extremely well received by the Mandarin-speaking participants. Thank you, National Library Board, for giving us this wonderful opportunity to create awareness about animal welfare. We look forward to further collaborations in future.
Youth Camps
The Education Department organised two morning camps focusing on "All Things Dogs" during the March holidays for our youth supporters. They learnt about what it took to be a great dog owner through talks, fun and games. They also got to interact with the dogs in the shelter which was the fun part. A big thank you goes to Victoria Junior College's PAWS for doing an amazing job in helping us organise the camps. If you are between seven to 16 years of age and would like to be kept in the loop of such activities, please email educationpr@spca.org.sg
Paws & Purrs at the SPCA - World Animal Day 2009
Check out all the action at Straits Times Razor TV. Scroll to the end of the article to watch the videos.
Since 1931, the fourth of October has been a special day for animal lovers around the world as a day of solidarity to celebrate the special bond and respect between man and all creatures. Here in Singapore, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals celebrated World Animal Day by opening its gates at its current premises at Mount Vernon Road.
World Animal Day was an opportunity to build community awareness of the issues facing animal welfare and cruelty, providing opportunities for education and exploration of self awareness and, generally celebrate all animals.
Although it was a sunny and extremely hot day, we weren't complaining at all. It was a fun day with people constantly milling into the SPCA throughout the day. A key highlight at this year's event was a dog behaviour booth where Kang Nee, a certified dog obedience instructor helped pet owners sort out pet behaviour problems. SPCA's Information Officers were also present to answer any pet-care questions. Children had fun games, tattoo art, a magic show and our cat mascot, Max to entertain them. Tag, the adorable robot was a huge hit too with the crowd with its interactive nature and cute remarks promoting responsible pet ownership.
On a more serious note, the SPCA took the opportunity to express its objection to the importation a part of a group of 18 dolphins which were reportedly caught from the wild in the Solomon Islands for Resorts World Sentosa. The SPCA believes that the act of taking these animals from the wild (endangered or not) is at odds with spirit of Singapore's Wild Animals & Birds Act, which prohibits the taking of an animal from the wild. Specially designed T-shirts were on sale at priced at $7 to create awareness of the issue. Our "Say no to whale sharks in captivity" T-shirts were also on sale (BTW, it's not too late to get your t-shirts. They are still available at the SPCA.).
The SPCA would like to thank the following groups and individuals:
- Achieva
- Chris Liew (Mirage Event Management)
- Dinesh Pasrasuram
- Donna Daniels
- Feline Tattoo Company
- Hill's Science Diet
- Kang Nee
- Necessary Audio Visual Pte. Ltd
- Sivakunalen
- SMRT (staff stationed at the Bartley Station)
- Straits Times Razor TV
- The Grand Hyatt Hotel
- last but certainly not least, SPCA volunteers.
A big thank you and hugs to all of you for contributing to making Paws & Purrs at the SPCA a huge success.
Part I - Visitors get pawed
Part II - Take me home with you!
Part III - To the rescue
Part IV - I watch, I buy, I dispose
SPCA Day at Ngee Ann and Singapore Polys
The H1N1 virus did not deter our Education team as they made their ways into two tertiary institutions to spread the animal welfare message.
Education Executive Selina was at Ngee Ann Polytechnic on the 29 June while Poh Choo, our Education Officer headed another group of students at the island's oldest polytechnic, Singapore Poly on 3 July.
You have to hand it over to the students who have made all these possible. The NP team did a myriad of activities (printing their own animal-welfare themed t-shirts, inviting young musicians to play at the event, etc) and the SP students sold SPCA merchandise and their very own muffins.
We attracted a steady stream of students and lecturers who supported our cause. Bringing an SPCA adoptable animal always worked well by drawing people closer to know about our work and how compassion towards animals is truly priceless.
If you are interested to organise a similar event in your school, please drop us an email at educationpr@spca.org.sg.
Click on thumbnails below to see larger images.
June activities in Punggol Plaza and West Coast Park
The Education Team were busy little bees over the weekend of 27 and 28 June. They each attended events at Punggol Plaza (Pets Carnival) and the West Coast Park (Dogs Day Out in the Park). What a marvellous time they had!
Both events saw the team in full force spreading awareness of kindness to animals with engaging talks and on-stage quiz sessions, where participants won attractive SPCA souvenirs. It was great to see people coming to our booths to find out more about the SPCA and how to take care of their beloved pets. Although it was extremely hot and humid (Our Education Officer, Poh Choo got sunburnt), the awareness created at the two events and was well worth the heat and sweat the team had to endure.
If you are interested in being kept in the know of such events that are organised, please email updates@spca.org.sg.
