K9 Perspective

The magazine your dog would want you to read

Editorial: December 2007–January 2008

No excuse for animal cruelty

ANOTHER year has almost come to a close so I will take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year season. And for all you dog owners going on holiday, please make sure that your pet has a responsible and reliable person, plus a back-up, to care for him/her and provide walks, food and water every day while you are away.

A really sad case of neglect has surfaced in North Staffordshire, UK, where a senior city councillor, Paul Shotton, has been convicted, with his wife, of leaving his 13-year-old Labrador to die at home without veterinary attention while he went on holiday for three weeks. The dog was found in the yard in a skinny and dehydrated state with open sores and lying in a pool of urine. It is very sad that such people with so little respect for the life of a loyal pet can remain in public life - I do hope that now the sordid story is out he will be swiftly removed from his council posting. What is worse is that he has no remorse and has claimed he will appeal his very lean sentence of £3000 to the SPCA and a two-year ban on dog ownership, and will ask for a review of the powers of the RSPCA.

With any luck the next judge may increase the fine and add at least a short, sharp jail sentence. And if a review of the RSPCA is instigated I do hope that their authority is clearly defined and increased.

In the US Michael Vick, a football star, admitted his involvement in dog fighting and was described as a "dogfighting heavyweight". And in Birmingham, UK, Barkat Hussain, Intikab Hussain, Sohail Hussain, Zahir Ahmed, Ummar Ahmed, Waqqas Mughal and Zahoor Hussain were convicted of arranging a dogfight in one of their homes. At least one of the group is a well-known Birmingham sportsman. It seems that when people become well-known in public life, money and possessions come easy, and they begin to think they can do no wrong. Laws of the land suddenly do not apply to them because whatever they do will be covered up by team officials, party officials, sport officials etc for the "good of the team (or party or department)". It is time that both political and sports leaders stopped manufacturing spoilt brats who think they are gods, and started to demand total compliance or instant dismissal from those in positions of public focus. One can only assume that if they treat their dogs in such a disgusting way their families are also treated likewise. It is time to say stop ... and mean it!

This year has seen some progress with the closing down of a few puppy farming businesses, but we still have nothing to pat ourselves on the back about! Just last week I read an advertisement in one of the North Staffordshire newspapers inserted by someone selling puppies of at least 12 different breeds. This screams "puppy farm" because who could take care of all those dogs and puppies and keep them healthy? They would need to pay full-time staff for cleaning, grooming, feeding and walking, and that is if they had enough land to house and exercise all those dogs as well as keeping them in a clean environment.

Basically, if you want to buy a puppy and see an advertisement like this, do not buy such puppies unless you go to the property and see where the dogs are housed, what their conditions are like, observe that their water is clean and fresh, meet the sire and dam of the puppy you are interested in and observe their health. And never take possession of a puppy that is not with its mother and under 10 weeks old. Such puppies have not finished learning all the behaviour lessons that the bitch will teach them. However, if they are in a tightly confined situation she would still be unable to teach them what to do in various situations and what to be frightened of or what to ignore. If you are buying a puppy and you see conditions you do not like, then walk away as a puppy from an unhealthy environment will not be healthy and could cost you later. Puppy farmers will only go out of business when people stop buying from them.

Perhaps 2008 can be a really progressive year for the canine population in all corners of the world. That can happen if we are all observant. If we see an act of cruelty we must report it to the SPCA or Humane Society or even to the Police (many progressive police departments now have branches that deal with animal complaints). If we notice a dog looking skinny and sick then report that. If we notice a dog living in squalour then report it. If we notice that some dogs are kept for fighting then report it. There is no other way to give our canine population the justice it deserves. - Liz