BE CURIOUS! Use the Questionaire interview questions to guide you (adapt accordingly), and post the findings (do not paste image of worksheet) in detail in your respective columns to be ready for the session on 28th April.

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Pets offer companionship, emotional support, physical activity, and even social connection. But behind every happy pet-owner photo lies a deeper story. Caring for an animal is a long-term commitment that comes with responsibilities, sacrifices, and challenges.

Animal welfare also goes beyond pet ownership; abandonment, animal cruelty or strays are very real issues in Singapore too.

In your design thinking based VIA project, your goal is to go beyond the surface. What’s it really like to care for a pet every day? What worries or struggles do pet owners face? What keeps them going, and what kind of support might they wish they had?

cats:

• food+water

• litter/litter box

• grooming services

dogs:

• food+water

• toilet training

• grooming services

• toys/entertainment

hamsters:

• food+water

• cages

• (owners need to be prepared because hamsters breed quickly and many at a time)

• teething supplies

rabbits:

• food+water

• cages

• hay and pellets to a specific ratio

the owner has stated that if one is not ready or prepared to purchase all of these and maintain it, one should not consider keeping a pet. especially if one is often busy or has many commitments, one should choose a low-maintenance pet or keep none at all.

secondly we asked a few people whether they kept pets, and if so, what their biggest concerns were.

• younger kids endangering pets (eg playing around house when left alone, harms small animals like rodents or kittens and puppies)

• too many commitments eg work, school etc, pets may become depressive due to lack of attention, especially dogs

• someone told us about buying a kitten because of social media. the kitten turned out to be quiet and not “cute” in the sense the media portrays. it was very high-maintenance and she chose to give it away to one of her friends.

• worry of emotional toll when pet(s) pass away.

• a few admitted to releasing pets (like turtles and terrapins) unauthorised at parks like jurong lake gardens.

lastly, we asked them why those who chose to keep their pets did so.

• the pets provided emotional relief from work and school

• pets were fun to play with, presence was soothing

• feels like the pet is a friend, to abandon it would be out of the question.

we concluded that keeping pets isn’t as simple as it seems, and many things could happen eg illnesses, disease, sudden deaths or even allergies of humans due to the pet itself. we now understand that people should think carefully before adopting any pet, and not just adopt it for its looks as a short-term commitment (like buying kittens and puppies but not cats and dogs) and prevent themselves from being falsely influenced by the media. all in all, we have so many people, but our pets only have us. hence we should choose wisely and ensure others understand this weight too.

I interviewed a fish owner and he said that he spent a lot of money on the lights and filters when he tried to find a suitable one for the fish.

When I asked a owner of five mice, cost was another issue as they fell sick easily and he had to spend a lot of time and money on their medical check-ups and medicine fees. Other than that, the food and the enrichment that they eat and use to entertain themselves with is also expensive.

Asking a terrapin owner, I learnt that there was a lot of work to wash the terrapin every three days and that made the electricity and water bill cost significantly higher.

1. What made you decide to get a pet, and how has your experience been different from what you expected? Why

   do they prefer to buy a puppy than to adopt a dog? Could you give me an example?

   
   

   • always wanted a dog since young, had time and money

   • but harder than expected, especially with training

   • preferred to buy a puppy because wanted a certain breed (e.g., Golden Retriever) and to raise it from young

   • Example: Saw a litter of puppies at a breeder, picked one that felt bonded to her

   
   

   
   

   2. What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a pet owner? Why is that a challenge? How do you deal with it?

   
   

   • training the dog takes a lot of patience

   • vet bills are expensive and sometimes unexpected

   • joined a basic training class, saved money every month for emergencies

   
   

   
   

   3. Have you ever thought about giving up your pet? If yes, what made you feel that way? What stopped you?

   
   

   • yes, during the first few months when the dog kept destroying furniture

   • felt stressed and tired

   • remembered why she wanted a dog, got support from family and friends

   
   

   
   

   4. What kind of support or resources would make pet ownership easier for you? What advice would you give to someone thinking of getting a pet?

   
   

   • get affordable vet services

   • find dog trainers nearby for convenience

   • think carefully about adopting, pets are lifelong responsibilities

Next, I interviewed a close friend, who was the owner of multiple hamsters. [“Abandonment”] At first, she only had two hamsters, but over the span of a few months, it became more than eleven hamsters. The overwhelming number was too much to take care of, at the same time, so she had to give up and sell some of them. As she is only a student with academic commitments, she had even less time to care and bond with the hamsters, despite them being rather low-maintenance. Plus, even though she found them very adorable at first, she became bored of them in a year, as there were too many responsibilities that came with taking care of them. She wanted to use her free time to focus on schoolwork and bond with friends instead, and adding on the amount of money to take care of them — which she could use for other matters — she decided to give the rest of the hamsters away. [What kind of support/resources would make pet ownership easier] Financial aid, in-depth online guides that share how to take care of a pet (her hamsters fell sick easily).

Struggles:

1) The expenses are something else—its cage has to be spacious enough and have good ventilation. It should also require food and water tanks, bedding, and enrichment items like tunnels and tubes.

2) It is pretty difficult to take care of a guinea pig. Guinea pigs are very picky eaters and it is not visible to spot their illnesses. They can also easily escape from their cages and constantly bite you too.

Worries:

1) Pet owners (like her) are always worried that their pets have fallen ill because it is never very obvious. Hence, they bring their pets to the vet for a check-up at least once every 2 months.

2) Since it is easy for pets to run lose (like guinea pigs because they love hiding in secluded areas), pet owners are often burdened that they will lose their pets one day and never find them again.

Still, they keep on going because:

1) “By purchasing the guinea pig itself, I have already made a promise to me and my family members that I am responsible enough to take proper care of the guinea pig.”

2) “Even with all the challenges, I still love to look after Snowy (the guinea pig) and watch her play and laze around in her cage all day. (Quoted, because we actually conducted an interview)

Types of support pet owners like her desire:

1) Affordable vet services

2) More diverse food options

3) Cheaper accessories because the cage itself is already pretty expensive

4) Provision of more services that states a comprehensive walkthrough of taking care of a guinea pig

The HMW Statement: How might we better support animal owners in their expenses such that they can willingly provide optimal care for the animals?

When asked what other problems he faced as a pet owner ,he said that it might be noisy and playful at times, sometimes disrupting his family’s sleep and work.He has to take the dog out for walks and play with it.

We learnt that owning a pet requires a lot of money,time,commitment and care.