DouDou, as popularly known by the residents of West Coast/Clementi Wood and NUS students, had been wandering around in West Coast Park, NUS and Clement Wood Park for the past 2 years. She originally belonged to a pack of dogs in West Coast Park. But soon, the dogs became too visible and the authoriies were called in. Most of the other dogs in the pack were eventually rescued and re-homed by private rescuers and AWGs, but DouDou remained elusive and evaded multiple efforts to capture her.
Last year, DouDou gave birth to a litter of three in West Coast Park. Being a protective mother, she moved her puppies away from the pack to a forested area near the jogging track. But joggers came too close to her puppies and she became defensive. The authorities took action and caught two of her puppies. A private rescuer called SOSD for help, and SOSD took in the remaining puppy (called Dopey), who was subsequently re-homed. DouDou, after losing three of her puppies, decided to move over to NUS.
She became an instant hit with the NUS students and canteen operators. They fed her and played with her, and being a young and playful dog, she enjoyed every moments with the students, and even lecturers too! But due to the previous bad experiences, she never get too close to anyone, and will bolt the moment she sensed danger. SOSD tried to rescue her, but failed in spite of repeated attempts. The NUS pest control was called to act, and DouDou was forced to re-locate to Clementi Woods. DouDou again charmed her way in the hearts of her new neighbourhood. Every evening, she waited in the open field, waiting for her feeders and play with other pet dogs in the park. Her caring feeders gave her food and even formed a WhatsApp group to keep track of her where-about. DouDou became Clement Woods Park’s most popular community dog.
But living in a park intersected by busy roads was no easy task. She was often seen dashing across the road in heavy traffic. NParks met with SOSD volunteer and residents and the idea of building a corral was proposed. DouDou was too smart to talk into a trap, so dog walkers have to cooperate by bringing their dogs into the corral to attract DouDou into it. In the very evening that the corral was build, DouDou walked straight into it and someone closed the gate. When the news broke out that DouDou was trapped, all her ‘guardian angels’ showed up within the minutes, helping to guard the gate and calling SOSD. DouDou was finally in a cage. The residents had a chance to bid goodbye to her before she headed for the vet. The very night, DouDou spent her first night in a secured environment.
DouDou is now sterilised and vaccinated, and now under the care of a rescuer. The Clementi Wood Park community came together and donated generously to her well-being. She now has to undergo rehabitation to make her suitable for adoption.
This is a successful story of the community, SOSD and NParks coming together to save a stray dog which the communuty loves dog. She is deeply missed by the Clements Woods residents, but we all take comfort that she is safe now.
– By Dou Dou’s feeder, Ken
