‘Don’t adopt a dog to fill a temporary need,’ says fashion guru, dog lover and author Daniel Boey

SINGAPORE – It is the holidays again and some might be thinking that a puppy will be a nice addition to the family.

But before considering this, rescue-dog owner Daniel Boey says: “Getting a dog is a lifetime commitment, not a whim and fancy, or a spur-of-the-moment decision to fill a temporary need.”

Mr Boey, who is also a fashion director and author, adds: “Wouldn’t it be more practical to get a dog when you have time to spend and bond with your new furry friend and introduce it to its new home away from the hustle and bustle of the festive season?”

The 57-year-old rescue-dog activist has just released his second book about dog adoption called We Adopted Too!, which includes tales by rescue-dog owners. 

His first book on rescue dogs, We Adopted!, was released in 2019 and has sold 1,500 copies.

While he is an advocate for dog adoption, he adds: “If you get a pet for the right reason and are committed to giving the best life to it, and promise never to give it up when it is ill, when it grows old or when it’s no longer convenient for you, then it doesn’t matter whether you adopt or purchase.”

Mr Boey has two rescue dogs at the moment. He chose to adopt because he says there are many dogs in need of a home and he did not want to add to the demand for dogs bred in puppy mills or by illegal home breeders. 

“If you decide to purchase, please think about where the puppies came from. Many parent dogs (breeding dogs) live horrific lives under deplorable conditions in the puppy mills,” he adds.

He adopted Leia, a Weimaraner who was also an ex-breeding dog, in 2017. She was rescued from a puppy mill in Pasir Ris that had been shut down by the authorities that year.

“She immediately had to undergo two operations to help her with orthopaedic issues probably caused by rough breeding conditions at the mill,” adds Mr Boey.

Then in 2020, he adopted Luna, a miniature bull terrier. “She was an 11-month-old puppy that was bought during Covid-19 and given up soon after the kids went back to school,” he says.

The following year, he adopted Leopold, a 13-year-old Samoyed who was ill and whose owner had wanted it euthanised.

“I placed him with a foster carer initially because I was busy with Luna, but the foster carer was irresponsible and Leopold almost died, so I decided to formally adopt him,” he says, adding that Leopold died later that year “peacefully in his sleep with a smile on his face”.

Both Leia and Leopold’s stories are told by Mr Boey in We Adopted Too!, along with the tales of 10 other pet owners and their adopted fur kids.

One of them is model Lyn Wang Teo. The 55-year-old, who is married with two daughters, tells of the family’s dog-adoption journey, beginning with a search for a rescue dog that took four months.

This was seven years ago, and the dog they adopted was an abandoned two-year-old male Golden Retriever that they named Buddy.

Speaking to The Straits Times at the book launch of We Adopted Too! on Nov 18, Mrs Teo’s daughter Gabrielle, 25, recalls how her parents resisted their children’s entreaties for a dog until they were old enough to share the responsibility of caring for Buddy.

“We had hamsters when we were younger, but it’s not the same,” adds the veterinarian technician.

In another story, marketing professional Michelle Goh, 55, tells of what she and her family experienced in the first few months when they adopted three-year-old Rocket, a Shiba Inu, in June.

The dog had been given up by his previous owner because he could not get along with another dog in the same household. 

Ms Goh, who has two teenage children and was also at the book launch, recounts how shortly after moving in, Rocket developed infections in both ears and needed veterinary attention.

As she and her family live in a Housing Board flat, she also had to engage a dog trainer to get an obedience training certificate for Rocket because Shiba Inus are not on the list of HDB-approved breeds. 

The trainer then told her that the dog’s calm and quiet demeanour, which she mistook to be the behaviour of a good dog, was actually “un-doglike” and not normal.

As she notes in the book: “There is so much to learn, and to be worried about. And, frankly, it is so confusing.”

Rocket is now happily settled in and, with the patience and care from the whole family, he has come out of his shell. 

Still, as the book relates, adopting a dog can come with challenges.

For those who want to adopt from an animal shelter, Mr Boey advises doing their research.

“Most will require you to fill in a form with details of yourself, your home and living conditions and knowledge of dogs. If you’re suitable, you and all members of your household will be called in for an interview to meet potential dogs,” he says.

Mr Boey also reiterates the need to be committed to the care of a dog for its whole life. “At the end of the day, a dog is forever. And forever doesn’t mean as long as it’s convenient for you.”