(From right) Royal Animal Rescue's captain Benjamin Burke and sergeants Azhar Ali and Zaidi Zainal seek to provide swift ambulance service for animals. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: Rinchen Koh and Benjamin Burke were on their usual walk in the neighbourhood with their shih tzu, Casper, when a German shepherd dashed out and attacked the smaller dog.
As Casper was bleeding profusely from a ripped jaw, the couple could not get any taxis to take them to an animal hospital.
Thankfully, a neighbour stepped in and sent them to Beecroft Animal Specialist & Emergency Hospital, where Casper underwent surgery to stop the bleeding. They arrived at the hospital about an hour after the incident occurred.
The horrifying ordeal in June 2023 left Casper with a ripped jaw, and he had to have his lower jaw replaced.
Koh and Burke were then working in veterinary clinics as a vet nurse and a vet technician respectively. The couple wondered if the response time could have been shortened if there had been an emergency service available.
Thus, in September 2023, together with a private investor, Koh and Burke pooled together $10,000 and set up Royal Animal Rescue (RAR). The goal is to provide swift pre-hospital care for all pets and transport them to a pet hospital as quickly as possible in an emergency.
RAR is Singapore’s first 24-hour pet rescue service with its own ambulance and medical motorbike. The private uniformed organisation’s full-time staff – including Burke, 24, and Koh, 21, who both hold the rank of captain; sergeant Azhar Ali, a paramedic, 25; and sergeant Zaidi Zainal, 35, an emergency medical technician – are trained to administer diverse first aid procedures tailored to animals.
RAR’s ambulance is equipped with vital medical equipment, including a trauma bag, oxygen tanks, a defibrillator, an intensive care unit with oxygen chamber, airway management kits and splints. The medical motorbike has a trauma bag and oxygen tanks.
When a call comes in, RAR’s dispatchers will guide the caller through a few questions to verify if the situation is an emergency, says Burke. He had previously worked in an emergency animal hospital for more than six months, assisting in surgery, emergency procedures and consultations.
“We also ask for a video of the patient to be sent to us for a pre-assessment of how severe the case is,” says Burke, who is pursuing a Diploma in Veterinary Technology at Temasek Polytechnic.
“If needed, the dispatchers will guide the callers to perform simple first aid and apply cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before the arrival of the ambulance,” he adds. According to him, RAR’s response time is within 30 minutes.
After the initial assessment, the team will stabilise the animal, perform resuscitation if required and transport it to the nearest 24-hour veterinary hospital in serious cases.
RAR receives one or two calls daily and charges $250 per activation. To date, it has attended to more than 1,000 emergency cases, with the most common ones including respiratory distress, cardiac arrest, seizures and height rescues.
RAR’s services are not limited to dogs and cats. The team has responded to emergencies involving hamsters, rabbits and other small animals, adapting techniques to suit each species. Burke recalls having to perform CPR on a hamster and successfully revived the hamster’s heartbeat.
They also attend to cases of animal abandonment, injured community cats or strays involved in road accidents.
RAR personnel wear a protective vest while on duty, as Burke was once scratched across the chest by an agitated cat. “But scratches and bites are part of the job,” he says.
The most dangerous situation the team had encountered was in September 2024, when they received a call to rescue a community cat that was stranded on the ledge outside a 13-storey Housing Board flat.
Captain Benjamin Burke (left) and Captain Rinchen Koh securing a golden retriever as they prepare to transport it from a veterinary clinic to an animal hospital. - Photo courtesy of Royal Animal Rescue
“Our team wore harnesses, climbed out of the window and had to walk to the end of the ledge to secure the cat, and bring it to safety,” says Burke.
In another incident, they had to seek the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s (SCDF) assistance. A family had called RAR for help as their pet cat was suddenly attacking everyone in the house. The family hid in a room, but when RAR paramedics arrived, they could not get into the house as the front gate was locked.
“The SCDF officers had to conduct a forcible entry into the unit so that we could secure the cat from the living room and into a carrier,” says Burke, adding that the cat was later diagnosed with neurological issues, thus the erratic behaviour.
Not every rescue trip ends on a good note, as some animals do not make it even after resuscitation efforts. Azhar shares a recent episode where they lost a golden retriever to cardiac arrest. “It was difficult to see the family members getting so emotional when the dog passed away,” he says.
Both Azhar and Zaidi were with SCDF before joining RAR, and they say their past emergency work experience helps when handling RAR cases.
“Animals cannot tell you what’s wrong with them, so it’s more challenging to assess their condition,” says Zaidi.
Burke is looking to expand RAR’s operations with the addition of a second ambulance in November. He is also hoping to expand its services to include wildlife rescue.
“Pet ownership continues to grow in Singapore and the demand for specialised emergency services is expected to rise,” he adds. - The Straits Times/ANN
