S'PORE JOB: Mr Martin busks at an underpass. Whatever he earns is spent in his pets.
The Electric New Paper :
Who says S'poreans don't care about strays?
Busker in S'pore, pet saviour in Johor
THIS man's work is never done.
By Jonathan Choo
25 August 2009
THIS man's work is never done.
Every morning, he leaves his home in Jurong at 6am to cross the Causeway.
It is a 45-minute van ride to two unfinished brick houses on an isolated plot of land beside a quiet cemetery at Ulu Tiram in Johor Baru.
There waits a colony of unwanted pets who solely depend on him to care for them. Meet Singaporean Don Martin, 57.
The animals comprise 55 stray dogs, five kittens and seven cats.
From the time the bachelor pushes open the 6m-long rusty iron gate of the 4ha plot of land to the time he leaves, Mr Martin has his work cut out for him.
First, he feeds the stray cats and kittens. Then for an hour, he uses old newspapers to painstakingly clear animal faeces from both houses.
Next, he collects water from a nearby well and washes the floors thoroughly. Cleaning, mopping, and refilling the water bowls take him a good four hours.
Feeding the other animals comes next, and it is not as simple as just dishing out food.
Most of the dogs have skin problems and Mr Martin, who keeps a record of their ailments, feeds them their medication individually.
The love he shows them is clearly reciprocated - every single stray responds to him when he calls them individually.
Marked territories
He has built fences to partition the land and space inside the houses into six different territories for the dogs, in order to prevent them from fighting during feeding time.
By 4pm, he finishes the last of his chores - washing all the feeding bowls. Then he allows himself a short rest on a discarded sofa bed he had put in the house. This is where he plays his guitar to relax.
Before leaving at 5pm, he refills all the water bowls, and switches on a radio and a light bulb to deter burglars.
But his day is not done. He works to earn money for the animals' upkeep.
In the evenings, he gives guitar lessons either at the Punggol or Taman Jurong Community Clubs, then busks at the underpass between Clarke Quay and Boat Quay.
When time permits, he also works as a musician, playing in bands at private functions. On Sundays, he works as a fruit seller at Pasir Ris Farmway 3.
Whatever he earns is spent on the pets.
Food and medication for the animals cost about $1,700 monthly, he says.
Occasionally, he gets help from the Singapore Animal Shelter. Some Johorean students donate dog food now and then.
It has been six years since he first moved in with 30 strays dogs, 18 of which are from Singapore.
He obtained licences, health certificates and export permits from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) to take the dogs to Johor.
He also had to pay to obtain import permits from the Johor government.
'I couldn't afford to house the strays in Singapore because of the rising rental costs,' said Mr Martin.
He is grateful to his landlords, a Chinese couple in their 50s, who allowed him the use of the land.
'I originally intended to sell my Jurong flat and use the money to buy the land,' he said.
But after much negotiation, they allowed him to use the fruit farm for his strays for a token sum. He intends to save enough money to buy the land eventually.
His devotion to rescuing strays began in the 1960s when a stray kitten wandered into his former flat in Telok Blangah. That cat stayed with him for 12 years.
Subsequently, he took in two more stray cats which later produced 15 kittens.
Why is he so devoted?
He said: 'Once I started giving shelter to the stray dogs and cats, I couldn't stop. They are part of me. Even if one dog goes missing, I will not stop until I find him.'
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