Actress Tay Ying didn’t plan to be a dog mum until foster dachshund chose her

SINGAPORE – Actress Tay Ying never planned on becoming a dog mum. Growing up, she had a fish and a hamster, but never companion animals, as her mother, Singaporean veteran actress Hong Huifang, has a strict “no large pets” rule.

It was a different story for Tay’s husband, Singaporean chef Wu Sihan, who grew up in what he jokingly calls a “pet rescue” family. Apart from dogs and cats, their house once had about 20 rabbits of different breeds, all rescued by his mother.

“She loved animals and felt that they were helpless,” says Wu, 33, head chef of bistro Supply & Demand.

So, when the couple agreed to foster two dogs in 2024 – a male French bulldog named Ripple and a male merle dachshund named Tron – it felt like a natural extension of Wu’s upbringing. It was also the start of a new chapter for Tay, 30.

The dogs’ original owner was constantly travelling for work, and he also had numerous cats at home. He was worried the two dogs were neglected and asked if Wu’s family could foster them while he looked for adopters.

The Singaporean actress, who was in Shero (2023) and My One And Only (2023), still remembers the first night she met Tron at her in-laws’ home. “I had no thoughts of adopting or having a dog or anything,” she says.

Then Tron padded over, sat down in front of her and simply stared at her.

“He just looked at me with those eyes,” she says. “I was like, ‘Eh, don’t like that.’”

That night, the dogs were restless and noisy as they were in a new place and among new humans. Ripple eventually found comfort in one of the family members’ rooms.

Tay found herself patting Tron to calm him down and the dog eventually fell asleep to her gentle touches.

“That was pretty much it, really,” she says. “After that, I just kept going back to find Tron and play with him.”

At first, the plan was still to find adopters. When Wu told Tay that someone was interested in adopting the dogs, she burst into tears as she had developed a bond with them, especially Tron.

Ripple eventually stayed on with Wu’s parents. Tron, meanwhile, chose the younger couple.

The next hurdle, says Tay, was to convince her parents to let her keep Tron. At the time, they were still living together while waiting for their matrimonial home to be ready.

Tay and Wu, who married in June 2025, moved to their own flat in October that year.

Melting the no-dog parents

Tay introduced Tron to her family, telling them they were just fostering the dog. Her father, Singaporean actor Zheng Geping, caught on quickly; her mother, away in Taiwan, was the real obstacle.

“The first few months, my mum was like, okay, this dog cannot go into their room and on their bed, and she had other restrictions,” Tay says.

The rules did not last long. When the couple returned home one night, they found Tron stretched out on her parents’ bed. “I was, like, since when was Tron allowed on the bed?” Tay says.

Now six, Tron is pampered like an only child.

With a chef as his dog dad, Tron is spoilt with food options most dogs would not have, such as caviar and oysters. “We do let him try some premium ingredients, and sometimes I would plate his food nicely and garnish it with microgreens, all for the sake of fun,” says Wu.

Tron’s diet consists of hypoallergenic seafood-based kibbles, after Tay noticed he developed red bumps on his back and was always scratching himself.

After consulting three vets, he was diagnosed with skin allergies and the couple were advised to eliminate meat like chicken and pork from his diet. The durian-loving dog is allowed the fruit occasionally.

Tay, who will be seen in Channel 8 drama No Other Way in June, describes him as “rebellious, but protective” and “very human”. Dachshunds are known to be stubborn and Tron lives up to the stereotype.

“He knows what is right and wrong, but he will just do the opposite,” says Tay. “When he knows he is misbehaving, he’ll side-eye you or hide in one corner and look at you to see whether you have discovered his mistake.”

At the same time, he is acutely tuned in to their moods. Once, when Wu was unwell with acid reflux, Tron padded over and rested his paws gently on Wu’s stomach.

“Somehow he knows; his situational awareness is very strong,” Wu says. “He makes the house feel like home; he’s always there to welcome us when we return home.”

Adds Tay: “I dare not say we are the right owners, but we will definitely give him the best life.”