Animals in neglect – be aware

Animal lover writes:
The South African government has one of the most incompetent justice systems worldwide whilst its lack of efficiency exacerbates the effects of animal abuse prevailing in our society.
Here animals have been killed as part of gang initiations including being boiled alive, having their feet cut off, being tied onto train tracks, and being burnt and buried alive, and up until a year ago while still involved in the local SPCA I have seen a dog whose face had been sliced in half with a panga because he was barking too much. Justice needs to be done and laws need to be established. My appreciation also go out to the Vets who have to perform some daring operations using their best skills to give an animal (in this case dogs) a second chance of life having gone through some of these dastardly deeds of cruelty. I applaud them and the people who work for the SPCA in Parys who have a love and dedication in rescuing these animals from mans’ inhumanity.
As this country grows into more unemployment, rising costs of food and impoverishment in family life with some families having only one bread winner, as an animal carer I am imploring every pet owner to go beyond the call of duty and to educate your staff members and children of the absolute pitfalls of owning a pet to being one of absolute responsibility. Your rewards will be better and more far reaching than your RA’S and unit trusts. The love and trust of a dog is never replaced with material possessions.
My story unfolds. My employee (let’s call him Frans) was given two Labrador dogs by his previous owner who was relocating to a different town in the Gauteng area and had “no further need for these animals”. The owner having dropped off Frans and the two dogs with only a large bag of dog food, with no structure in place of briefing and education to their needs and comforts, let alone the passing over of Certificates authenticating annual inoculations, etc ., Frans was expected to move on with his life under the guise that feeding and caring for two dogs would be a natural phenomenon.
Knowing Frans’ circumstances as I do, this was a highly irresponsible and grossly stupid act as Frans does not earn sufficient money each month to feed his own family of three let alone two dogs who have had the run of a larger property, and slightly better home comforts. Three months down the line the male has since died of poisoning, and the female who, was not sterilized and had had a litter previously, fell pregnant again.
All this while being fed on a diet of bones and mealie meal. This is just another obscene type of animal abuse which is very prevalent not only in Parys but countrywide.
To surrender two fully grown dogs to someone who is uneducated in animal welfare and financially retarded, is a slow form of death to any animal, especially as it is now subjected in their weakened situation of being affected by Canine Distemper which is very easily spread by mouth and nose as it is a highly contagious viral disease.
The virus is particularly tough because it is not killed by regular household disinfectants and can leave a property contaminated for several years. There is a gross lack of education and knowledge in this country with regard to responsible animal care. To add insult to injury, I am finding to my horror that literature to this effect is not available in any African language.
For those of you who are not aware, in Tumahole more than 100 dogs have been euthanised in the past 2 months. This is a travesty in such a small town and calls for immediate action in the form of education.
As an animal lover I am pleading with every person living in this town to be aware of the responsibility of owning a dog or cat before investing in one for your kid’s next birthday present. The lifetime of many dogs and cats can be 15 years which means, that as an owner you have a 15 year commitment to this animal that cannot speak for itself and depends on you for all its needs. Without neutering and safeguarding your animals you are exacerbating another form of cruelty by increasing illegal puppy farms, disease, and overloading the SPCA kennels. The cost to the vets along with the disposal of carcasses is not a pleasant situation. There is no crematorium in Parys for animals
A Labrador female can have as many as 15 puppies. Empower yourselves with knowledge and educate those around you, if you have any kind of heart or feeling of care for your faithful pet who will love you more than you probably deserve. A dog is not there for your cruel entertainment and to surrender to anyone who crosses your path, simply because you can’t be bothered any longer.
On a happier note our female Labrador in the story has been adopted by a family who will see to it that she has a quality of life, wholesome food, and medical care that could not be given to her under the two previous circumstances.