You’re suspended – off to the pound…

After hearing some really heartwarming stories about people who take care of animals, I got to thinking about the flip side – people who mistreat animals. I like the idea of an SPCA for people – Society for the Punishment of Cruel Attitudes.
Imagine… One could have an inspector who picks up offenders, such as those who lock their pets up in cages without food or water, and put them in kennels. If their family wants them back, then they would have to pay a fine and have their ‘loved one’ sterilised before they can go home. If they don’t want them back, they would be re-homed or put down.
One could make use of the Municipal Pound as well, particularly for municipal employees. This could be a great incentive for work performance – all suspended municipal employees could get chucked into kennels, and if Cogta (the local government crowd who sometimes come to Dundee to have insults hurled at them or their tyres slashed) decides to bail them out then they can have their jobs back. (In the interim, the municipality can pay boarding rates at twice the normal rates…) So imagine contacting an inspector to collect ‘strays’: “Good day, I would like to report some strays that need to be picked up.”
“Yes, please give me the details and description.”
“They’re in Coronation Park, scruffy-looking and being aggressive, perhaps rabid. They’re making a big mess of the rubbish too. I’m worried about children playing close-by.”
“I’ll go collect them and take them to the pound.”
“Thanks very much!”
Or: “I would like to report my neighbour, he has chained his dog up without food or water.”
“Very well, we’ll release the animal and impound the other one.”
There are many stray animals whose owners never bother to come looking for them, so I wonder how many people would go unclaimed?
I wonder how many would get ‘surrendered’ by their families? The excuses that people use when abandoning their pets may well apply, such as “She keeps having babies, so many that she can’t look after them properly, so please can I leave her here!” Or “He’s aggressive and keeps fighting with his brothers and sisters, so we can’t have him anymore.”
I have a feeling that if the ‘SPCA for people’ did exist, the system would probably be so effective that the streets would soon be clear of ‘undesirables’, and the prison system would be forgone in favour of the pound system.
The SAPS may appreciate the help as well, as there must be more satisfaction to be gained from seeing offenders behind bars, being fed dry pellets and drinking from a bowl on the ground, than working on an investigation only to have criminals walk free on some technicality or because of incompetence.
I am of the opinion that animals are in many cases more virtuous than people, and to call violent people ‘animals’ is actually insulting to the fauna. I have known more loyalty and affection from a dog than what I’ve witnessed some people give their spouses.
So let’s put the pound system into operation – the party that supports this initiative can have my vote this coming May, and I’ll see the rest of them in the kennels…