‘Unable to sleep not knowing how he is’: Man reunites with missing pet dog after 2-day search

SINGAPORE – After two sleepless nights, Mr Matthew Teh was finally able to rest easy on Dec 9 after learning that his missing pet dog, Kiko, had been found.

The undergraduate was in Vietnam with his family when they were alerted at about 8pm on Dec 7 by dog daycare Woofworks that their chow chow, Kiko, had gone missing.

The dog was seen in an online video wandering on the CTE.

When contacted, Mr Teh, 24, said that he had not been able to sleep and was really stressed and worried.

Although the family was supposed to return only on Dec 11, they flew back to Singapore on Dec 8 to begin searching for the dog.

His family, who has had Kiko for five years since he was a three-month-old puppy, had offered a $5,000 reward for his safe return.

After two gruelling days, a Telegram group set up to coordinate search efforts blew up with the news at about 3pm on Dec 9 that Kiko had been found.

A member of the group sent a video that showed Kiko walking inside a drain near 8 Mar Thoma Road.

In another photo update at about 3.20pm, the dog is seen out of the drain and standing next to his rescuer. His owners were also said to be rushing to the scene, with durian and water in tow.

Mr Teh, in a message to the group, thanked everyone for helping in the “tireless and determined search for Kiko”.

“We are bringing him now to a vet just in case to check for any abnormalities,” he said.

Mr Teh said his family had left Kiko with Woofworks on Dec 5 at about 10am. Kiko was a regular at the daycare, attending twice a week for two years.

But Mr Teh added that he has now lost trust in Woofworks, which is located in Kim Keat Avenue.

Woofworks declined to be interviewed when contacted, saying it was prioritising search efforts.

In a Facebook post on Dec 9, it said that Kiko had been attending a party for another pet under its care “when an exit wasn’t secured properly by a visiting guest, and Kiko slipped out”.

“Our team chased after him immediately, but he was too quick, and we lost sight of him,” it said.

The daycare added that it has been “searching non-stop”, including putting up posters and alerting the community and the authorities.

“We understand how distressing this is for his family, and we are deeply sorry this happened under our care.”

It said it is also reviewing and strengthening its safety measures, such as using smart tag locators, adding barriers and having stricter visitor protocols to ensure the dogs under its care are safe.

Kiko was last confirmed to be seen on the CTE near 6 Mar Thoma Road at 6.46pm on Dec 7, based on footage from a car’s rear camera.

In the video posted on the SGRV Facebook page, a dog can be seen walking on the CTE, with the caption saying the video was taken at 4.37pm. Cars are seen stopping as the dog cuts across the lanes to the other side of the expressway.

A Telegram group was set up on Dec 7 by a stranger to coordinate search efforts. It has at least 800 members, with more joining every few minutes.

Search efforts were concentrated around 6 Mar Thoma Road, near the now-closed St Wilfred Sport Centre off Serangoon Road.