The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said that the Shetland sheepdog, Prince, who was missing after it was taken to the Platinium Dogs Club, had died while it was at the pet boarding centre in a Bukit Panjang.
AVA posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday that the missing dog was cremated by a pet cremation service provider.
In the post, AVA clearly stated that after their initial investigation, the officials came to know that "Prince, a Shetland sheepdog reported to be missing from PDC, had died while it was boarded there."
It should be noted that missing dog's case was a part of the Platinium Dogs Club investigation, which started after several pet owners complained that their pets were mistreated under the so-called care of the boarding centre.
The officers from Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), the police and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) raided the pet care service, run by Platinium Dogs Club in a Bukit Panjang landed house at Galistan Avenue on December 29.
In the recent Facebook post, AVA said that they had taken the temporary custody of 18 dogs and one rabbit, found inside the boarding centre "to safeguard their welfare." They also said, "We are continuing to establish ownership of the rabbit."
In addition, they wrote, "AVA's investigation is still ongoing. The public is advised not to speculate and let the investigation take its course. AVA takes animal welfare seriously and will take enforcement action against any offenders to safeguard animal welfare."
Platinium Dogs Club pet mistreatment case:
After the raid at the pet boarding centre, one of the pet owners Elaine Mao, who is in her 30s, told the authority that she took her 7-1/2-year-old Shetland sheepdog, Prince to the Platinium Dogs Club on December 16 and since then she did not receive any news about her pet.
The missing dog was among those pets, who were rescued by the authority during the investigation between December 29 and 31.
Later, the Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam noted on his Facebook post that "Singaporeans can rest assured: there will be thorough investigations and there will be due process. Anyone who has engaged in illegal acts will face the consequences."
He also added "there are also allegations that some people, in response, have also acted wrongly, and taken the law into their own hands" and "those allegations will also be investigated."
However, the 30-year-old female operator of Platinium Dogs Club was arrested on Sunday, January 6.
