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A dog owner in Singapore moved into her new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat last week, and was hoping to connect with her new neighbours.
With the Covid-19 situation in mind, the dog owner, who we'll refer to as M, decided to deliver each of her neighbours a sweet treat, along with a note.
Speaking to Mothership, M explained that the gesture was a two-in-one initiative on her part, as she wanted to introduce herself to her neighbours, while also acquainting them with her dog, a senior Singapore Special.
"Why not just go around, instead of knocking [doors] face-to-face... I just hang a little snack at their door, just to say hi. And I left a note as well since I can't be going to everyone to explain or say whatever I want to say."
As M wrote in her note, her dog, while being "calm and controlled", was larger in size than most HDB-approved dog breeds.
Thus, she sought to reassure any concerned neighbours that her dog had been "trained, certified and licensed".
She told Mothership that the dog had been adopted almost eight years ago, as a three-month old puppy, under the ADORE program, which allows local mixed-breed dogs (or "Singapore Specials") to be kept in HDB flats, even if they are not "HDB-approved" dog breeds.
The note which M distributed to her neighbours, along with a box of muffins. Photo by a Mothership reader.
She also gave her neighbours the assurance that she and her dog would avoid taking the lifts in the block during peak hours, to minimise inconvenience, and provided her number for those with concerns to speak to her directly.
Over 100 boxes of muffins for neighbours across more than 20 floors
M ordered over 100 boxes of muffins from a supplier with a Halal certification.
She spent around S$800, as well as a few hours distributing the muffins and notes on her own, by hanging them on her neighbour's doors across over 20 floors.
M said that some of her friends and family members had suggested limiting the distribution to just a few adjacent floors, instead of distributing muffins to the entire block.
However, M felt that this would be "unfair", since units across all floors of the block shared the same lifts, after all.
Furthermore, while the cost of the muffins was considerable, M said:
"I take it as part of move-in costs! Or [that] it's an investment."
Response from neighbours "really nice"
Neighbours have responded favourably to the muffins, and the note.
M noted that there was some risk involved in giving out phone and unit number, though doing so meant that she was able to receive warm responses from her neighbours, even though they have yet to meet in person.
"I received about 10+ messages welcoming me into the community, and telling me that they are looking forward to meeting my dog as well," said M.
"It's very heartwarming," she said.
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Top images courtesy of M and a Mothership reader