-Risa
おんあのこ きつね
02-10-2009 at 22:15
Sorry this is long, but for animal lovers, I think you should read it. This happened to me this morning.
I was riding the escalator from the platform of the NEL in Dhoby Gaut station, when I noticed that there was a little ginger and white cat stranded at the side of the escalator. It was about halfway down, and perched on the tiny little railing just outside the handrails. On one side was the glass side of the escalator, on the other was about a 6 m drop to the platform where the trains arrived. It was petrified, meowing and breathing heavily. I quickly notified the staff at the control station and they said they knew. I didn't see anyone around making an effort to get the cat out of the situation so I decided to stick around and make sure it was retrieved safely. Hundreds of commuters kept passing it by on the escalator, staring at it curiously - of course - but nobody actually stopped to help, or show any concern. I stood there for a while and then called the SPCA because it was obvious nobody from the MRT was coming to do anything about it. I guess in my mind I was hoping for the cliched heroic rescue involving some firemen and a ladder. Anyways, a huge throng of commuters came up the escalator and the cat had had enough. It panicked, and jumped. It landed on the platform, a good 6 m down, and fled into a corner. It was panting heavily with its tongue hanging out, and clearly very, very scared. Whenever people walked near, it would jump and jump against the wall. It was panicky and hysterical - understandably. I stayed near it to make sure it wouldn't get trampled by commuters. I wanted to wait until it was calm; I had a towel, and I have carried a stray cat home in my bag before; and besides, the SPCA was notified and I could always get the cat from them instead of having them put it down.
Soon, an MRT staff person came. His name was Francisco Dela. He said they had called Pest Control, who were on their way. I planned to wait for them to come, and convince or bribe them to give me the cat instead of having it put down. We waited for about five minutes, and then an MRT cleaner came. The cleaner was holding a long stick, and a garbage bag. She said that she would put the cat in the garbage bag and bring it upstairs. Anyone with common sense could see that this cat would NOT go into a garbage bag (what cat do YOU know that can be contained in a garbage bag???). I very strongly insisted that this would end in disaster. Francisco Dela held her off for a few moments, but halfheartedly. He wanted the cat off the platform, in case it disrupted commuter traffic. I told them to please wait for pest control. Then another off-duty cleaner came, a friend of the garbage-bag-wielding cleaner. She told him to grab the cat and put it in the bag, despite my protests. He approached it, it hissed and started jumping up and down against the wall like crazy. It wasn't going anywhere near the bag. I kept telling them to stop and wait, as help was on its way. I pleaded with Fransisco to listen to me, but he just stood aside and didn't stop them. The cleaners then chased the cat out of its corner, and out the security exit at the end of the platform. There, it jumped up into a hole about two meters off the ground. It barely squeezed through. The hole led straight onto the train tracks.
Fransicso could have made a call on his walkie-talkie, and stopped the oncoming train. He did not. Instead, he ran upstairs. I thought maybe he'd stop the train from the control station upstairs, so I ran after him. When he reached the control station, he just sat down at his chair, and proceeded to act like nothing had happened.
I asked him if he was going to stop any oncoming trains so the pest control or SPCA can go in and retrieve the cat. He ignored me. I then called SPCA (by this time the phone operator had become my friend!) and they asked me to wait there in case the station allowed them to pause the train and go in to look for the cat. They asked for the number of the control station, but Francisco refused to give it to me. They somehow got in touch with the Dhoby Gaut station master, who said they couldn't stop any trains. The SPCA lady then called the head office of SMRT. They also said no. They then got the number of the control gate Francisco was sitting at and tried convincing them again. He said he'd ask his manager and hung up. I watched as he just sat there, making no move to talk to his manager. All this took about an hour. In between calls from the SPCA, Francisco and his colleague went about their day, taking photos with tourists, laughing and chatting with each other.
The death of this cat could easily have been avoided. All it required was common sense, and a bit of patience. I'm disturbed by the lack of compassion, and complete disrespect for life that I saw today. Yes, I think Francicso Dela should be sent to hell, but I'm also disappointed that of the hundreds of commuters that passed by, nobody stopped to show concern, or try to help. Why is that? Maybe if 5 or 6 people had told him to leave the cat alone until help came, and to NOT put it in a garbage bag, this story would have had a different outcome.
Of course, it's important to get to work on time. Of course, we all have better things to do than to stop in the middle of our morning commute to save a cat's life.
Or do we?
It's so easy not to care. It's easy to turn away and think that somebody else will take care of a problem. But what a sad society we live in now, that the priority is to rush to the office to sit at a desk, instead of taking a chance at saving a helpless animal's life. It feels funny, writing that - I almost feel embarrassed that I feel it's so important. I wish more people did.
The SPCA told me that the SMRT head office said that after the trains stop running at 1 am tonight, pest control will go in and look for the cat. If they find it alive, they have been told to contact the SPCA, who will then call me. The chances are close to zero, and obviously if I really wanted to save yet another stray cat (sorry Shane), there are thousands of more easily accessible ones waiting for a home. But if you can spare a prayer for this little ginger and white one tonight, please do.
And hug your pets just a little tighter today.
(if you don't have pets and would like to give a dog or cat a good home, please consider adopting rescued strays from Action for Singapore Dogs www.asdsingapore.com or the Cat Welfare Society www.catwelfare.org, and as always, please consider donating to these fine organizations who are fighting for the welfare of stray animals in Singapore).
-Risa
02-10-2009 at 22:15
(feel free to copy, paste and spread this note as far and wide as you wish)
My kitten, Steeler, climbed 50-60ft up a tree and couldn't come down. After 20 hours it was evident that he wasn't going to come down on his own. An awesome company, Atalntic Arbourists Ltd. was doing some work in town. They came right over and rescued him. It's not really all that dramtic, but is cool to see!
