Just take care of your pets

I cannot for the life of me understand why people do not take care of their pets.

It makes me incredibly angry when I see a dog roaming about in the street, sniffing through trash looking for something to eat.

Where did this dog come from? Surely someone must have taken it in at some point and kept it as a pet?

A few weeks ago we had an situation here at our office. The day was quite cold and it was also drizzling. Three dogs were spotted in our parking area. They were hungry, cold and frightened. One had an injured paw too.

Worst of all, these dogs did belong to someone because we have all seen them before. After they scavenge the area for food, they return to their home.

But then we decided enough was enough. A few of us tried to catch these dogs in order for them to be taken off the streets – we were in fear of them meeting a sudden death by being knocked over by a car or truck. But our efforts were all in vain. One of our helpers even got bitten, quite badly.

The last resort was to watch these dogs and follow them back home in order to confront their owner. But that too proved to be difficult because the person who tried to follow them, lost them down the street.

We phoned the various shelters and organisations for help, and it became clear that these dogs would have to fend for themselves, because there are just not enough resources to cater for situations like these.

The realisation was rather shocking, but still – the first and foremost responsibility lies with the owners of these dogs.

I find it completely impossible to grasp that some people just do not care for their pets at all. Why is that? Can someone please explain it to me?

I have pets and I consider them to be my children and take full responsibility for their actions. Full stop.

Please feel free to continue this discussion with me by either leaving your comment below or by emailing it to me at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za. I would love to know your thoughts on this matter.

Take care of yourselves, and your pets, Krugersdorp. It’s as simple as that.

Until next week.