Migrant worker who rescued Kiko the dog is friend of the family, gets S$5,000 reward

The man who rescued the missing dog from a drain in Whampoa on Dec. 9 has been rewarded with S$5,000 as promised.

He is a friend of the Teh family that owns the dog, a 5-year-old male chow chow named Kiko, which escaped from doggy daycare on Dec. 7.

Delower, a migrant worker, has been friends with the family for about six years, Claudia Teh told Mothership.

They met him when he worked on the renovation of their house as a contractor.

“He is really hardworking and friendly, and my family always had a good relationship with him!” Teh said.

When he learnt that Kiko was lost, Delower was very eager to help.

He, along with other family friends, joined the search for two days, and helped put up missing posters.

Finding Kiko

On Dec. 9, Delower kept looking for Kiko in the area where he was last seen, determined to find the dog, Claudia said.

When he finally spotted Kiko in a deep drain at 8 Mar Thoma Road, he knew Kiko would be scared, so he approached carefully.

After the dog slowly walked towards him, Delower climbed in and carried Kiko, which weighed 28kg, out on his own.

He then quickly informed the Teh family, who sprinted over.

Claudia shared that her family was relieved to have found Kiko, who has been resting at home.

Kiko went for a thorough medical check-up, including a blood test and X-ray, and there were no abnormalities.

Rewarded

In the missing posters, the Teh family offered a reward for finding Kiko that was initially S$1,000, then increased to S$5,000.

In the evening of Dec. 10, Claudia told Mothership Delower had received the reward.

The family was "incredibly grateful for what he did," Claudia's brother Matthew wrote in the Telegram chat group that was formed to search for Kiko.

They presented Delower with a reward and a letter of appreciation "for his courageous and selfless act in rescuing Kiko".

In addition to Delower, many members of the public had gone out searching for Kiko, as seen in a Telegram chat group.

Claudia shared that her family was surprised and grateful that many had volunteered their time and efforts, and urged everyone to also help find other missing pets as well.

Some in the group chat shared about other dogs that were still lost, including a corgi named Broccoli, a cavapoo named Nyxel, and a black dog named Milo.

Top images from Claudia Teh/Mothership