Putting An End To Dog Abuse

Lifestyle

Published: Saturday July 20, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Saturday July 20, 2013 MYT 6:38:49 AM

Let's put an end to dog abuse

Stories by TEE LIN DEE

Help ’em canines: This poor dog is kept in a small cage and left exposed to sunshine and rain. If you see a dog in your neighbourhood caged up like this, or mistreated, report it immediately to SPCA or MIAR.

DOGS are wonderful creatures and make loyal companions. Their loving and forgiving nature makes them appealing as pets. It doesn’t matter how you look or how little you earn; in your dog’s eyes, you are the master. Your pooch is always excited to see you when you return home after a long day’s work.

It is therefore most disheartening to know that many homeowners mistreat their dogs. Many people buy a dog on a whim because they find it cute or are looking for a companion. When the novelty of having the dog wears off, the poor creature is left unattended, caged or chained up for the owner’s convenience, and never taken for walks. The owner leads a full life working and socialising while the dog sits at home, bored and hoping for playtime that never comes.

It is time that dog owners learn to be responsible. As harsh as this may sound, it is best not to get a dog if you cannot spend time with your dog or take it for walks every day. It is not fair to the dog if you intend to cage or chain it, or confine it to one area of your house.

This dog in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, is chained 24/7 and its owner forgets to feed it sometimes.

Dog who are not fairly treated may in turn disturb the neighbourhood and lead to more “dog hate”.

Sadly, there are people in this country who cannot tolerate dogs and their actions. Many people complain to their local council about dogs’ barking; what about when a baby cries incessantly?

Unfortunately, many dog-catchers have no compassion for dogs. Many of them mistreat the animals and speak arrogantly to homeowners. Killings are often done in inhumane ways. A YouTube video that went viral and sparked outrage last year, showed the gross mistreatment of dog-catchers nabbing strays in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. The council workers brazenly flouted the law by trespassing private property and kidnapping a dog in the home-owner’s absence. The animal was traumatised by the dog-catchers’ rough handling. The men laughed as the dog struggled and cried pitifully.

According to the Veterinary Services Department’s guidelines on catching strays, there must be minimal pain and torture when catching dogs. The van used to ferry the dogs must be properly ventilated and the dogs must be protected from extreme cold or heat. There must also be adequate drinking water for the dogs. These guidelines have not always been followed.

For the folks at Malaysian Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR), the biggest issue with the local council is how they kill strays. “They claim that they are doing it humanely but I find nothing humane about it,” says MIAR president T. Pushpa Rani. “Strays are dragged with ropes before being put down and they struggle until their death. Some are only half-dead when chucked into the grave.

“Irresponsible owners are the main reason many dogs are abandoned. Most owners do not have their pets neutered; this is why the population keeps growing.”

MIAR president T. Pushpa Rani with Princess, the dog she rescued. She has bravely stood up for many helpless dogs when everyone else turned a blind eye. – Photo from Malaysia Independent Animal Rescue

In another common scenario, a house-owner buys a dog just to guard the home. The dog stays in the house compound 24/7, sometimes tethered to a short chain or imprisoned in a cage – a cheap “alarm system”, if you will.

If the dog is lucky, the house has a sizeable compound and it is allowed to run about. However, many dogs stay in cramped compounds and are hardly taken for walks. Some are chained or caged, with no chance of wandering about in the garden. Others are confined to the backyard with no view, just walls. What a pathetic life!

The dog provides security and protection but, in return, the owner neglects it.

Can you believe that this sick-looking dog is a Siberian Husky? She comes from an illegal puppy mill where she was made to breed non-stop and lived in terrible conditions. MIAR rescued her and she is a happy and different dog today.

According to dog expert Cesar Millan from Nat Geo Wild’s Dog Whisperer TV series, the basic provisions for any dog are exercise, discipline and affection.

Many self-righteous dog owners claim to provide shelter, feed their dog and take it to the vet. But dog owners who chain their dogs 24/7 can easily claim all these as well. Chaining and caging your dogs for long hours is abuse. Not only are you causing much sadness to another living creature, you are also setting a terrible example to your children (if you are a parent). Without realising, you are teaching your child a lack of compassion and training them to turn a blind eye to cruelty. This goes back to society in many ways.

The dog’s welfare is truly in the hands of his owner – and hopefully a concerned neighbour.

Even the so-called better neighbourhoods are guilty of mistreating dogs. Dogs peer miserably from behind the iron bars of gates; bark in frustration from their short chains; or run around in circles within their enclosures due to intense boredom. Bandar Utama and SS2 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, are examples of neighbourhoods that have owners who cage or chain their pets for long periods of time.

Abusive pet owners

SPCA Inspector Cunera Kimlon is experienced in speaking to tardy dog owners. “It is not an easy job as some dog owners become very defensive. To change their mindset is a very difficult thing to do as some people see chaining and caging a dog as perfectly fine.”

If you see a dog being mistreated in any way, start by speaking to the pet owner’s neighbours. Find out about the dog’s activities throughout the day – whether it cries or is chained or caged all day. Ask the neighbours about the dog owner’s character. If you feel comfortable, approach the dog owner.

Before speaking to him/her, do your homework (e.g. read up on the subject) so that you can answer any questions the person may have. If you are going to tell the person not to cage up his pet, bring along material and brochures that support your point.

Speak politely. Do not speak to the owner in a condescending manner; that will get you nowhere.

Express your concern and desire to help.
Offer a solution to the problem: perhaps for the time being, the pet owner should use a bigger cage or let the dog loose in the daytime.

Be prepared for their answers so you can reason better with them. Owners may say they cage their dog as they do not want their dog to defecate or urinate everywhere; this is purely for the owner’s convenience. The dog suffers because the owner was not willing to train the dog from the start.
Find points to connect emotionally with the dog owner. You can bring up examples of dog loyalty or whatever you feel will get through to the dog owner.

On a more ambitious scale, if you are determined to cart the abused dog away, make sure you bring a cage with you. It would be helpful to have other fellow rescuers with you, too.

“I tell dog owners that the dog’s behaviour is a result of the dog owner not taking care of their dog. If they want the dog’s behaviour to change, they have to change their ways. It is not fair for dog owners to expect their dog to take care of their homes, if they do not take care of their dogs in return,” says Kimlon.

MIAR’s Pushpa Rani says: “Some people are not aware that dogs have feelings, just like us. Talk to the owners to educate them and try to make them understand how dogs should be treated. If the owner chooses to continue mistreating the dog, you can lodge a report with MIAR and we will do what’s best for the dog. If we find the owner lawfully wrong under the Animal Act, we will lodge a report with the police and the Veterinary Services Department.”

If you are not confident about speaking to the owner, approach SPCA and MIAR to help with the intervention.

Passive and active cruelty
Passive cruelty might seem less serious, but still, cruelty is cruelty. Examples include starvation, dehydration, untreated parasite infestations, inadequate shelter from inclement weather, and failure to get medical care. Passive cruelty is sometimes due to the owner’s ignorance.

Active cruelty involves purposely inflicting harm on the animal. The pet may suffer unexplained injuries, health problems and permanent disability at the hand of the abuser; or it may disappear from home.

It is vital to report people who hurt animals. Most animal abusers find some sort of pleasure in torturing a victim they know can’t fight back (this also applies to cases of rape and child molestation).
When Siva Machoppu moved to his new home in Cheras, his neighbourhood was home to a pack of homeless dogs. As Siva and other neighbours provided food to the dogs, these dogs became very friendly. “My street became very safe because the homeless dogs were excellent guard dogs. When I came back from work, all of them would follow my car, so excited to see me.”

Life was tranquil until a private dog-catching company engaged by the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council stormed the neighbourhood in July last year. The dog-catchers nabbed about 10 dogs, including a bitch and her puppies. (Each dog caught nets a profit of RM40 to RM60.)

As he had grown attached to the dogs, Siva was deeply saddened and went over to the municipal council, asking to adopt the 10 dogs. He was horrified when the officer informed him that all the dogs, including the puppies, had been killed – clearly a breach of the law. Dogs caught have to be kept for seven days – and given proper food and water – to allow the dog owners to reclaim their dogs.
No one was able to give Siva satisfactory answers, and the answers given by the officers were inconsistent. Furthermore, no one knew how the dogs had been put down.

Then, in March this year, that same dog-catching company came again to Siva’s neighbourhood.
Animal instincts are amazing, for the dogs sensed danger and ran into hiding. “But one dog was unlucky,” says Siva. “It was a five-year-old dog. He saw a dog-catcher coming towards my wife. Thinking she was in trouble, he ran over and stood next to my wife. The dog-catcher hooked him immediately and threw him into their van.”

The neighbours witnessed the horrific method employed by that company. “Those people used an unventilated and dirty van with a cage inside. Five dogs were stuffed into the cage and they fought among themselves, some to death,” recounts Siva. The cruelty was unbelievable. There are stories of how dogs are sometimes left in the van for days. The common excuse used by the municipal council is that they have no land to place the animals.

When a distraught Siva went and asked for the dog, the council demanded that he pay RM2,000. “That was ridiculous. I was not the dog’s owner, how could I be fined?” Eventually, that demand was dropped; after much hemming and hawing, the council agreed to return the dog to Siva. Unfortunately, when Siva’s wife went to pick up the dog, a different dog was given to her. The officers then told her that the dog she had wanted had been killed. “In a way, that dog had sacrificed its life for my wife,” says Siva.

If you witness a dog-catcher entering a dog owner’s premises, catching a licensed dog or performing an act of cruelty, record it and send it to the Veterinary Services Department.

There is power in numbers, and if more people speak up, the councils will realise they cannot bend the law to their whim, especially at the expense of a dog’s welfare.

If you wish to make a donation to the SPCA or MIAR, log on to their Facebook fanpages for banking details.

Related stories:
The truth about puppy mills
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Tags / Keywords: Lifestyle, Lifestyle, dogs, animal welfare, puppy mills, abuse

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