Singapore Zoo, SPCA launches programme to help shelter dogs to find new home

Singapore Zoo is collaborating with Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to find permanent homes for dogs which have been at the SPCA shelter for some time.

The pilot programme, called Furever Yours, will see these dogs, also called Singapore Specials, receive training, fostering and adoption support from the team behind the zoo’s Animal Friends Show. 

The Animal Friends Show showcases how animals can form close relationships with humans and promote responsible pet ownership. It also advocates adoption, instead of shopping for pets.

Through this collaboration with the SPCA, Singapore Zoo hopes to grow awareness for shelter animals and promote pet adoptions.

Bruce, one of the Singapore Specials, is the first shelter dog selected by SPCA for the programme. 

He was likely abandoned in the streets and was found by the SPCA with a choke chain in May 2016. Like Bruce, there are many local community dogs that are stigmatised as unfriendly and are assumed as untrainable. 

“The dogs are introduced to a gentler form of training called positive reinforcement which is entirely voluntary. For cooperating in a variety of behaviours, they earn rewards which make training fun and enriching for both the dog and the trainer,” said Gail Laule, animal presentations director of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

“In nurturing a more loving and sociable demeanour in dogs like Bruce which have experienced rejection and abandonment, we are confident that they can become adoptable.”

Bruce has been a part of the Animal Friends Show since August 2019. He has been engagned in basic obedience training while learning behaviours to enrich his life and ease him into veterinary care procedures.

Initially reserved and cautious, Bruce has since shown his curious and friendly self. He also enjoys buggy rides and daily walks around the zoo. 

Bruce is still looking for a new family and forever home. 

Those who are interested in adopting Bruce can visit this link to find out more.