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  Straits Times Online 29 Nov 05
HDB should provide dog parks, sand boxes for allowing pets
Letter from Kevin Yeung Chung Pak

Straits Times Forum Online 25 Nov 05
Be fair to cats. We could live with a few meows
 Letter from Suzanna Chew Han Soon (Mrs)

I am very fed up with the Housing Board's rule disallowing cats as pets in HDB flats. I think it is very biased against cat lovers. It's being "petist" (aka racist).

As we all know, the nuisance of cat noise is usually caused by stray cats, usually from those that are not sterilised. It's the strangers who feed the strays which cause them to reproduce more and more kittens. Responsible cat owners sterilise their cats to prevent nuisance cat calls. And they are always keep their cats indoors to prevent them from straying.

Pet dogs? The smaller they are, the noisier they can be. Have you ever been in a block of flats where there's a symphony of dogs barking all at once? The noises of the pomeranians, golden retrivers, terriers and other breeds are deafening. And dogs always bark for no rhyme or reason, like when a neighbour passes their flat. Hello, I am just trying to go home.

Worse, I have seen many dog owners who don't pick up after the dogs have done their business. Is this being responsible?

So I say it's very biased for the HDB to allow flat owners to keep all kinds of 'small' pets except cats in their flats. Aren't cats small animals? At least they are smaller than the German shephards and huskies.

Cats? All they do is eat and sleep and occasionally entertain themselves with a ball of strings. Sterilised cats hardly make any noise as they do not feel the heat anymore.

I think the HDB should look into the clause that omits cats in its list of permitted pets in flats.

I do not hate dogs. In fact I love dogs. It's just that I can't stand the barking.

If the HDB can relax the rule, it could make it a condition that all pet cats in the flats should be sterlised and kept indoors. It could also limit the number of cats in a flat.

Everybody needs to compromise a bit. If we can cope with our neighbour keeping a huge golden retriver or husky in their flat and bear their consistent loud barking (which always gives me heart attacks) I am sure we can all live in harmony with just a few meows.

Suzanna Chew Han Soon (Mrs)

Straits Times Online 29 Nov 05
HDB should provide dog parks, sand boxes for allowing pets
Letter from Kevin Yeung Chung Pak

I would like to ask the government the reason for allowing dogs in HDB flats. It is well-known that dogs need to be walked while cats don't.

The letter from Suzanna Chew Han Soon (Be fair to cats. We could live with a few meows - ST Online Forum Nov 25) is well thought-out and it elucidates.

What is not clear are the curious answers I got from HDB and the Environment Ministry.

I have had enough of the ugly sights of dog owners bringing their dogs to the foot of our HDB block to urinate every morning and evening.

My wife and I decided to call the HDB, which replied that as long as it was done outside a resident's flat, it was up to the Environment Ministry to take action.

The Environment Ministry said the law only stipulates that dog owners must clean up faecal matters but not urine.

The only thing it can do is to send the cleaners to our block more often.

I don't think any reasonable person can agree with this position. I can imagine why this is the answer. It's easy for dog owners to pick up faecal matters by hand using a plastic bag but it's hard to clean the urine.

Difficulties in law enforcement should not be the reason why this is allowed to happen. If the law doesn't explicitly mention dog urine, there should still be a general law on littering.

Aside from the question of indecent exposure, it's also illegal for a person to urinate at the foot of an HDB block, isn't it?

There needs to be dog parks and sand boxes in HDB estates if dogs are allowed. Some would argue that these are unsightly. But those who don't keep dogs tolerate the dog owners.

HDB residents are tolerating them on the elevators, children's playground and so on. I think the choice between dirty floors and sandboxes is rather clear.

Kevin Yeung Chung Pak
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