S'pore temple expands cage for dog kept in captivity since puppy but does not free it

Members of the public are still trying to negotiate its release.

Belmont Lay | September 23, 2021, 07:07 PM

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A temple in Pandan Gardens has provided a larger cage for its dog following complaints from members of the public.

However, the dog kept in the cage on temple grounds has not been released.

Update on caged dog

Updates on the caged dog's welfare has so far been provided by a Singaporean woman, Melody Yap, who first posted about the dog's condition on Sep. 16, 2021.

In an update on Sep. 22, Yap wrote that various members of the public have since contacted Sheng Hong Temple to try to negotiate for the dog's release, but have been rejected by temple representatives.

She had personally also made a few trips down to the temple to check on the dog.

Dog cage bigger

In the latest post, Yap acknowledged that the temple has responded to the complaints, but said measures such as widening the area of the cage and assuring that the dog is let out at night were "insufficient".

In one photo posted, the dog cage appeared larger and cleaner than before.

In response to these changes, Yap said dogs require walks twice a day to "stimulate their senses" and should not be cooped up.

Dog not let out at night

But when she checked on the dog on two nights, she found it still caged up.

This was contrary to what the temple claimed about letting the dog out once its operating hours were over.

Yap also provided two photos of the dog in captivity.

One was a photo of a puppy in a cage, while the other was a more recent photo of the dog that is supposedly nine years old now,.

Addressing the dog by its name, Yap wrote: "June is still not treated the way she should be. She should be granted the freedom that was wrongly taken away from her since birth; she shouldn't be living in captivity."

Dog not human-averse

According to Yap, she had even managed to approach the dog and found it "extremely friendly" and not human-averse.

Based on her own observations, she said the dog could be kept in a wider cordoned off area instead of a completely sealed cage with a small surface area to move about.

Temple stopped providing updates on dog

Although she has made a few trips to the temple, Yap has not been able to find out more about what was happening as the temple stopped responding to queries regarding the dog.

"I have no idea what she eats now because the temple refuses to answer any public calls and queries regarding June," Yap wrote.

"Much still needs to be done for June, and I truly hope the temple will consider releasing her to us. Together with fellow animal volunteers, I am confident we will be able to find her a loving home and give her a comfortable roof over her head."

Background

Sheng Hong Temple initially responded to Yap in a statement that said it was contemplating taking legal action against her.

It has not posted an update or commented publicly on the issue since Sep. 6.

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