How many times have you been to Sentosa? Or out to a shopping mall, to the park or just out from home to any place other than school or office? For our dear rescue dogs Harper and Matthieu, an outing is a luxury. Although dedicated volunteers walk them every day, the radius of their travel never extended 500m beyond their foster’s home as they have weak legs from their accidents and are not able to walk long distances.
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| Happy tongues from Harper & Matthieu, from Sentosa! |
This was until last month, when Hope Dog Rescue decided to organize a very special outing for Matthieu and Harper to Asia’s Favourite Playground, Sentosa! Finally, Harper and Matthieu could leave the comfort of their home and explore more of Singapore. Imagine the dogs’ euphoria when they were at Sentosa!
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| Our favourite old man, still so handsome at 14 years old |
For Matthieu, this was his first foray into a place away from his foster home in three years. Matthieu is about fourteen years old now and apart from the factory that he came from and his foster home, he has never been to any fun place. His life is worlds apart from our pet dogs at home that get to visit dog cafes and parks every now and then. This was also Harper’s first time at Sentosa, so imagine her delight. Both Harper and Matthieu could not contain their excitement. Their exhilaration bubbled over to the volunteers and everyone was really high-spirited.
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| The ladies' man |
Blessed with clement weather, Harper and Matthieu were as happy as larks. They were like excited little children at a playground and could not stop smiling. We found a nice large green patch of grass near the beach that Harper, Matthieu and the volunteers chilled on for a few hours, in between walks and photo requests from random tourists. Yes, Harper and Matthieu were hits with the tourists! They were such stars. Everyone commented on their cuteness and sweetness and a few of the tourists asked if they could pat Harper and Matthieu and take photographs with them. Harper and Matthieu were overwhelmed by the attention that they received.
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| Matthieu getting photo requests from tourists |
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| Chilling on the sand while the sun set |
After some time, one of our volunteers, Hui Juan, realized that Matthieu kept turning towards the beach wistfully and seemed to yearn for the beach very much. Although Hui Juan was worried that the soft sand might not be good for Matthieu’s spine, she finally caved in and brought him there for a short while. After all, what is an outing to Sentosa without some sand and sea? Matthieu is in his twilight years and should be able to enjoy life. Matthieu loved lying on the sand and did not want to go home. Hui Juan had to carry him back to the grass. Aww… We will bring you back to the beach another day, Matthieu!
Harper ran around the grass with wild abandon. We are so in awe of her and really forget that she is on wheels sometimes, because she runs faster than dogs without any disabilities and has such an indomitable spirit. It has been some time since we have seen Harper run around so happily. We will bring you out more often, Harper!
Against the setting sun, our doggies had their last walks at Sentosa and parting photographs taken with the volunteers. It was a long day for the doggies and at the end of the day, we could see that they were tired, although they did not seem to want to go home to rest. They are so cute huh, like little children!
Next month, we intend to bring the doggies to Sentosa again! Would one of you kindly offer to fetch the doggies to and from Sentosa pawtty please, so we could save on transport charges and channel the money towards more pressing needs? We would like to bring Sida along too and would require volunteers to help to hold our doggies in the car. Won’t you join us? Email us at hopedogrescue@singnet.com.sg now to express your interest! Thank you! *hugs and kisses from the doggies*
Written by: Weiling
