“Today you have truly realised the phrase “die like a dog” for Loki, for he has met the most miserable of ends.
I’m sorry Loki. I was the person who brought you to your killers. I’m sorry for choosing a wrong home for you. I’m sorry you had to die through no fault of yours You were mercilessly EXECUTED.”
Loki’s owners, if you are reading this, one day your child is going to ask you, as all children do, if she can have a dog.
And you will remember Loki.
And then you will not be able to look her in her eyes and tell her that you executed him in cold blood because of her.
I hope you live with that guilt each time she asks for a pet.
A pet whom you senselessly murdered.
And please do not ever get that dog that she asks for
Cos you are not worthy of a dog.
On 6 May 2020, Mr Theng Wei Gan, the Director of Exclusively Mongrels Limited, shared a tragic tale on his Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/ganimus/posts/10157854521299821
December 2017 – Adoption
According to a post on the EM Facebook Page, Loki was adopted by Christian and Lilian in December 2017.
The caption accompanying the post stated that Loki’s owners “promised to give Loki a forever home” and that Loki’s “good natured temperament and friendly disposition won them over”.
The caption accompanying the post stated that Loki’s owners “promised to give Loki a forever home” and that Loki’s “good natured temperament and friendly disposition won them over”.
Attempts to rehome Loki?
According to Mr Gan, one of reasons why Loki was put to sleep was because he had bitten was because the owners “tried rehoming him but [were] not successful”.
TOC understands that the owners, Christian and Lilian, made no attempts to contact the rescuers or EM, the organsiation that Loki was adopted from, about any intention to rehome Loki.
It is unclear if the Christian and Lilian made any efforts whatsoever at all to rehome Loki before putting him to sleep.
From the timelines on Mr Gan’s Facebook post, it is clear that Loki was euthanised not long after the arrival of a new baby in the household.
Bad dogs? Or bad humans?
Another reason the couple gave for euthanising was that Loki had previously bitten people and that they “we wouldn’t want to risk it with the baby and everything.” This was in reference to the newborn-child, who was born not too long before Loki’s demise.
In response, Dr Gan said that
“The humans have just had a baby last month. Isn’t it ironic that they brought a life to the world but decided to end another?
Why didn’t you consider engaging a dog trainer in the past 9 months to prepare Loki and you for the arrival of the baby?”
Some in the comments section, who had previous interactions with Loki and the duo, also shared their perspectives.
Joycelyn Moh, who knew Loki as a “real lovely dog”, said that she was told of Loki’s alleged behavioural changes a few months ago. She then suggested that the owners should get a trainer an prepare Loki for the baby’s arrival as there was “ample time to do so before the baby arrive.”.
Denyse Elizabeth, who also knew Loki and his owners, shared that she had offered to help them in November 2019 when Christian and Lilian had reached out for help. Denyse revealed that Christian and Lilian “deceived” the “supportive community” behind them as they did not inform the community that euthanasia was one of the options they were considering. If they had known that the owners were considering euthanasia, they would have rescued and rehomed Loki.
Denyse concluded her statement by saying that “there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.”
Rehabiliation and retraining is always possible
Others in the comments section expressed their disdain for Christian and Lilian’s excuses. Some shared their own experiences with dogs who were “aggressive” but had been rehabilitated are still living together in their forever homes.
Kimberley, who also adopted a Singapore special, had a son who was no older than 2 when her dog bit her. However, instead of taking the “easy way out”, she did her research and got in tough with the best rehabilitation and dog trainer out there. In the end, her dog responded well to the training and they are still living happily together.
Questions about the Vet that put Loki to sleep
There were many questions raised about the Vet that had put Loki to sleep.
In 2013, following widespread public outrage over Tammy’s death – where a healthy 7 month-old puppy was euthanised because the owner thought she was “aggressive”, the AVA (now AVS) clarified its guidelines for euthanisa.
“Before euthanising an animal, the vet will conduct the necessary professional assessment and satisfy himself that euthanasia is a reasonable option, considering the circumstances.
He will ascertain ownership of the animal and discuss the various options available so that the owner can make the final informed decision, which is ultimately the latter’s responsibility and right.
In advising the owner, the vet must be mindful of the implications of not acceding to a request for an aggressive pet to be euthanised, such as the client’s potential distress and safety threats to the owner, his/her family, another unknowing adopter or the general public.”
In the present case, it is not known if the Vet had informed any Animal Welfare Groups or the AVA/AVS prior to Loki’s euthanisation. It is also not known if the Vet, or the owners, had considered other options like training and/or rehabilitation.
Under COVID-19 measures, Vets are only allowed to attend to emergency and non-elective cases. There were many who questioned whether Loki’s euthanisation could be classified as an emergency and/or non-elective case.
The Vet who put Loki to sleep was not identified in the post.
This is a developing story and we will continue to update this article as we receive more information.
I knew the owners of Loki and have seen how Loki behaves. To my dog he is an angel. They play around but he has bitten other dogs. Why? They let him. The owners let him. Instead of helping him be a better dog, they took the easy way out and AVS needs to come up with better crap than this. You are body that can stop nonsense like this from happening yet you won’t. Sack that vet. How can the vet put a healthy 2.5 years old down? I have seen the dog and see it almost daily so cut the crap. Dogs that are NOT sick and are far from losing good quality of life should NOT be allowed to be put to sleep because that’s killing a living being. Our authorities really need to wake up and start protecting our dogs! We didn’t save them from the streets to have these cruel owners kill them!