SINGAPORE – Macaws took to the air while cats and dogs sat pretty in prams with their owners pushing them for a stroll around the sheltered running track at The Kallang over the weekend.
Joggers took a back seat as pets and their owners at the Good Pet Fair – Kampong Edition took over the 888m-long Great Eastern Promenade encircling the National Stadium.
The fair, held on Aug 22 and 23, had booths from more than 100 vendors and animal welfare groups.
Some furkids even had portable fans to help them battle the weekend heat as their owners checked out stalls selling myriad pet products, including treats and accessories.
Pomeranians sitting in their prams behind a booth selling animal accessories and portable fans.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Cookie, a Bengal cat, dressed in a crocheted hat.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Guinea pigs, fish and even hissing cockroaches were also featured at the two-day event organised by The Kallang Group, which manages the event location, and event organiser Good Fairs.
Jackie Loo, 38, carrying his 13-year-old schnauzer, Sugar, along the promenade.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
The fair was an opportunity for families, friends and their animal companions to connect and enjoy shared spaces in the precinct, said Yazed Osman, group head, events and placemaking and place management, of The Kallang Group.
Freedom Flyer, a local parrot enthusiast group, releasing their macaws for a free-flying demonstration.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
One event highlight had members of Freedom Flyer, a local parrot enthusiast group, releasing their macaws for a free-flying demonstration that took place twice daily over the weekend.
Parrots at the fair.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
The group members, who meet up on weekends in various parts of Singapore, were invited to the fair to showcase their colourful birds.
Feathers and fur aside, more unconventional animals were also showcased at the fair.
At the booth run by Tiny Kingdom, a nature education and experience centre, visitors got to check out ants – one of the tiniest of pets – and hold leaf insects and Madagascar hissing cockroaches.
A girl holding a Madagascar hissing cockroach at the Tiny Kingdom booth.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Visitors at the Ting Kingdom booth being introduced to pets such as leaf insects, ants and hissing cockroaches.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Visitors also feasted their eyes on colourful guppies from local and international breeders at the Guppy Club Singapore booth. The showcase was part of Guppy Passion, a guppy competition featuring 12 show categories, such as for solid-coloured fish and mosaic-patterned ones.
A judge at the Guppy Passion competition held by Guppy Club Singapore.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Guppies were judged on the size, pattern and colour of their body, dorsal fin and tail.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
At the Gallop Stable booth, visitors learnt how to interact with ponies and got to groom, ride and feed them.
Cindy Yeo, 36, and her daughter Daenery Li, three, feeding a pony at the Gallop Stable booth.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Ponies making their back to their trailers after the first day of The Good Pet Fair – Kampong Edition.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
On Aug 23, the star event at the fair set a new record in the Singapore Book of Records for the largest gathering of Shetland sheepdogs – 146 of them, with the youngest a mere seven-month-old, while the oldest was 15.