The euthanasia of a dog named Loki had led to outrage among animal lovers in Singapore in May.

The case was brought into public scrutiny after animal welfare group Exclusive Mongrels Limited (EML) wrote a Facebook post about the incident.

EML alleged that Loki, which was adopted at an adoption drive organised by the group, had been put down after its adopters had a newborn child.

Loki was said to have bitten a girl and one of its adopters prior to that.

EML was also disappointed with the adopters' efforts to rehome Loki. This includes not seeking help from EML or returning Loki to the group before putting the dog down on April 20.

The case has led to questions over if the decision, made by the adopters and the vet, to put down the dog during the circuit breaker period was justified.

The high profile case has warranted responses from two politicians, K Shanmugam and Louis Ng, who urged netizens to not jump to conclusions, and allow the authorities to investigate the case.

No breach of law by Loki's owners

After several months, the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS), a cluster under the National Parks Board, has completed its investigation of this case.

There was no breach by Loki's adopters under the Animals and Birds Act, AVS concluded.

After being alerted to the case, AVS set out to establish whether the adopters or the vets involved have any violations.

This includes whether there is a failure in duty of care, any acts of cruelty carried out to Loki, any breach in the Veterinarians' Code of Ethics.

As the euthanasia was carried out during the Circuit Breaker period, AVS also looked into whether there was any breach in Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020.

That is to consider whether the act of euthanasia was considered an essential service during the CB period.

Over the past few months, AVS had spoken to various parties which included the adopters, their friends who have been bitten by the dog and the vets involved.

AVS' investigations showed that the adopters have explored various options to seek help for Loki's behavioural issues, over a period of more than a year, before resorting to euthanasia.

During this period, Loki had been taken to the vets for regular health check ups, and had been observed to get along with its adopters. There was no evidence that Loki was abused or mistreated.

The vets who agreed to the euthanasia had been working with the adopters for several weeks to help improve Loki's behavioural conditions.

Hence, AVS concluded that the vets did not breach the Code of Ethics as well.

Here are more details of what led to the decision to put Loki down:

Tried solving Loki's behavioral problem in the past two years

According to AVS' investigations, Loki was timid, afraid of noise, averse to men and nervous around children. This was when the puppy was adopted by the couple in 2017.

It grew to become more confident and confrontational in the next two years and also had panic attacks occasionally.

In the period between 2018 and 2019, the adopters told AVS that there were ten bite incidents.

The cause of Loki's anxiety and behavioural issues was unknown, even though the adopters had brought it to the vets at two clinics, including Mount Pleasant Changi.

Medication has been given to calm Loki down and the adopters also brought Loki to two training sessions, one in November 2019 and the other in February 2020.

In March 2020, Loki's adopters sought veterinary advice from a vet and discussed with the second vet they consulted about the options for Loki, including euthanasia as a last resort.

The vet has spoken to Loki's trainer about its condition and persuaded the adopters to try rehoming Loki.

AVS said that the owners and trainers tried rehoming Loki during March and eventually found shelter in Malaysia for Loki with the help of the vets at Mount Pleasant Changi.

Unfortunately, the Malaysian movement control order came into effect during that period and the plan to relocate Loki was put on hold.

Loki then continued staying with the adopters.

AVS' investigations did not include why the adopters did not get in touch with local shelters and EML, where Loki was adopted.

Trigger to Loki's euthanasia

The incident that led to Loki being euthanised happened on April 19.

Loki had bit the husband's lips after he reached out to take a cover that Loki was lying on.

It was an act that had occured many times before, according to the investigations.

The husband was sent to the Emergency Department to receive treatment.

The next day, the wife called AVS to check if euthanasia was allowed during Circuit Breaker period.

AVS confirmed that it is considered an essential service if it is carried out in the interest of public safety.

While the first clinic and SPCA rejected the wife's request for euthanasia, Mount Pleasant Changi agreed to the request.

The two vets who previously worked with Loki's adopters on his conditions agreed that Loki's aggression and unpredictability was a risk to the family's safety and therefore allowed the euthanasia of Loki.

While AVS concluded the investigations on Loki's case, the incident has raised the need to review the pet sectors in order to raise the standards of animal health and welfare in Singapore.

A workgroup has been set up to engage these stakeholders in the pet sector, this includes animal welfare groups, trainers, vets and owners.

The workgroup will be chaired by Minister of State (Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of National Development), Tan Kiat How.

They will look into enhancing the standards and guidelines related to the rehoming and adoption of animals in Singapore moving forward, AVS said.

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Top image via NParks website and via EML/Facebook