MP Kula To Visit Spunk's Owner This Morning

MP Kula: Shocked by what happened

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UPDATE 1600hrs: MP Kula visited our member this morning and agreed totally that what the MBI did was very wrong.

He told PET+BLOGSPOT that he would do everything he can to get MBI to stop its dog-shooting activities at once. 

He promised to meet up MDI's Datuk Bandar immediately after the Deepavali weekend over the matter.

PET+BLOGSPOT hopes to have an update on this early next week. Stay tuned! 


DATELINE TAMAN MERDEKA, IPOH, PERAK:

The 75-year-old senior citizen whose therapy dog and best friend Spunk that was hunted and gunned down by the Ipoh City Council last Saturday is expected to receive a special visitor this morning.

He is Member of Parliament M Kulasegaran for her constituency under Ipoh Barat. 

The MP was first alerted about the shocking incident by PETPOSITIVE two days after the shooting. That was the same time when we got to know about it as well.

We hope that YB Kula's visit will help to bring comfort and healing for the elderly woman who is a member of our non profit Society.

Spunk had been the senior citizen's faithful companion and watchdog ever since she started to live alone after her husband passed away more than ten years ago.

Spunk's owner was a perfect example of a responsible pet owner. She made it a point to renew the pooch's license ever since she first got him.

Spunk was wearing his collar and a valid license when the dogcatchers shot and killed him.

Click HERE for the full background story of what transpired.

Meanwhile, here is an account of what happened from the senior citizen's son Rohan Marshall who writes from Bangkok in Thailand. 

This letter was printed in The Sun yesterday:

Council staff who killed a senior citizen’s Spunk

"MY mother is a joyful woman. She taught me to be optimistic and cheerful. 

Not an easy thing to do, I’ve discovered over the years, but she lived the lesson with incredible consistency. 

Part of her joy was derived from, and given back to, animals. She loves animals with a fierce passion and has done so throughout her life. 

She grew up on a plantation, herding goats and cattle. In adulthood, she always surrounded herself with animals. 

And so I grew up in a family that usually contained more animals than humans – although my parents would sometimes find it difficult to distinguish their children from the rest.  
We even had a gibbon for company for a brief period.  
My mother’s latest companion was a lovely dog named Spunk. He had given her company, fun, friendship and unwavering loyalty for the last 10 years.  
He never bothered passers-by because he was brought up to be loving.  
Last Saturday, my mother rang me up, completely distraught. 

Apparently, she had just started out that morning to take Spunk for his daily walk and stopped outside her gate because she had forgotten to bring paper along. 

The paper was to pick up waste deposited by the dog so as to maintain cleanliness in the neighbourhood.  
She went back into her house leaving Spunk outside, which has never ever been a problem. He just waited obediently.  
She returned within seconds to find Spunk running hysterically away pursued by a Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh vehicle. 

Moments later she heard a gunshot. She ran towards the sound. Both dog and dog-shooters had disappeared. All she found was a pool of blood.  
Why such cruelty? Why bother buying a dog licence if it holds no meaning and offers no protection?  
My mother’s joyful spirit had finally been broken at the age of 75 years old by a bunch of mindless, unfeeling, trigger-happy killers.  
She will recover. The question is how much longer the rest of us can allow such callousness to be part of our society."

Finally, here is a letter by Sahabat Alam Malaysia on the incident. 

It was printed on Malaysiakini yesterday. The writer is S.M Mohd Idris.

Councils Trigger Happy Against Dogs


Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) strongly condemns the Municipal Council of Ipoh for their viciousness and aimless killing of an innocent licenced dog that was brutally shot by trigger happy dog shooters.

SAM was informed that the dog was a loyal companion to an elderly lady for years. 

It was left standing outside her gate for a few minutes while she went inside her home to take some plastic bags for dog poo, before her walking exercise with her dog. 

That is responsible ownership. 

When she came out of her home her dog was nowhere to be seen and what shocked and traumatized her was the sight of the carcass of her dead dog.

The Municipal Council's view on dogs is appalling, often putting the blame from pets to their owners and then on to the hapless victims that unfortunately have no voice.

The shoot to kill mentality of the Council dog shooters should be addressed immediately and immediate measures must be taken to stop this killing frenzy of the Municipal Council of Ipoh.

For years animal groups have expressed outrage over dog shooting, whether on licenced animals or strays, but the Municipal Councils are insensitive to the numerous calls against this act.

SAM does not see why shooting should be carried out when it is so cruel and dangerous as a stray bullet may hit a member of the public. There are also cases where a bullet grazed an animal causing a huge open wound that became infested with maggots.

The bloody and unacceptable practice of shooting dogs openly on the streets must be stopped by all Municipal Councils. 

It is not strays that are at risk from dog shooting teams but peoples' pets who are also at risk of being killed.

These methods are inhumane, causing the animals great pain and suffering. They are also ineffective in the long term as they do not address the cause of the problem.

SAM is firmly against the uncivilised methods of eliminating strays through shooting.

SAM proposes that councils work together with NGOs in coming up with guidelines for the sound management of dog populations. 

It is the responsibility of the Councils to embark on educating the public about responsible dog ownership, so that owners know about sterilising and caring for their animals to prevent abandonment of pets.

The enforcement of an animal welfare legislation is also important to ensure that people will treat pets humanely."


PET+BLOGSPOT is the ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive). Our reports and stories are CURRENT, ACCURATE and RELIABLE. We offer both local and foreign news on animals, disability and the elderly. PET+BLOGSPOT was first established in October 2007. Our hits since then is now 70,000 and going strong! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Sometimes even twice or three times a day. Kindly take note that views expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of PETPOSITIVE. You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.com.my You can also find us in Facebook as PETPOSITIVE EMPOWERMENT. Please sign up as a FOLLOWER of this Blog if you haven't done so already in order to show us your kind support. Thank you!