I get several calls every week informing me of animals in distress. On Sunday, November 15, the call came from an animal lover in D’Urban Backlands. He said, “No one is answering the phone at GSPCA and a dog needs help now.”
* He said they would catch the dog and tie it up; I reminded him to be gentle with the animal.
I drove to D’Urban Backlands and found the dog tied to a horse cart; as I approached I had to cover my nose because of the terrible odour and then I saw what some monster had done. This male dog had a 4-inch chop across its back which seemed to be boiling; when I looked closer I could see what looked like hundreds of worms had eaten their way to his bone. I called a vet and wanted to take the dog to his clinic but changed plans when the owner said he didn’t want to cause his dog any further suffering and thought it best he be put down on the spot. I agreed. The vet could not make it to the location so I contacted another person in the veterinary field to euthanize the dog. I told the owner he would have to cover the $1500 cost and he reluctantly agreed.
The owner and some neighbours were talking about how many dogs in their area get chopped like this and are left lying on the side of the street to die. There was nothing else I could do so I made sure the dog was comfortable in a shaded area of the cart with water and food before I left, returned home and then called an hour later to find out if the vet-tech had arrived. When the owner told me not to bother, that they had decided to “stray the dog” and had taken him to the “Blackka” and tied him to a tree, I hit the roof. I asked him why he would allow for his diseased, very sick and dying dog in his final moments to be treated that way. He said he could not afford to pay for the animal to be euthanized and thought the best thing was to take him away from people where he could die alone.
I then gave him an ultimatum: “Find the dog and take him back to the horse cart or I make a report to the police.” He called back a while later saying the dog was tied back to the cart. I then drove to find the vet-tech and took him to euthanize the dog. The poor animal was very weak and did not resist. I paid the vet-tech, and the owner and his friends buried the body.
Many other dogs like this one, without responsible owners, are likely to suffer similar fates. Animals that run loose in neighbourhoods not only have to hunt for their meals but they have to survive those out-of-control people so ready to poison, burn or chop them.
A responsible owner is one who keeps his/her animals behind a fence, where they can get out of the rain and heat and where they have access to clean water and at least one meal a day. Georgetown needs more responsible animal owners.
*While the GSPCA has a live-in caretaker, she cannot be near the phone at all times, hence important calls about animal cruelty can be missed. The society may wish to consider getting an answering machine to keep a record of urgent calls for help. Persons calling in reports could then leave name, contact number, time, date, location and a description of the problem. Such information would allow the caretaker to determine the urgency of the situation and take the necessary action.
Yours faithfully,
Syeada Manbodh
