Dr Angeline Yang, Part of the team at VetMobile, February 2025
The venue of our animal hospice and palliative centre reminds me of my grandparents’ walk-up apartment along Upper Paya Lebar Road. The apartment was on the second floor and it had ample outdoor space linking the ground floor to the apartment. My grandma would grow edible plants like papaya and chilli, as well as orchids, bonsai and whatever plants she was into at that time. I spent a lot of my time barefooted, following ant trails, trapping spiders and playfully teasing the family pug. Once, a cobra visited the garden and we had to close all the doors before calling pest control—animal welfare was not too well considered back then. Mosquitoes and geckos were part of the experience and the home was ventilated by fans. As Singapore developed, the land was taken back by the government and this block of walk-up apartments is no longer around.
Our centre is beside Springleaf Nature Park. At night, you can hear insect and amphibian calls and the air smells like the forest. I want our staff, clients and animal guests to enjoy this less urbanised environment, which is rare in Singapore. We decided to ventilate the centre with fans and not seal the shop with glass so we could rely less on air-conditioning. We are also attempting to grow more edible plants in front and at the back of the centre, so we could eventually attract butterflies and bees and the plants could also shield some of the sun. We do not use artificial fragrances, potentially harmful cleaning agents or pesticides/insecticides so all living things can be kept safe and healthy.
We knew that having a team of people working together for the first time would bring about its set of challenges due to differing values and practices, so we came up with protocols to standardise procedures for things that matter. For instance, we shared educational websites with the staff on wildlife interactions and we came up with protocols for proper garbage disposal. Keeping the centre clean will reduce the chance of ants, cockroaches and rats infestation. Keeping the garbage collection point outside the shop tidy will prevent macaques, pigeons and rats from making unwanted visits. Instead of blaming the wild animals, we should think of preventative measures.
In nature, bacteria, fungi and unicellular organisms are part of the equilibrium. Conventional cleaning practices for medical facilities are aimed at disinfecting and it involves the removal of both pathogens and commensal bacteria. When all microorganisms are removed, are we making space for more resistant bacteria, such as MRSA, to thrive? In my opinion, spot disinfection is sufficient for a non-surgical environment. We remove microorganisms that cause diseases or create bad odours. There have been more studies* of microorganisms in the environment and on our skin and gut, and how they affect our health. We are moving away from sterility and learning to co-exist for better wellbeing.
Living with nature and co-existing with wild animals and insects of all kinds is a conscious choice we made when we started this centre. Hopefully our staff and volunteers do not see these as inconveniences but a benefit of being in a less crowded area.
*Studies:
Do we know enough about the safety of quat disinfectants?
https://cen.acs.org/safety/consumer-safety/know-enough-safety-quat-disinfectants/98/i30
Evaluation of pollutants in perfumes, colonges and health effects on the consumer: a systematic review https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9163252/
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