At half past six on a small farm in Kranji, the first job is the hens, the second is the water troughs, and the third is finding Sambal, a brown mongrel who has usually wandered off to inspect the compost heap. By the time the mist lifts off the vegetable plots, she has followed her owner down every row at least twice.
Farm dogs live in their gear. Sambal wears a harness most mornings because she is clipped to a long line when visitors arrive for the weekend market, and her owner wanted something that told those visitors who she was.
Why plain gear felt wrong on the farm
The old harness was a worn red one from a pet shop in town. It did what it needed to, but it was the same design sold to thousands of other dogs. On a farm where every hen has a name and the goats answer to theirs, it seemed odd that the dog’s gear was the only thing without a story.
A harness that introduces the dog
Her owner went with Little Red Cute and its personalised dog harness, which gives Sambal her own face and name up front on the chest strap. One photo is all the illustration starts from, so the dog on the strap is recognisably Sambal and not a cartoon of some generic mutt.
The order went like this:
- Send in one clear photo. Hers came from the shed door in morning light, Sambal staring straight at the phone.
- Pick an illustration style.
- Look the result over on screen.
- Give it the go-ahead, then pay; production waits for that go-ahead.
A harness is only made once ordered, in Singapore, and sublimation printing uses heat to press the design into the fabric.
What it is made of
Underneath the portrait it is a mix of polyester, neoprene and mesh, held on by a strap that adjusts. Four sizes are offered, running from XS through to L. Sambal is a medium-sized dog with a deep chest, so her owner spent a few minutes with a tape measure before picking a size, which is worth doing for any dog.
Market day
On Saturdays the farm opens its gate to families buying eggs and kangkong, and Sambal does the rounds. Children read her name off her chest and call her over; parents ask where the portrait came from. Her owner now spends almost as long answering questions about the dog as about the vegetables, and she has stopped minding the interruptions.