I REFER to Tay Suan Chiang's story on dog-friendly places and feel sad that some Singaporeans are revealing their selfish selves, which works against the Government's effort to promote a gracious Singapore.

Bernadette Ee was quoted in the story as saying that shopping-mall operators should not forget that dog owners have spending power.

But she should realise that malls are for everyone to shop and dine in. If dogs can talk, they would probably tell you to take them out to the park instead.

Shopping malls are always crowded. And as correctly pointed out in the story by a spokesman for Jurong Town Corporation, there are people who are afraid of dogs.

Perhaps most dog owners need to hear from the SPCA that they should not take their dogs to crowded places because this would be stressful for the animal.

In Australia, there are beaches designated as Dog Beach and shoppers 'park' their dogs outside malls before going in to do their shopping.

Paul Ang