5th July 2014 – KAvenyou had a short interview with Belinda Lee (李心钰), an actress and an impressive host of numerous documentaries,  before the screening of Twelve Nights (十二夜) at Marina Barrage. Read on to find out more about Belinda’s recent experience and why her pet dog has a good life.

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Belinda Lee used to own a dog but not currently. Due to personal reasons, her family could not keep the dog anymore. Despite that, Belinda searched and found a new owner for her dog. An Italian man who has married a Singaporean lady and based in Singapore for good. Her dog is now 13 year old, it was barely 3 year old when she found the new family for her dog. A decade passed, Belinda‘s love for her dog is still going strong. She has been keeping in touch with her dog’s new family and visiting them when she could. To Belinda, her dog is not just a life, it’s her love.

Although the dog does not belongs to her now, Belinda felt that it did not matter whom it belonged to. Simply because all that matters is that the dog is loved and well taken care of. Glad and Grateful, Belinda emphasizes how thankful she was to be able to find another owner that is responsible enough to love and keep the dog and not abandon it. To conclude this, Belinda thinks that her dog lead a pretty good life!

Belinda also shared her experience from a country she recently came back from, of which dogs were not favored due to religious reasons. She found out that the stray dogs roaming around on streets were not owned by the locals, but instead, the expatriates who temporarily lived in the country on a short contract for maybe a year or two. But when it was time to move out of the country to another one, the expatriates simply abandon their pets to roam around and die on their own. Reason being the cost of bringing their pets out of and into another country is expensive.

Seeing it with her own eyes, Belinda witnessed a dog being shot down by the police when it is spotted for the reason that they are not favored at all. On the same day, Belinda witnessed another tragic incident. Right in front of her, a dog was knocked down and was bleeding profusely but yet no help was offered. The dog was dirty and not taken care of, searching for food by the beach. Belinda was really upset that no one came up to save it, nothing happened. Simply because to the locals, dogs are like pests.

So, why do people want to own a pet? Belinda felt that it was due to the feeling one will have to own a pet, the temporary love for the pet. She thinks it’s a complete mistake to feel that way. Belinda describe it as having a child that a mother is pregnant with for 10 months. A child that should not be abandoned just because you find it a nuisance. If you have to move overseas, you take them along wherever you go!

KAvenyou would like to thank TOGGLE TAP AMU for this opportunity to be involved in this event with such a meaningful cause!

Follow Belinda Lee on her Facebook here and her instagram @LEEBELINDA.

Click here to view more photos from Twelve Night (十二夜) screening
Photography and Article by Xuan Lin @ KAvenyou.com