Wednesday, May 26, 2010

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Please find below answers to some of the frequently asked questions.
 Updated 14th May 2010.
  1. What happened to the puppy mill?
  2. What is the intention?
  3. Who are you people?
  4. I received an SMS !! Is that true?
  5. Are you not worried that you might be sustaining a vicious cycle of abandonment?
  6. Are you an organization?
  7. I have some questions, can I call or SMS you?
  8. How are the dogs now?
  9. I would like to donate supplies directly, how do I do that?
  10. I would like to donate money, how do I do that?
  11. I would like to volunteer, what should I know?
  12. I would like to foster/adopt, what are the procedures?


1.What happened to the Puppy Mill?
As reported, the previous owner attempted to sell his business as he could not manage it financially and logistically. We were alerted to this development and after serious deliberation, chose to take a stand for the lives of the dogs inside the Mill. We contacted the ex-owner and bought over the puppy mill from him, and the rest is history.


2.What is the intention?
We have one intention only: the care and welfare of the dogs.


3.Who are you people?
We are a group of regular people, with regular jobs, with a passion for the betterment of animal welfare, even in the face of unrelenting objections. We are not breeders: have never been and never will be.

4. I received an SMS!! Is that true?


It has come to our attention that an SMS has been spreading around like wildfire: we would like to clarify a few things:

a) Yes the SMS was referring to OUR shelter, and not another new shelter. It is however, Inaccurate, Misinformed, and NOT created by any of the volunteers.

b) The DogMillRehomers will ONLY use our Facebook group page and this website as our medium of communication.

All other forms, be it via SMS, other blogs, emails etc are NOT affiliated NOR created by the DogMillRehomers. As such, that information could be potentially skewed and wholly inaccurate. Please disregard any and all information that you did not receive via this page or our Facebook page.

c) We understand that people want to help and contribute. We thank and appreciate you for that. However, coming down to the Kennel without prior appointment creates chaos and largely hamper and creates problems for our work.

Imagine a kennel filled with 30 people all gushing for the attention of a few volunteers who have to divide their attention between the welfare of the dogs and the vast amount of humans.

We are committed to serving the welfare of the dogs in the best way possible, and your sensitivity and consideration in this matter is imperative to the integrity of our project.

PLEASE ONLY VISIT VIA APPOINTMENTS.

We assure you that visiting via appointments is critical to the project. Your kindness and generosity is the cornerstone to the success of the rehoming project. Please continue to contribute this way.


d) We will never put down any dogs. That is absolutely contrary to our mission and belief. We did not come all this way to go down that path.

All of the dogs have already been relocated to a new, cleaner location at Mutts and Mittens. There are full-time staff taking care of the dogs. The rental is much cheaper than the previous location as Mutts and Mittens is offering us a special charity price to shelter the dogs. We appreciate their kindness in this.

e) THERE ARE NO PUPPIES.

Picture of Faith courtesy of Monica Eng! We love you babe!



Faith the Pomeranian says thank you!!






5.Are you not worried that you might be sustaining a vicious cycle of abandonment?
We get that some people are worried that we may be sustaining a vicious cycle of abandonment where breeders continually dump “old stock” to kind hearted animal lovers when the breeders are done using them.

A fellow volunteer Lorna sums it up for us nicely in a post:


" If I were a pug or the corgi or one of the 75 dogs, it would make a GREAT DIFFERENCE TO ME if I was rescued or left to die in the darkness of the rusty cage at the puppy/dog mill.
Bottom line- if I had to choose between being an analyst/armchair critic/numbers cruncher/UN or govt agency director who sees the BIG PICTURE or Mother Theresa- I would choose the latter.

Each dog counts. We save ONE AT A TIME. We DO NOT sacrifice even one for the sake of a 'theoretical principle'/academic discussion that might perpetuate the problem. There are other ways of fighting the puppymill/dogmill problem. Holding back on INDIVIDUAL rescue of the dogs IS NOT the way. When we devalue one life, we devalue ALL LIVES...


6.Are you an Organisation?
Currently, we are *not* affiliated with any welfare group or association. We understand that earlier on, there was a slight confusion as to whether we were related to another Shelter. We would like to clarify that we are *not* affiliated to them, or any Shelters/Organizations at the moment.


7.I have some questions, can I call or SMS you?
Please understand that the phone numbers being circulated online belongs to Derrick personally and it is having a massively negative impact on him due to the flood of SMSes and phone calls. Please note that we do not take any further phone or SMS inquiries at this moment. Please contribute by spreading the word that ALL further enquiries should be sent to dogmillrehomers@hotmail.com .
PLEASE keep your subject line short and simple (so that we can read your emails faster!) Long convoluted email subjects are very difficult for our volunteers to understand quickly and delays response. Thank you!

Examples would be:

  • DONATIONS - SUPPLIES
  • DONATIONS - MONEY
  • ENQUIRIES
  • VOLUNTEERING
8.How are the dogs now?
The dogs are being sent for medical checkups and assessments. The dogs that are in bad shape have been sent as a priority and are currently in fostering. The hygiene of the kennels are maintained through regular washing, disinfecting etc. The dogs are well-fed and medicated regularly with advice from our vets on their diets and well-being. 


The dogs have now moved out of UNIT 9 and are now currently residing in Mutts and Mittens, who have graciously allowed residency of our dogs at a special charity price. They are receiving the necessary attention and care from the staff at Mutts and Mittens. We appreciate and thank them for it.


Many of the dogs are still undergoing medical intervention and as such, donations directly to our Vet is appreciated to defray our ballooning vet fees.


9.I would like to donate supplies directly, how do I do that?
Please refer to the wish list on the side column on the right to understand what supplies the shelter currently needs. We have been contacted by suppliers who are willing to sell to us at wholesale prices in bulk, so please note that there is an option to get from us, cheaply, some of the supplies.


To donate Avoderm Kibbles
Please write a cheque issued to Hobbs and Hersh Holdings
and send it to :


11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2
Singapore 519326
Atten Cohen/Leng


Your cheque will be deposited into a Avoderm Kibbles account, and all kibbles purchases will be deducted from this account at a Special Charity Rate.

For all other donations:

Please write an email to dogmillrehomers@hotmail.com with the subject line: DONATIONS – SUPPLY to donate or for supplies donation enquiries.


Please deliver to Mutts and Mittens with written note for DogMillRehomers and please leave your name and address behind, thanks


Mutts and Mittens is located at:


11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2
Singapore 519326
Attn Cohen/Leng

Thank you!


10.I would like to donate money, how do I do that?
Please note that there are several options available.



1)  Donations made directly to Mutts and Mittens Foundation

Through Cheque, Please write cheque to

Mutts & Mittens Pte Ltd
11 Pasir Ris Farmway 2
Singapore 519326
Attn Cohen / Leng

Please write "Pasir Ris 75 Dogs Project" and Your Address so that we may issue you a reciept.


Through Inter-Bank-Giro, Please transfer to:

OCBC Bank Account : 568-885222-001

2)  Donations made directly to AllPets (Our Vet)

Please write cheque to 

ALLPETS & AQUALIFE VETS PTE LTD
219 Jalan Kayu #01-01 
Singapore 799442
Tel: 6481-3700 / Fax: 6481-6990
Email: aqualife@pacific.net.sg
Vets: Dr Frederic Chua, Dr Winnie Teo, Dr Erika Tan, Dr Grace Lim

Please write "Pasir Ris 75 Dogs Project" and Your Address so that we may issue you a receipt. 

11.I would like to volunteer, what should I know?

Currently, we no longer require volunteering services as our dogs have moved to a better place with full-time care and at a cheaper rental rate than the previous shelter. We thank you for the kind intentions and invite you to consider contributing in other ways, via donations or through educating your friends.

    12.I would like to foster/adopt, what are the procedures?
    Fostering refers to the intermediate stage whereby dogs are nursed back to health by a fosterer until an adopter can be found. Fosterers will be screened by our volunteers and will be registered for bookkeeping. A questionnaire will be required to be filled prior to fostering.
    Adoption will take the following steps:

    • A Screening interview
    • An adoption fee
    • An adoption paper to sign
    • Follow up visit to the home
    All our dogs are matured ex-breeding dogs. They are aged from 5 years and above. There are NO puppies. Many of them are currently not in the best of physical conditions, although they are all seeing huge leaps of improvement with tender love and medical care.


    Adoption is a commitment, not just to the adoptors but to the Dog Mill Rehomers as well. As such, we seek your kind understanding in that the process may appear to be stringent at times. We assure you that every potential adoptor is important to the dogs and us; we are not making it stringent to prove a point. All that we do, we do so for the welfare of the dogs and the adoptors and their families.
    Thank you.

    Pictures courtesy of Monica Eng, Nicholas Lee, Davis KK