If a dog is a man’s best friend, then Derrick Tan is a dog’s bestie. 

Derrick, founder and president of Voices For Animals (VFA) in Singapore, attests that his love for animals saved him from himself, quite literally.   

“I’ve always loved animals since I was young. They make me happy,” says Derrick, adding that he is merely returning the favour by taking care of abused and abandoned animals, particularly dogs and cats.  

It was at Sunny Heights (Singapore) Daycare where I first interviewed Derrick in 2015. He casually referred to SH as his “day job” at the time. The place was teeming with rescued animals, mostly dogs and cats. He came in jeans and t-shirt. His tattoos and bleached blond hair did not quite reflect his kind, affectionate nature.

To say that he has a soft spot for homeless furry creatures is an understatement. He made it a personal advocacy to rescue them – and he has saved plenty. 

The former youth-at-risk got his act together since he founded VFA in 2013. His inked graphic body marks are now mere reminders of his troubled past that was punctuated with episodes like drug abuse, street gang fights and was even arrested for rioting. 

VFA is a rescue, rehabilitation and re-home halfway house for animals, mainly dogs but also cats and other domesticated pets. 

“I started Voices for Animals alone. I took seven months off from work to focus on this,” says the animal activist.  “I realise there’s so much more to do, all these animals that need care and attention.” 

Among those rescued are from so-called called “puppy mills” as breeding farms are also known. A majority of them are from pedigree-breeding farms, where they are kept and eventually disposed of as soon as they’re past their reproduction age. The numbers vary as many are adopted as soon as they’ve been rehabilitated. Meanwhile, many more traumatised ones are brought in regularly.  

Derrick was one of the first to work with pedigree breeders. For his first project, he took 85 dogs from the puppy factories that led to the founding of VFA. He has helped find homes for hundreds of dogs that otherwise would have been put down prematurely when their prime puppy-producing days were over, or if the farms went bust.

Derrick also takes in some retired police dogs from the Singapore Police Force, where Derrick served for 10 years. He was doing his national service and after completing basic military training, he was assigned to the Police Canine Unit. He was in charge of looking after the overall wellbeing and welfare of 250 police dogs (each had one assigned police handler). From there he was appointed to various positions such as para emergency officer, para vet and para counselor (for peer counseling) over the years. He left the police force to explore other options. 

Sadly, not all of the furry wards will find a home. Some of them grow old, put to sleep or die in a shelter. 

“Some of the rescued ones don’t get adopted because of their advanced age or medical condition,” he says. In some cases, he would take some sick ones home. He has personally adopted quite a number of dogs, especially those that are slightly senior or are just waiting to cross the rainbow bridge.

VAF has re-homed to more than 1,500 animals and provided shelters for over 250 animals on average from 2013 – 2015 alone.

Funding for shelter operations, roughly upwards of S$20k by some estimates, comes mainly from monthly donation drives and contributions from individuals and organisations. A chunk of the amount goes to the rescued animals’ medical bills – which could add up to S$10k-plus monthly. 

While there are good Samaritans who support VAF, there are no guarantees that the donations would come regularly.  When the money runs short, Derrick and his hard-core volunteers don’t hesitate to pitch in from their pockets while continuing to raise funds through social media.

For potential adoptive owners of rescued animals, Derrick emphasises the need for understanding, patience and compassion because they are not adopting ordinary puppies. They are abused animals that have special needs, medical care being one of them. They are rescued to give them a second lease on life. 

Planning to own a pet? Derrick cannot stress enough the importance of responsibility and respect. It takes long-term commitment to own a pet. Many do not realise the amount of time, love, care and finances required for having a pet. They are not toys that can put on shelves as soon as the owner gets bored or becomes too busy. 

“Proper feeding, exercise, health checks, making them feel loved – all these are a part of being responsible for another living creature,” he says. 

Despite all the dogged efforts and grit, Derrick is aware that there are still many who judge him based on his physical appearance – a guy with tattoos. He knows he cannot stop them from misjudging him. All that matters to him are those who believe in and support VFA in rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing abused and abandoned animals. 

Pawrenting Rescued Dogs

If Derrick is a dog’s bestie, then Allison Lim and Dave Tan are a dog’s best pawrents. 

More than just feeding and petting, caring for a dog’s overall wellbeing is like raising a kid. It’s a huge responsibility. I don’t know of any other pawrents who are more devoted than this couple. I’m a witness to how deeply they care about their furry kiddos. 

They started to adopt dogs as soon as they packed their only child off to university in 2012. 

What is it like to be a pawrent? Here’s Allison’s account of the joys of pawrenthood. 

“It just felt right to have a dog in the house again, partly also because we became empty nesters,” says Allison, who grew up with dogs all her life until she left home and had her own family.

“We started researching about what dog to get and then found out about various shelters in Singapore looking for adopters, especially for the larger Singapore Specials that are not HDB-approved. We decided we’d helped and applied to a few shelters, got approved and then we brought Phad (a Jindo-Harrier cross) home for a trial and finally adopted him.”

They adopted Phad as a puppy from Save Our Street Dogs. Two months later, a friend told Allison about Ruby, a Labrador Retriever, that had been abandoned at nine years old. Ruby’s re-homer brought her for a visit and a trial stay.  

“I decided to adopt Ruby against the wishes of the family.  I decided that I had to give her a good home because very few senior dogs find homes. So in a space of a couple of months, we became owners of two dogs,” Allison recalls.

Pawrenting two dogs at once was a challenge because of the age gap. Ruby was much older than Phad.  

Allison continues: “I was confident that we could manage but it involved quite a bit of compromise about what kind of dogs we would like to have, behaviour-wise.  Dave never had a dog so it was more of a challenge for him because there was a lot he did not understand.”

Phad came with all the usual puppy ‘problems’ but they also acknowledged they needed a lot of ‘training” to be good doggie parents. It was particularly hard with Phad because he was a puppy and so cute. Until now they aren’t entirely consistent with him because “he is still our baby so he is a bit of brat at eight years old. We are still working on it though!” Between the two, Dave seems to be the more indulgent pawrent.

Ruby was more of a challenge, medically-speaking. She was very obese and was suffering from arthritis because of her age and weight. She also had a very bad skin condition. The couple spent months and months working with the vet to improve her skin and coat. Then, they focused on getting her arthritis under control, which also meant managing her weight. They eventually got there. Ruby became a trim 28kg, from an initial weight of 38kg, and the weight loss really helped in maintaining her joint health.

When asked what has been the greatest joy and sadness they have experienced with Ruby and Phad, Allison confesses that “Phad is still a joy for us and over time he has become more dog-friendly and sociable. He is still very territorial when people visit but it is getting better.”

But even pawrents have favourites, don’t they?

“Admittedly, I was closer to Ruby since she was ‘my’ dog and Phad is Dave’s. Ruby died three years ago when she was 14.5 years old. We had to put her down and the whole family was with her when the vet administered the injection that would let her cross the rainbow bridge. By then, her body was giving out. She was suffering from pancreatitis and a tumour in her spleen.  She was very much in pain. She had always been a sickly dog –  she lived through two cancer operations, a host of liver problems.  Still, she had the sweetest temperament and her mind was still as sharp as a tack.  I am glad that Ruby came into our lives but it still hurts so much that we had to let her go. She had only spent about six years with us. Not enough time ...”

Although heartbroken from losing Ruby, it did not stop the couple from adopting another pooch, a husky, when they were briefly stationed in Dubai back in 2018.

“After Ruby had gone, there was a hole in our hearts and we had read about all these wonderful dogs that were looking for homes. We were living in Dubai then and read about huskies that were being given up.  We decided that we would be able to provide a good home to one of them and adopted Truffle, a minx. She talks back to us, is very snuggly and wants to be with people all the time. We’ve had three dogs in recent years and each has its own personality.”

Luckily, there’s Sunny Heights Daycare to support busy couples like them. 

“Ruby, Phad and Truffle have all gone to Sunny Heights. Nowadays, Phad and Truffle go twice a week. They go for pack walks, swim and run around the compound with their doggie friends. They love ‘school’ days and their time at Sunny Heights has really helped them, especially Phad. The rest of the family benefits, too.  A day at Sunny Heights means a quiet day at home, especially because we all work from home now and when they are back, they sleep earlier and are quiet the next day,” says Allison. She estimates they spend about SG$3,000 a month for the upkeep of both of their furry kids that includes homing, medical, daycare, grooming and miscellaneous.

When the Allison and Dave travelled for work (pre-Covid), the furry kiddos board at Sunny Heights one weekend day just to give their mom and housekeeper Nelia a respite. Allison says the dogs don’t mind.  “They love the handlers at Sunny Heights and we trust them.”

In more ways than one, Derrick, Allison and Dave are not just canine rescuers. They are, in essence, dog whisperers. 

Debbie | ws

(Images sources: VFA,  Sunny Heights and @derrick_tan)

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