IMPACT 0099: CREATING A SAFE SPACE FOR OUR FURRY FRIENDS

Sequina Ng, has a passion for animals and has been volunteering at an animal shelter called MercyLight. She shares what she’s learnt from her time helping animals.Sequina Ng, has a passion for animals and has been volunteering at an animal shelter called MercyLight. She shares what she’s learnt from her time helping animals.

Dear Youth,

I’m Sequina and I love animals. Because of this, I find myself looking out for animal-related initiatives and am currently volunteering at MercyLight, a dog rescue centre.

I started volunteering mainly because of my childhood passion for dogs. Like many kids, I always wanted to have a puppy to call my own, but my parents were very averse to the idea of a pet.

Looking back, I understand their concerns of commitment when it comes to caring for another living creature, such as having to take a pet dog on walks, picking up after it and feeding it regularly, to name a few.

So, to fulfil this desire for a dog and to learn more about caring for them, I decided to start volunteering at a dog shelter – thus beginning my journey at MercyLight.

Volunteering at a dog shelter is not as easy or fun as everyone thinks it is. It is more than just the fun times like feeding, walking and playing with the dogs. Volunteers have to wash the entire kennel, feed the dogs medication if they require, bring the dogs out for excursions, and search for the occasional escape artist.

I have learnt so much from spending time at the dog shelter, and it is very heartwarming to see this community have such an immense passion for the stray dogs of Singapore. The volunteers from MercyLight not only rescue and take care of the dogs, but they also meet with potential adopters for training sessions with the dogs they are interested in adopting, so that these dogs have a higher chance of being re-homed.

Our team of volunteers also tries to bring the dogs out for excursions to places like Sentosa and Gardens by the Bay, so that the dogs don’t have to remain in the shelter all the time. Some volunteers even bring dogs home for “staycations”, just so the dogs get to experience what it is like to be in a home, which is helpful for their adoption process. The community of volunteers at MercyLight are truly a wonderful group of people and I am grateful to have met them.

I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of this volunteer team for close to three years now, and recently, I’ve even managed to convince my parents to finally adopt a dog, Promise, from the shelter. I am extremely grateful for the journey thus far, to be able to learn the ins and outs of taking care of dogs and giving back to the animal welfare community.

To everyone reading this, I would like to encourage you to find the time and the heart to begin looking out for initiatives that you’re passionate about and not to be deterred by road blocks that might stand in your way.