A stray dog in Lim Chu Kang was found crushed with her carcass dumped by the side of the road in Lim Chu Kang.
The female dog, Lily, was part of a six-dog pack that frequently roamed around the Police Coast Guard (PCG) Base area.
The pack can hardly feed themselves, but kind volunteer feeders bring them food daily.
The dogs also seek companionship from the volunteers, cyclists and the PCG officers nearby.
In exchange, the pack chase away wild boars that also frequent the area — that lonely stretch of road at the far corner of Lim Chu Kang is the dogs’ home.
Image via Google Maps
Ran over by bus
On Feb. 18, a bus ran over Lily.
The incident occurred early in the morning at around 6:30am.
A PCG officer on duty heard a loud bang, followed by sounds of bones cracking.
When she rushed to the road, she saw the bus driver dragging Lily’s carcass away, dumping it on the grass verge, and then hurriedly drove off.
Image via Mothership reader
The officer quickly notified a volunteer, Tang, who she knew frequented the area.
Carcass left for birds to feed on
Tang told Mothership that when he rushed down to the scene, he was horrified by what he saw.
Lily’s carcass was split into two; her remains were everywhere and had attracted birds.
Image provided by Mothership reader
He quickly covered her body with a cloth and told other volunteers that took care of the pack about the incident.
They retrieved her body, cremated her and even held a funeral service, hoping she would be in a better place now.
Image via Mothership reader
Image via Mothership reader
They later buried her ashes near the PCG base.
Driver claimed Lily “suddenly stood up”
Still overwhelmed by their loss, the volunteers reached out to SMRT Buses for answers.
SMRT Buses runs service 975, the only bus service along that road.
Image via Mothership reader
SMRT told the volunteers that their investigations revealed that Lily “was lying in the middle of the road and suddenly stood up”.
SMRT claimed the bus captain could not react quickly enough to avoid the collision.
The bus captain had called his command centre and was instructed to continue his journey while the company arranged for a clean-up crew.
The company told the volunteers they apologise for the accident and sought their understanding.
Volunteers demand answers
The volunteers said they are baffled.
They said they cannot understand how a dog familiar with the area could be run over by a bus, and the driver should also be familiar with the existence of the dogs.
Photos of the scene showed that the collision was not in the middle of the road, but closer to the side of the road.
The volunteers also demanded a proper investigation, better accountability, and not just a mere “driver didn’t see” reason, they said.
They raised the concern about whether the driver could have been fatigued or speeding, and if the road required more lighting.
Another volunteer, Lee, said: “Cyclists and members of the public often frequent the area. What if one of them happened to rest at the side of the road?”
SMRT following up with authorities
In response to Mothership‘s queries, deputy managing director of SMRT buses Vincent Gay reiterated that they are sorry about the accident and are following up with the relevant authorities.
He said the bus captain had followed instructions to continue with his journey, and while they did send down a field team, the dog was removed before they could go to the location.
Rest of the pack shaken
The volunteers said they are now concerned about the remaining dogs in the pack.
One volunteer said the dogs were afraid and did not show up the night following the accident.
The pack started showing up again after a while, but were hesitant to approach the volunteers and were visibly shaken.
Image via Mothership reader
“They were well-liked and friendly to all people — cyclists, drivers, police, feeders and people from the fish farm,” Lee said.
“But they are so frightened now.”
Need help to survive
Lee is unsure how long Lily has been around, but said stray dogs in Lim Chu Kang showed up after the farms started to relocate.
“Most of them have been abandoned by the farm owners. They are not wild dogs, but good-natured domesticated dogs left behind.” Lee said.
He explained that the volunteers had tried seeking help for them, but most shelters are full.
The best alternative, they thought, is to help them settle in the environment where they have been at, even though they are subjected to a harsh environment.
This is why the dogs need help to survive, the volunteers said.
One of them said: “Feeding them is better than having the authorities capture them and put them to sleep.”
Top image via Mothership reader & Google Maps
