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Dear Editor, THE recent spate of animal abuse cases highlighted
in the papers has horrified me, but in my opinion, they
represent a very small percentage of animals being abused in the
country.
Abuse cases
do not seem to be confined to acts of cruelty towards mongrels.
There are cases where abuse has been inflicted on pedigree
animals —S he e na the German Shepherd was one good example,
though not the only one.
I have also seen breeders keeping their dogs and puppies in
appalling conditions.
Two weeks
ago, I highlighted the case of Wallace —a lovely Labrador that
was abandoned and mistreated.
I have also rescued and adopted two pedigree dogs that were
neglected by their previous owners.
Lucille was a
beautiful Pomeranian that we rescued outside our house in 1992.
She was, we believe, dumped because she suffered from severe
epilepsy.
With proper care and affection, Lucille lived happily with us
until she died in 2005.
Then there was Summer, a Silky Terrier, that we rescued in 2005,
again outside our house, who was probably abused (as she had
some scars on her tummy). |
Summer had
severe medical problems.
We treated her and she is doing well.
She is now living a pampered life with my dad.
We have rescued several other pedigree dogs from the streets
which we sent to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (SPCA), as we couldn’t accommodate more dogs in our
small ho u s e.
We adopted
one in 1993 when he was about two and half years old.
Johnny was the neighborhood tyrant —but he turned out to be one
of the most loyal dogs that we ever had.
He turned from being aggressive into a docile, loving dog who
was fiercely protective of our family including Lucille.
Johnny died late last year.
Currently Lucky, the abused mongrel puppy that we picked from
the streets, is also turning out to be a lovely fellow.
He’s still afraid of strangers but he’s coming out of his shell
slowly.
And although
he is a mongrel who had been abused badly at a tender age, he
has shown that animals have a great capacity to forgive.
He greets us happily whenever we come home and can hardly wait
to get out of his room to play with us.
He is running round my feet as I am typing this ...and yes, he
lives indoors (as I believe all dogs should be kept indoors). |
I think
animal abuse cases happen more often than we know.
Therefore, I would like to stress that stricter rules and
harsher penalties are required to curb, if not eliminate, animal
abuse.
This issue needs to be addressed by the Government urgently.
At the same time, education and awareness on animal welfare
issues are important.
This is to ensure that people who are thinking of acquiring a
pet, be it pedigree or otherwise, know that great responsibility
comes along with owning a pet.
A great amount of time and effort is required in looking after
the pet’s health.
People must not forget that having a pet also means additional
expenses —even more so with pedigrees.
All too often people start to neglect or abuse their pets after
the initial fascination has worn off.
Would-be dog owners should think carefully about whether they
have the time, energy and money to care for a dog and to ensure
a safe environment .
How a dog behaves is determined by how its owner has treated it.
Therefore if a dog behaves badly, the owner should be the one to
be blamed and punished, not the dog!
Natasha Fernz
Ampang |
