Opinion: Animal Amendment Laws
Dear Sir,
It has been said that a Society can be judged by the way they treat their animals. As I write this letter, I have a photograph of a young puppy beside me. Just recently, this puppy was pulled out of a dumpster at the landfill. This helpless puppy had its head beaten with a blunt object, one of its eyes was bulging out and it was stuffed in a garbage bag. She was still alive. She was taken to one of the local veterinarians who worked tirelessly to save her. She did not get better and was humanely euthanized a few days later. What does this say about our society?
This story is horrific, but it is one of many seen by the veterinarians, the Humane Society and the Department of Agriculture on an almost daily basis. Every day, the staff and volunteers involved with these organizations put their hearts and souls into their work, often with little or no recognition from the public. I read an article recently and one phrase has stuck in my mind, "No one would ever think to blame the Cancer Society for cancer, yet some members of the public and the media continue to blame animal homelessness and euthanasia on animal shelters and animal control"
It is time to shift that blame to where
it belongs. All pet owners need to be responsible, well informed
citizens. I hear comments made every day by the public condemning
the Government for passing laws that restrict what type of dogs
they import, buy and breed and for telling them what constitutes
neglect and for implementing leash laws and demanding spaying
and neutering. These people have never had to accept litter after
litter of puppies from the same dogs and cats several times a
year, and then try to find good homes for them, while the owners
who drop them off refuse to spay and neuter their dogs. These
people have never been called away from a family dinner to carry
a dog off the road that has been hit by a car, only to have that
dog die in their arms. These people have never had to look at
a dog lying dead beside a full bowl of food and water, only to
discover the dog died because of blood loss from a flea infestation.
These people have never had to know how it feels to watch friendly,
loving animals live in cages for weeks, months and even years,
and then when the cages become too full, as they always do, choose
15 of these animals and euthanize them because there is just not
enough room.
As long as the Department of Agriculture and the Humane Society have to accept animals that are incurably ill, horribly injured, vicious or simply "too old" to re-home, until all pet owners take responsibility for their animals, until there are homes for them all, euthanasia will always exist.
Hopefully, the animal amendment law will be enforced in full so that one day, those who are responsible will be able to choose what dogs they want to own and import and there will not have to be a law dictating what constitutes neglect and cruelty. Until then, it is up to the members of the public to empower themselves to care for their animals and to take a stand against those who willfully neglect, fight and abuse their animals.
When you see someone mistreating their animal, do not simply turn your head and walk away. Think about that animal and how it must be suffering. Think about how you would feel if someone was treating your pet that way and do something about it. That would say something about our society.
Michelle Reddy & John Borgwardt