Police seen entering premises of Platinium Dogs Club after AVA arrested operator

SINGAPORE — A day after it emerged that the operator of Platinium Dogs Club has been arrested, two plainclothes police officers were seen on Tuesday (Jan 8) entering and leaving the pet boarding house’s premises and speaking to residents nearby.

Separately, neighbours along Galistan Avenue in Bukit Panjang told TODAY that they had little interaction with the alleged owner, who would turn up at the semi-detached house at odd hours. They also recounted how the dogs there would whine at night and run out of the house unsupervised.

The pet boarding house has been in the news following allegations of animal abuse. A pet owner claimed that her dog had died at Platinium Dogs Club and another said that her Shetland sheepdog left at the boarding house had gone missing.

The authorities raided the premises on Dec 29 and found 18 dogs, many of them have since been returned to their owners.

On Jan 2, a group of dog owners, including the owner of the missing Shetland sheepdog, were caught in a stand-off with the woman who was reportedly the owner of the pet boarding house. Media reports said that while the woman and a male driver were trying to get away from the group, they allegedly knocked down a man, who had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance.

The operator was arrested on Sunday by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and is assisting with investigations on animal welfare-related offences.

Talking to residents in the area on Tuesday from 4pm to 6.30pm, TODAY saw two police patrol vehicles making their rounds in the quiet neighbourhood.

At about 5.50pm, three people pulled up near the house in an unmarked car. One of them said that they were from the police and the other two were seen removing the barricade to the house before entering it.

About half an hour later, they emerged empty-handed.

One neighbour along the stretch, Ms Veronica Wong, a customer service officer, told TODAY that she had minimal interaction with the operator of Platinium Dogs Club.

“She would come at odd hours. Sometimes during office hours and sometimes late at night.”

Ms Wong, who did not want to reveal her age, was unsure if there had been anyone sleeping overnight at the pet boarding house and she only noticed that the operator started arriving with other people in the days leading up to her arrest.

Ms Wong said that there are a number of animal lovers in the neighbourhood, so it was distressing for her when she heard the barking and whining from the dogs at the boarding house at times.

Another neighbour, who did not want to be identified, recalled that the gates to Platinium Dog Club were left open on more than one occasion.

Some of the dogs, she said, would run out and her family member would either have to shepherd the dogs back into the boarding house or keep them within their own house until the dogs could be returned.

Metres away from the pet boarding house was a missing notice for Prince, a male tri-colour Shetland Sheepdog. The dog went missing between Dec 23 and 29 last year, and was last seen on new year’s eve around Hillview Avenue, which is one MRT station away.

Outside the pet boarding house itself, there was a notice from the AVA addressed to the tenant of the unit, saying it had “expressly instructed” that the tenant was “not allowed to have any animals on these premises” and should contact “affected parties” and the relevant authorities soon.

It is unclear when the notice was issued.

Media reports have named a “Charlotte Liew” as the alleged operator of Platinium Dogs Club. However, there are no records of the pet boarding house on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's website.

TODAY has reached out to the police for official comments.