Daryl

13 Feb 2020

Yesterday I spent some time at the Metta Cats & Dogs Sanctuary in Lim Chu Kang, Singapore.

The location of the shelter is among plant nursery and landscaping companies, which makes it not that readily accessible to people who do not drive.

I was therefore very touched to meet a 17-year-old volunteer who came all that way to do some chores for the animals. His name was Daryl.

Daryl and my two friends would hang the newly unwrapped metal frames inside the cats’ enclosures and slip pillow case beddings over them to form little airmocks for the kitty residents.

The airmocks create vertical space for the cats and allow them to sleep suspended from the floor.

I felt very useful seated on a low stool unwrapping the frames and asked Daryl if he could take a couple of pictures of me.

I wanted my pictures to show that animal volunteerism can also include doing chores that don’t necessarily involve handling animals.

Daryl ended up making a video recording of me instead of just taking stills.

And this old woman was still wondering why was he taking so long to capture a couple of pictures! 🤣

When it was our time to bid goodbye to the shelter cats, the young man was still scrubbing the wicker furniture with another volunteer.

And I was very happy to overhear one of the young adult volunteers saying to Daryl that she would give the kind hearted JC boy a lift out to the main road after she had fed all the cats.

The day ended for me full of hope for a better world through kindness to animals & people.