The uncle who skips his own check-ups
He lives alone in a rental flat with a dog he found at a worksite nine years ago. A S$180 consultation is a week of groceries. He treats the limp with Tiger Balm and hopes.
Project Sayang
Free, judgement-free veterinary care for the dogs of families in Singapore and Malaysia who cannot afford a clinic visit. We bring the vet to the void deck.
Pledges only for now. No money is collected until the fund is registered.
Every day, across both countries, a dog goes untreated because its family had to choose between the vet and the rent. Not because they love their dog any less. Project Sayang exists for them. Every dog deserves a vet. Every owner deserves dignity.
Our first-year goals
Starting small. These are the numbers we will report against on this page.
500dogs treated free of chargeFirst-year goal across Singapore and Malaysia
24void-deck and kampung clinic daysTwo pop-ups a month, announced a week ahead
40volunteer vets and vet nursesGive one Saturday morning a quarter
How a Sayang clinic works
- 01
We come to you
Pop-up clinics are set up where people already are: HDB void decks, kampung community halls, hawker centres and night spots used by delivery riders. No appointment, no transport cost.
- 02
No forms, no judgement
Nobody is asked to prove their income. If you tell us a vet visit is out of reach right now, we believe you. We ask only your dog's name and what is worrying you.
- 03
Care, then follow-through
Check-ups, vaccinations, deworming, tick and flea treatment, wound care and microchipping on the spot. Anything that needs a clinic is referred to a partner vet, with the bill covered by the fund.
The families a clinic was never built around
Composite portraits drawn from the questions readers send us every week. Photos are illustrative.
The family forty minutes from the nearest clinic
Their dog guards the house and walks the children to the bus stop. When the tick fever came, the nearest vet was a RM60 taxi ride each way, before any treatment.
The rider who works every hour a clinic is open
He finishes at midnight and starts again at ten. His dog has never been vaccinated, not because he does not care, but because no clinic is open when he is free.
Volunteer vets, on the ground, once a quarter
Project Sayang runs on practising veterinarians and vet nurses who give one Saturday morning every three months. Vet Approved Co handles the logistics, the supplies and the paperwork so the clinical team only has to turn up and care.
We are building the first roster now. If you are a registered vet in Singapore or Malaysia, your name on the list is the single most useful thing you can give us.
Join the first rosterWhere we plan to serve first
Singapore
- Toa Payoh
- Bedok
- Jurong West
- Woodlands
- Ang Mo Kio
- Yishun
Malaysia
- Klang Valley
- Johor Bahru
- Penang
- Ipoh
- Seremban
- Melaka
Sites are confirmed with town councils and community leaders before each clinic day.
Three ways to be part of it
Pledge
A S$30 or RM90 pledge covers one dog's full vaccination and deworming course. Pledges are collected only once the fund is registered and a receipt can be issued.
Pledge your supportVolunteer
Vets, vet nurses and vet students for clinical roles. Drivers, translators (Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, Hokkien) and organisers for everything else. One morning a quarter is enough.
Join the volunteer listPartner
Clinics willing to take referrals at cost. Pet food and parasite-control brands able to donate stock. Town councils, RCs and community groups that can lend us a void deck for a morning.
Talk to us about partnering
Straight answers
Who qualifies for free care?
Anyone who tells us a vet visit is financially out of reach. We do not means-test and we do not ask for documents. Experience from similar programmes overseas shows that the people who queue at a void deck at 8am on a Saturday are the people who need it.
What can be treated at a pop-up?
Health checks, core vaccinations, deworming, tick and flea treatment, ear and skin problems, minor wound care, nail trims and microchipping. Dogs that need imaging, surgery or hospitalisation are referred to a partner clinic and the fund covers the agreed cost.
Is Project Sayang a registered charity?
Not yet. Project Sayang is an initiative of Vet Approved Co and we are in the process of setting up the fund so that pledges are received and receipted properly. Until then we are collecting pledges and volunteers only, not money.
Do you help cats?
Our clinical team is organised around dogs, which is what Vet Approved Co writes about. Cats brought to a pop-up will be seen for basic care where the vet on duty is comfortable doing so.
Why the name?
Sayang is the word for love and care in Malay, used every day across both Singapore and Malaysia. It is also what you say when you stroke a dog's head. It felt right.
Sayang first. Questions later.
Tell us you are in. We will write back when the first clinic date is set.
Project Sayang is an initiative of Vet Approved Co. It is not yet a registered charity. Nothing on this page replaces advice from your own vet; if your dog is unwell now, see our emergency guides.