There is a time for play and a time for sadness.
Yesterday, and I reckon for some time to come, there will be surely a sense of collective loss and mourning for the internet’s beloved sheltie, Prince.
It was revealed that Prince, the sheltie who was reported missing under the care of PDC, had died while boarded at Platinium Dogs Club (PDC).
After preliminary investigation by the AVA, it announced on a Facebook post on Wednesday that Prince “had died while boarded there and was cremated by a pet cremation service provider”.
The alleged owner of PDC had chosen not to to alert Prince’s owner to its demise, leading the owners to embark on fruitless search.
She even had the audacity to ‘inform’ Elaine that Prince was lost during an AVA raid and had challenged her to report AVA to the Police.
Here’s a recap lest you’ve forgotten about this unfortunate incident.
The Search
After initial reports of dogs found in injured/unkempt states and one that had allegedly died soon after retrieval from PDC, Elaine Mao, the owner of Prince, embarked on the search.
30 December 2018:
When the AVA raided PDC on 29 December 2018, Price, a Shetland sheepdog, was not found.
In her post here, Elaine Mao, Prince’s owner, shared her ordeal in tremendous detail, documenting her experience from the time Prince was boarded, up to moment when Prince was was found missing after the AVA raid.
In it, she shared how she had cut short her overseas trip to return to SG, traced a path where Prince was allegedly seen by a passer-by and even created excel chits to organize search efforts for Prince.
2 January 2019:
On 2 January 2019, the Police responded to a case of obstruction at Galistan Avenue according to Yahoo News.
A group of people, including Elaine Mao, can be seen outside PDC’s premise holding up Missing Dog notices bearing the picture of Prince.
In the standoff, a Jaguar driven by an unnamed man and carrying the alleged owner of PDC had allegedly hit a 40 year old man belonging to the group, while reversing out of the premise.
In this Facebook video posted by Derrick Tan, founder and president of Voices for Animals, Prince’s owner Elaine Mao can be seen pleading with the alleged owner amidst exasperation and tears.
At one point, she even kneels down on the ground in hopes of getting a response.
But no: the PDC owner still did not tell her that Prince had left the world.
7 January 2019:
In a Facebook post on 7 January 2019, Roderick Low with the “permission of the owner Ms Elaine Mao,” updated Prince’s missing poster promising a $2, 000 reward for “information that leads directly to Prince.”
In it, Roderick requested for people to download the poster and share it, adding that the search area has been narrowed down to Bukit Batok and Bukit Timah.
9 January 2019:
Unfortunately, Prince’s search came to a sad end when AVA shared that Prince had passed on and was cremated while boarded at PDC.
Unsurprisingly, almost every news outlet in Singapore promptly covered it.
My colleague who was driving then had even heard about it on the radio.
In other words, the search has indeed been a completely fruitless one right from the get-go as Prince had died a long while ago on PDC premises.
It was never “missing” to begin with.
The Aftermath and Eulogy
In the immediate aftermath of AVA’s disclosure, Matt, Prince’s other owner who’s Elaine’s fiance, took to Reddit to express his eulogy for Prince.
Elaine too, shared a Facebook post bidding goodbye to her beloved Prince.
And posted a follow-up to a previous post requesting for information on Prince’s whereabouts:
“Dear friends and pet lovers,
The news of my baby Prince is gone, is totally unbearable. A part of me has gone with him. Sorry for not responding to anything from now on as we need some time and space to calm down and swallow the fact.
Thank you all for your support, especially to those who have helped us searching.
Appreciate very much if you can take down the posters where you can see.
PRINCE IS GONE!!
MAY HIM REST IN PEACE”
They Would Have Continued Searching
In his reply to a redditor, Matt mentioned that he had been on the search ever since he was back in Singapore. He added that he would have continued, “day and night, sun and rain”, till he found Prince.
It’s truly disheartening when you realise that the PDC owner hasn’t just been irresponsible to dogs, but to people as well.
I don’t know you personally, Elaine and Matt, but being a dog owner myself, I too feel your pain and may you both find peace with this closure.
Lastly, if you are for a “Stiffer Punishment Against Animal Abuses in Singapore”, you may wish to sign this petition started by Elaine’s and Matt’s friend, Roderick Low, who was also the Facebook user who had shared Prince’s updated missing poster.
Rest in Peace, Prince.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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