Tag: pandemic stories

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Community Stories

“I Had to Hit the Ground Running”: How a Frontline Healthcare Worker and a Pet Owner adapted to the Pandemic

Have you ever wondered what it is like for a frontline healthcare worker during a pandemic? 

For Rachel, a first-year staff nurse at a local acute hospital, the height of the pandemic’s first wave in Singapore, she had to adapt to major changes. These included ‘ignoring’ her dog Bear and facing discrimination as a health care worker. 

We interviewed her to learn more about her experience, and how we can do our part to respect and accommodate our frontline workers.

1. How did Singapore handle the COVID-19 pandemic, and how did this affect your life as a frontline healthcare worker?

I was a new graduate from NUS Nursing at the height of the pandemic’s initial waves in Singapore and simply put, I had to hit the ground running. Staffing was scarce as many colleagues were deployed to other areas, such as the quarantine facilities and swabbing centres. I have had to orientate myself quickly. It was a drastic shift to working on rotating shifts, and I would find myself physically and mentally drained at the end of the day.

2. What is a local acute hospital?

An acute hospital is one that sees complex and urgent medical conditions and/or injuries that have a sudden onset. Such hospitals include an emergency department, intensive care, and a wide range of medical and surgical specialities. Patients usually receive active short-term treatment and stabilised, before discharging or transferring to a long-term care facility such as a community hospital. Acute hospitals in Singapore include Singapore General Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and more.

3. Tell us more about your relationship with Bear.

I have known Bear since he was only a couple of days old. Bear was rescued by Mercylight Animal Rescue and Sanctuary in November 2016, along with his mother and 2 brothers from a cement mixer company. With eyes that have yet to open, they were left vulnerable to the dangers of fast-moving construction trucks and harsh weather. I was, and still am, a volunteer with Mercylight, and that was how I met Bear.

Initially, I was not looking to adopt Bear, as I was not confident in raising a puppy, and was looking at an older, calmer dog to call my own. As the years went by, my interaction with Bear increased through training for obedience competitions and trick performances. That was how I grew to love Bear’s goofy and happy-go-lucky persona. After 4 years later, I officially signed the papers for Bear’s adoption. I had decided to adopt Bear as my companion after graduating from my studies.

Bear is a people’s pleaser and loved to be in the presence of my family. He loves physical touch and he would often paw anyone who’s around him for attention. By some instinct, he knows when any family member is having a rough day and would offer his quiet company.

4. How has this changed since the outbreak?

As I have immunocompromised family members, I have had to be very regimented to keep everyone at home safe. While the protocols and weekly tests at the hospital have ensured so, I have had to keep a distance from Bear and my family members when I return home from work. I would head straight to the bathroom to wash up before interacting with them.

Bear is a huge cuddle bug and loves belly rubs. Bear’s usual routine when I return home is to flop over on his back for belly rubs and grab the nearest toy to play fetch with. Just imagine a very confused, and often disappointed, Bear when he waits outside the bathroom!

We have also decreased our outings and stayed at home. Despite this, we have made good use of our time by experimenting with different dog-friendly recipes, and also enriching Bear with trick training (we are currently working towards his Expert Trick Dog Title with Do More With Your Dog!).

Needless to say, Bear loves getting extra treats during trick training!

5. You mentioned encountering differential treatment. Could you elaborate on your experience?

Oftentimes, those who have not met Bear before would often assume that Bear is aggressive and had biting tendencies. Parents could be seen dragging their children away, and heard saying ‘he’s [Bear] is coming to bite you’. I guess it has to do with his tall stature and his unique looks as a Singapore Special. However, that could not be further from the truth!

Photo Credit: Instagram @bearrr_ss

These experiences would be made worse when they learn that I am a healthcare worker. Some are gracious in their interaction, while others would have visceral reactions such as disgust. While I have learned to take it in my stride, it still upsets me when there are still members of the public who pass harsh judgement and refuse to offer us a chance to educate them.

6. What are some common misconceptions individuals may have about frontline healthcare workers, and what advice would you impart on such individuals?

Oftentimes, for the uninitiated, there is a common misconception that healthcare workers are ‘dirty’. I have had obnoxious claims that I was very selfish to be working in healthcare during the pandemic. For such individuals, I would advise as such.

Nursing is more than a passion for me. The tough times will never overshadow the joy I get from seeing my patients walk out of the wards and back home. I am aware that being a frontline healthcare worker puts me and my family at higher risk for infection. However, there are many proven effective methods of infection control that have already been put in place, and all healthcare professions have been trained rigorously.

I am certain that this pandemic will pass soon, with corporation from all Singaporeans and with the valiant efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

7. Moving forward, what are your hopes for Singapore’s future in lieu of this pandemic?

I hope that Singaporeans would grow to have tolerance for others. Racism and discrimination have resurfaced during this pandemic, and have no place in the Little Red Dot we call home.

While there has been a lot of negatives, there has been an overwhelming response from locals in support of essential workers. From hawkers packing food for healthcare workers to Singaporeans donating SingapoRediscover vouchers to migrant workers, these small acts of kindness highlighted the heart-warming compassion of locals.

I hope that even when the pandemic situation turns for the better, we, as Singaporeans, will continue to foster our ‘kampong spirit. While it has taken yet another pandemic to bring this issue into the light (the former being during the SARS period), multi-racial Singapore is here to stay after things tide over.

Photo Credit: Instagram @bearrr_ss

Also, I hope that Singaporeans learned that everyone, and every job, have a place in society. While we shine the light on essential workers, we must not forget those in other sectors such as in the F&B, business and economy, social services and more. Everyone in Singapore, no matter how intrinsically or distally involved, keeps Singapore running.

Thank you Rachel for your input and experience.

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Community Stories

No travel, no fear! What my dog taught me about rediscovering travel joys amidst a Pandemic.

This article was written in collaboration with @lucky.thechion.

Hello! I am Lucky’s paw-rent, a chihuahua x papillion pup.

Dealing with Travel blues

When the pandemic first broke out in Singapore, my entire family was basically stranded, unable to travel back to our home country, South Korea for vacation. We knew for a fact that it was overly risky and that the situation in Korea was surely more serious than in Singapore. Everyone was in a frenzy really, and so was my family, we did not leave the home for over 5 cases! 

Now that we look back, perhaps it was ridiculous but we knew it was serious and believed that we were doing the right thing.

Regardless, losing the ability to travel hit our family quite hard, and we were dying to find a way to travel again.

As there are students in our family, them not being able to study at school bored everyone out, and we were all being lazy at home. Our family members are generally active people and enjoy going to gyms and swimming pools. Restaurants were a must for us as well. Since they were all closed at that point, we felt like we had nothing to do.

Exploring with Lucky

We started Lucky’s Instagram account during the pandemic as we believed it offered a great way to connect with other pet influencers in Singapore who were experiencing similar events to us. That’s also how we discovered Pawjourr, which we are very grateful to have found. Through these platforms, we were able to connect with people and learned ways in which we could be more productive throughout the pandemic. 

As such, we were encouraged to visit the Botanical Gardens of Singapore, which inspired us to exercise more frequently. It was nice to know that such places existed. Beach walks were also so peaceful and enjoyable to be. We thank Lucky for helping us discover that.

Soon enough, we started to visit places in Singapore such as the East Coast Park, Botanical Garden, Marina Bay and Barrage. We also took walks around Orchard Road more often, only to realise that we had clearly been missing out on all the real fun of Singapore!

Lucky being with us was definitely crucial to that fun. Our family would rather be at places with action and excitement which a stroll to the park may not suffice. But by having Lucky with us, we had something to pay attention to, take pictures for, and to feed if they got hungry on the way, causing outbursts of laughter among us.

Importance of staying mobile

Staying mobile and active really helps to provide a sense of hope. 

Over the course of the past few years, which has flown by quite fast as we write this, we had gotten angry at what was needed of us to suppress the pandemic numerous times, and Lucky’s presence helps us deal with it. 

We need travel! But Lucky can’t go with us anyways. Restaurants need to re-open! Lucky isn’t allowed in many anyways. The students must go to school and the parents must go to work! At least we get to spend more time with Lucky. 

Rather, with Lucky, we were able to reinvigorate a newfound appreciation for the places in Singapore. Moving and exploring such places allowed us to taste a glimpse of travel. Furthermore, Lucky’s fun and joyous presence helped to further plant the seeds of hope and appreciation in all of us.

If you’d like to take your pet out on a walk around Singapore, I’d recommend doing these:

  • First, the obvious– keep your pet on a leash that fits them well so that they won’t impose a threat to others.
  • Keep them close to you just in case. Even if they’re usually calm and loving, they have the potential to attack a person if they feel the need to. 
  • Pick up their waste after them, we need to appreciate and help the work of the cleaners.
  • Make sure they have enough water and food to prevent dehydration and hunger. And
  • Lastly, just have fun, and make the most of your time with your pets, and don’t complain, because they’re happy to be there with you than alone while you work.

Through Lucky, my family and I have developed something common to laugh about, to bicker about, to talk about. He has grown into the centre of all our conversations and has kept our voice up in the house throughout the months.

We are forever grateful that he could bring us tighter together like this. 

I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

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What does it mean to grieve and fall back in love? A pet owner’s journey in rediscovering love amidst the Pandemic.

This article was written in collaboration with Karly, owner of @fluffy_boy_bear on Instagram.

My name is Karly, and I live in Canada. I currently own an adorable pyreneesXpup named Bear.

2 years go, my family and I watched as the pandemic in Canada approached us like a tidal wave. Every day, we monitored the news and heard about how close and how fast the virus was coming. We stocked up on supplies and got a new job that wouldn’t be considered non-essential so we could maintain working. We also chose to pull our daughter from school and homeschool her after the shutdowns.

We had no sense of certainty on what the next day would bring in terms of laws, freedom, travel, product availability, etc.

Losing Bentley

Our previous cockapoo was named Bentley. He was our first family dog. We adopted him at the age of 7. He was my shadow, my best friend, my security guard, my comfort. He was extremely under-socialized. We made it a goal to ensure he would not bark at every person that walks by our house. He was a challenge but one that we accepted with lots of love and determination.

He did not eat or drink during his first week at home. We vaccinated him quickly, put him on good food, took him for grooming, cuddled every night in bed and eventually managed to gain his trust. 

After that, he was like a missing piece to the puzzle. Once he became himself and showed us his personality (as undertrained as that may be!) we were obsessed. 

Unfortunately for us, he passed away. When we lost him, I felt like I lost my best friend. My shadow disappeared. My days felt empty. I stopped going for trail walks. I stopped going outside first thing in the morning. I stopped looking at other people’s dogs and cried when I did. I had never been so heartbroken in my life. I tried to cope with the grief by believing that he had the most amazing end of his life he could have possibly wanted. Filled with love, energy, health, exercise, treats, cuddles.

Yet with grief, we knew we needed to somehow fill his void.

Finding Bear

Adopting Bear was not a decision we took lightly.

When Bentley was around we would conspire to get another Cockapoo (dog breed) after him. We loved the breed. But when the time came, it hit too close to home for us to even consider thinking about the same breed. We needed a complete change. So we settled for a Pyrenees cross, either a puppy or an elder, large dog.

We took our time to search for a suitable dog. It took a while, but eventually, we saw Bear for the first time and knew that he was what we needed.

We instantly set up a meet and greet. His previous foster home consisted of 7 year old hence we felt assured that he would be good with our oldest daughter.  We also brought over our newborn to see how he acted with her. 

When we first met him he gave us a jump, hug, kiss, and instantly we were sold. The first thing we noticed was how big he was. We were warned he was big. But he was huge.

Secondly his hair. He has an Einstein hairdo, that you can’t help but love.

Third, how happy his energy was. He was exactly what we were missing and the energy we wanted back in our home. He was in our car on the way home that very same day. We met his foster mom outside of a school, took him for a little walk, gave him some love, then loaded up.

Healing during a Pandemic

Bear’s arrival helped to provide routine through uncertain times. We were happy to be back outside in the morning, at the park in the afternoon, going into pet stores, going to dog parks. We regained forms of socialization that we thought we lost.

Bear also promotes calm and happy energies which was a refreshing take amidst the annoyance and unsure ways of the pandemic.

Most importantly, having Bear helped to clear my impressions of love and grief.

Truly, I would never have Bentley back and that fills me with grief, but Bear provides a new kind of love. With him, we are constantly discovering new traits and routines to love. 

Of course, we miss Bentley and will always miss him. He was our “grumpy old man”. He would bark at anyone and anything he didn’t know. He curled up on the couch and slept. He never ran always walked with us. He slept all night in our bed. He lost lots of teeth and could only consume soft food. 

But, Bear is our energetic baby boy. He helped us to find, such a different form of love. 

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Community Stories

I was separated from my puppy for months due to the Pandemic!

In Singapore, a mandated lockdown occurred mid-2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdown, often referred to as Circuit Breaker (CB), saw citizens staying at home for a prolonged period of time.

Kelly, the owner of a newly acquired puppy named Pork Chop, saw herself separated from her furkid as a result of this restriction. We reached out to her to learn more about her experience.

Hi there! Tell us more about yourself and your relationship with Pork.

Hello! My name is Kelly and I got Porkchop with my partner about 2 years ago back in Nov 2019. Our original plan was to get a dog after we got married and moved into our BTO but Porkchop was too cute to resist. 

Since we got our dog earlier than intended (+not married = living separately) we had to find a way to make it work. My family is pretty strict with pets and we have family members with a history of asthma so they were quite against having a pet around the house. 

Hence, we decided to have Porkchop live with my partner and his family. Luckily, they are dog lovers so it worked out pretty well. I would then visit them pretty often, about 2-3x a week to help with tasks such as grooming and walking him so it would be less taxing for the family. Sometimes when I end work early on weekdays I would drive down so I could see him for a couple of hours.

What caused you to be separated from Pork during Circuit Breaker (CB)?

Since we lived in separate households, I could no longer visit him when CB was announced.

How did you feel knowing that you would be seperated from Pork during this time?

I was immediately devastated!

Porkchop was still a puppy so I was very bummed out that I would not be able to witness his growth for a long time. Perhaps the main challenge was having to readjust to the new normal. Afterwards, the government announced a lockdown extension for another 4 weeks. 

That was really tough.

How did you maintain your relationship with Pork, despite not seeing each other for 4 weeks?

My partner would send me videos/photos of Porkchop every day.  We met through video call as well. However, it wasn’t as successful because dogs don’t seem to care about technology.  Other than that I don’t think he missed me much, it was mostly just me missing him LOL. 

Do you have any advice for pet owners who might be undergoing the same experience?

Hang in there, safety is still very important. And hopefully, we can all do our part to ensure this will not happen to anyone else hehe.

Kelly and Porkchop have been reunited since writing this article. Porkchop continues to grow into an adorable, healthy boy and has recently celebrated his 2nd birthday. Follow him on his Instagram and to keep updated on his antics.

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Community Stories

How a Pandemic helped me to introduce my cats to each other

This article was written in conjunction with Renee, owner of Kohby and Kohko. All content produced are to their credit.

Hello! I’m Renee, currently a full-time student who’s working part-time as a creative content writer. My family adopted Kohby in October 2019, about half a year before we adopted Kohko. 

During that time, I was still working full time and as Covid-19 cases were on the rise in SG, my boss allowed us to work from home. One fine day, my dad exclaimed: “I want to adopt another cat” and of course, I wasted no time, got onto Cat Welfare Society (CWS)’ website to look at cats to adopt to look for a companion for Kohby. 

I found Kohko’s listing (attached a photo of the screenshot I still keep where she was named Nadia by her fosterer) and got into contact with her fosterer. Her fosterer brought her over to our house and Kohko immediately started wandering around without fear. Seeing Kohko settle comfortably in the house, the fosterer immediately decided to let Kohko stay as she only wanted to bring her over to gauge her comfort levels with us.

Meeting Kohby

Working from home provided us with the perfect conditions to integrate both our cats together. 

Initially, we weren’t sure how Kohby would react to having a companion as we got him since he was a kitten and he has never really interacted with other cats. 

Though we kept Kohko isolated in a room on her first day, Kohby could smell/sense her and was really mad and upset. We could see him throwing tantrums and refusing to go for his daily walk (which is his favourite activity). 

Hence, we decided to go to the pet shop to get a cage so that I could slowly introduce them to each other. As I was WFH, I could monitor their interactions and see if there’s a need to separate them. By the second day, Kohby seemed to have calmed down and was really curious, constantly staying outside the room Kohko was in. We put Kohko into the cage and let Kohby in to smell her for a while and both of them seemed to be okay around one another. By the third day, I allowed Kohko to start roaming outside of the room. They were still under supervision to ensure they don’t get into fights. They seemed to get along well almost immediately without much conflict (something I’m really thankful about). 

WFH definitely allowed me to watch over them and eased the stress of introducing them to each other. I am relieved Kohby accepted Kohko quickly so Kohko no longer needed to stay alone in a room for long periods of time. Of course, the temperaments of both cats contributed to the success as well. I would not say that there are completely no conflicts though as Kohby is really mischievous and enjoys following Kohko around the house and disturbing her at times and sometimes it gets really rough so we have to step in. 

That being said, they do truly enjoy each other’s company, having zoomies every morning and night. At times, when Kohko is unable to find Kohby around the house, she would go from room to room, meowing non-stop till she finds him, which is a very cute thing to witness.

Managing pets during Circuit-Breaker (CB)

To be honest, I don’t find it a challenge to manage both my pets and work from home. They are not too demanding, Kohko usually goes off for her extremely long naps after breakfast with occasional demands for attention. 

Kohby does seek more attention, often bringing us his toys to play fetch with him. He’s a really smart boy though. As we work at our dining area, he would bring it there each time so it won’t distract us too much. 

Besides that, they’re pretty independent, going about their day on their own. I clean up after them during my free time and as there are 2 litter pans and they are not too fussy with them, often sharing them, I don’t need to clean them often too. 

I actually enjoy WFH as being around my cats provides me with lots of joy. During work or after meetings, I can just go up to them for hugs which they unwillingly give (with occasional cameos during my meetings as well).

Perks of having a pet during CB

Having a pet certainly helped to ease my pandemic blues. 

The first circuit breaker where we were highly encouraged not to go out happened about a month after we adopted Kohko and I felt a little down, due to the restlessness of just staying at home and constantly working. 

They definitely are an outlet for me to relieve stress, just looking at them provides me joy. 

The pandemic also gave me more time to look after Kohkby and Kohko.

Besides the basics of needing to feed and clean them, I started to research more about food for cats and realised that the food I was feeding them was not the best. I started to try different sorts of food through trial and error and especially since Kohby is extremely picky (he does not enjoy wet food at all), I had to find ways to provide him with sufficient nutrients (since he is an active boy). 

This may sound weird but I felt very happy to shop for their food and to feed them. It made me feel like a responsible meowmy as I watched them grow up healthily as well. 

They definitely made staying at home feel a lot better.

Follow Renee, Kohby and Kohko on Instagram.

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How having a pet helped me with my mental health during a pandemic

The pandemic saw an increase in stay-at-home orders, with many individuals struggling to cope with the effects of minimised social contact.

For Sheryl, whose mental health has greatly affected her daily life – the enforced lockdown caused by the pandemic affected her with cabin fever, a condition that threatened her well-being.

Yet, her saving grace came in the form of a loving kitty named Princess. 

We talked to Sheryl to learn more about the importance of mental health awareness, especially with regard to the pandemic. We also learnt about the positive aspects of pet ownership, and how owning a pet might help one get through even the darkest of times. Her story is as below:

Sheryl’s Mental Health

Prior to covid and lockdown, I was already struggling with anxiety and depression. 

I was lucky to be able to travel a lot because of my job, and travelling helped a lot in coping with depression because I got to visit new places and meet new people all the time.

When the decision for the lockdown was announced, I mostly felt relief seeing the scale of the pandemic. But once I was able to think about what that meant for me, I started panicking. I wasn’t ready to deal with the mental health issues that could come up with lockdown, like cabin fever.

Meeting Princess

A colleague who knew about my mental health recommended getting a cat to keep me company at home, and showed me videos of Princess (then Tallulah) at the shelter. 

I’ve always wanted a pet but because of the frequency that I used to travel, never dared to commit to one unless I knew I could give it enough attention. I started researching the cost of having a pet, veterinary care, relocation, etc. 

Talking to my therapist, we agreed that adopting a cat will definitely help with my mental well-being, but only if I was sure I could properly care for her and not cause additional stress and anxiety for myself. 

The lockdown was the perfect opportunity to do that. 

I met Princess and immediately fell in love. 

Having Princess at home helped establish a routine both for me and her – feeding, playtime, etc, even down to cleaning her litter box. 

She gave me purpose – to give her the best life she could have. 

Plus having that cute little face around all the time, and all the cuddles, help with serotonin boosts. 

Throughout lockdown, I never experienced cabin fever like I thought I would because I had Princess around all the time. I knew friends who were desperate to go out, but I just wanted to stay in and spend time with my baby girl. 

Sure, I’ve had times when I started feeling claustrophobic at home, but P would want to cuddle or run over asking to play, and then I’d forget about all of that.

Cats as a Source of Comfort

Cookie came at a time where I was looking for a companion for Princess. I was about to adopt a little boy from a rescuer, but I found Cooks (or more like she found me). She was getting kicked by people on the street trying to shoo her away. I couldn’t take it and brought her home, hoping to rehome her. Instead, I decided to keep her to reduce the stress of re-introducing another cat to Princess. 

Cooks is the cutest thing. She cracks me up all the time, and I suspect she gives me more of a serotonin boost than Princess does because of all the dumb things she does to make me laugh. She’s also the most loving one out of the three. She loves unconditionally and is also the one who’s most in tune with my moods and emotions. She’ll be the first to run to me when I’m upset and cuddle with me even though she’s not usually a cuddly one. 

Monkey (formerly Sweetie) was rescued from the street when she was about 9 weeks, with a severe upper respiratory infection that caused her to go blind, and eventually losing both her eyes. She was a super shy and sweet girl when I met her and I just fell in love. I couldn’t deal with seeing her in the rehoming display box and brought her home. She really grew into her own character and got so confident at home. She was climbing everything and therefore her name. 

She’s the baby girl of our family – the one who cuddles with me every night, but also the one who terrorises her sisters all the time. 

I think having 3 cats is a great thing because they can feed off each other’s energy and play with each other. I don’t have to worry about them when I was back in the office. It helped me alleviate the anxiety worrying about whether Princess would be bored at home alone when I was out. 

It’s been a year and a half since bringing Princess home, and about 6 months since bringing Monkey home. I’m even off antidepressants right now (after consulting with my doctor and therapist of course) because I’ve been doing so much better mentally ever since the girls came into my life.

Mental Health and Pet Ownership

I do not necessarily think seeking pet companionship as a means to improve mental health would be productive as it comes with responsibilities, and its own challenges and stressors. I’ve seen many pets being dumped after restrictions were lifted, and that isn’t cool at all. 

I think there are a lot of considerations before getting a pet. There are a lot of upsides to it, but also potential stressors to consider. If you’ve thought through all the potential challenges as well, then I would say by all means get a pet because it can help so much with mental well-being. 

I have a friend in Europe who is in the midst of getting a PTSD service dog who is specifically trained to help with her needs. So that’s another example of how pets can help with our mental health, but with considerations in mind.

Thank you Sheryl for taking the time to share with us your story.

For those struggling with mental health, feel free to check out these helplines for further assistance.

If you, or a friend have a similar experience, or have a heartwarming pandemic-related tale to tell – reach out to us here.