Owners euthanise dog after volunteers look into abuse allegations, AVS investigating

One animal advocacy group's inquiry into the alleged abuse of a pet dog took a bizarre turn when the owners euthanised the animal the next day to "solve" the problem.

The Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) is investigating after a pet owner put his Jack Russell down on Monday (March 23) following a visit from Chained Dog Awareness in Singapore (CDAS) volunteers, reported Lianhe Wanbao.

CDAS was alerted to the dog's situation after a Facebook user posted a video of the dog lying beneath a cabinet on the compound of a house in Holland Village, lethargically eating food off the floor.

The user also alleged that the dog had been kicked and shoved beneath the cabinet by a woman.

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Concerned CDAS volunteers visited the owners, a man and his wife, on Sunday (March 22) at 11.30am.

The man told them that the dog was "very sick", they said.

The dog had been "dragging its feet" and "barking relentlessly" for 18 months, the man's neighbour also told CDAS.

They left the house after promising to drop by with treats and supplements for the dog, but the man did not answer the door when they returned half an hour later, a volunteer told the Chinese evening daily. 

That night, they received a call from the man, who suggested a meeting the next day to discuss the welfare of the dog.

But when the volunteers contacted him on Monday morning to confirm the details of the meeting, they were shocked to find that the man had already euthanised the dog.

A screenshot of a volunteer's exchange with the man revealed that he had said the dog was "old enough" and hoped that putting it to sleep would "solve the problem".

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The man also provided a picture of the invoice from the clinic which had performed the procedure.

Dumfounded, CDAS took to Facebook to chastise him, writing: "He said he would come back with a timing [for the meeting] yet he took the same morning to euthanise his dog. What does it say about his sincerity and integrity to discuss his dog's welfare?

"If he allowed the dog to bark relentlessly for the last 18 months why did he choose to euthanise the dog hastily this morning?"

AVS' code of ethics for veterinarians states that euthanasia may be performed to prevent an animal from suffering unnecessarily. However, appropriate treatment options must be considered prior to that.

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kimberlylim@asiaone.com