AVA PUTS DOWN DOG DESPITE FAMILY'S DECISION TO ADOPT IT

THIS IS A PICTURE OF AN 11 YEAR-OLD GOLDEN RETRIEVER THAT AVA PUT DOWN JUST LAST WEEK despite my family's best efforts against it. AVA has left my family and I distressed and very angry. In the span of three weeks, they have shown that they are an organisation that is not to be trusted, disorganized and negligent toward the care for the animals that they take in.

We approached the organisation to help us find the owners of a lost Golden Retriever we had found along Upper Changi Road on February 27. The dog was dirty, with prominent skin irritations and no collar. She was clearly in need of care, so we took her home to bathe and feed her. We then brought her to the vet to check if she was micro-chipped With the serial number, we contacted AVA's customer service and reported the found dog.

Our first intention was to return the dog to her owners. Since she was found around our neighborhood it was apparent to us that she belonged to a home nearby. Due to regulations, AVA was unable to disclose the owner's details. We have two dogs of our own and decided to have AVA take the dog in till the owner was contacted. We clearly stated our interest in helping the dog get re-homed or even adopting her ourselves. We were told the AVA service staff would pick her up within the day. On the phone, there was even mention of them visiting the dog owner's home because it was around the area.

When they arrived to take her, we TOLD THEM SPECIFICALLY NOT TO PUT HER DOWN, and to contact us if they were unable to reach the owner. The Chinese gentleman who came to pick her up, assured us that they would not put her down. He even cancelled the "disposal" off the “Disposal of Animal” form, convincing us that it was merely a formality to attain our details and that he would take care of the situation. He added that we could call-in to follow-up on the progress.

We called in four times to check on the dog. Each time, the service personnel said that her manager would call us back, but he/she never did. We were left to check on the situation ourselves, each time stressing not to put the dog down and that we wanted to re-home her once all efforts to contact the dog's owner were exhausted.

March 4- AVA told us that the owner's telephone line was dead and that they would be posting a letter to their address, in a second attempt to reach the owner. They said they would try to re-home the dog.

March 18- After the weekend, we called the AVA to speak to the manager after her continued lack of response. Vilma finally returned the call that afternoon; however to our greatest shock and disappointment, Vilma said that the dog had been put down last week! It was then revealed to us that on record that the owners indeed lived at Bedok Rise. There was no apology or remorse at all expressed for the negligence AVA displayed.

Furthermore, the AVA failed to explain the action it would take against the owners for abandoning his/her dog. The microchip tagged on the Golden Retriever revealed that she was 11 years-old, and was imported.

I hope that AVA will investigate this case and ensure better, smoother management and upholding of the law.

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