(Bihar Times)Everyday I get calls or emails from people who want to report their neighbours. People who keep their dogs in cages or tied in the sun to the gate, who leave their dogs locked up when they go on weekend holidays, who keep them tied on the staircases where they sit in their own feces , who starve them or throw them out when they get skin diseases, or when they get married , a relative falls ill or they have a baby. Last week I got a call from a woman who wanted to throw her 5 year old Alsatian out because he has started urinating frequently and was dirtying her marble floors. Last month a couple threw a six year old dachshund into my house at night because they were leaving town. They didn’t tell me his name or what he ate , simply left a cheque as if that would take care of it all. Yesterday I got a call from Meerut: a couple wanted for police questioning had skipped town but had locked up their dog who had not been fed for 4 days. With the help of the police, I got him out.
A Kolkota Golden retriever was chained in 1999 to a pillar on a narrow flight of stairs, so narrow that the dog had to lie across three steps. His legs were damaged, he had sores all over his body.. He did not respond to his name and never wagged his tail – which means he had minimal human contact. The owner refused to give him to a group of students who were appalled at the condition of the animal . He was spoken to by me last month in 2007 and, after a token resistance, he surrendered his dog
Another Kolkata dog ,a spitz, has still to be rescued. His neighbours have complained that he is malnourished ,underweight , with very soft bones. The owner justifies not giving much food because he then does not have to clean up a lot of feces. The family lives upstairs and the dog is tied up downstairs.
Long haired dogs are frequently not brushed and their hair becomes knotted and unkempt. One St Bernard, which is a mountain dog that cannot stand heat, was tied to a lamppost for weeks outside his owner’s house – because he had ticks. Lots of Lhasa apso owners think their dogs look cute if the hair is in front of their eyes so the dogs go blind fast and become very neurotic in the process because they cannot see.
People who have cats often lock them out of the house during the day or when they go on holiday , believing in the myth that cats can find food anywhere. They return to find a sick or dead cat and promptly get another one.
So many people are really bad owners. I have seen pets stuck in cramped cages the whole day, animals given sedatives to control their barking, banned to the yard or garage.
Simply feeding a dog or cat from time to time is not responsible ownership. An animal in your house is totally dependant on you and to mistreat him/her show you to be the most vicious person that the earth has produced , on par with being a child molester.
The needs of the animal in your house are the same as yours:exercise, food companionship. Animals feel very secure with routine. They want to know that they are going to be fed at the same time everyday and exercised at the same time. They need to know that they are loved – not just an occasional pat and an absent minded biscuit but a consideration of their needs – a proper clean bed for all seasons, a bath when they need it, a cuddle and a chat all the time, a recognition of the pain they are in and medicine for it, an opportunity to go to the bathroom when they need to, food that doesn’t smell or taste bad and a removal of ticks or fleas
A bad pet owner does not factor in the way his pet looks at the world. He puts in inconvenient furniture and timings and expects the animal to fit both. Then he screams at the animal for leaving hair around or urinating in the house – when he has not been taken outside the whole day. A bad pet owner makes his dog sleep out in the cold and in the heat of the sun in summer. A bad person ties his dog up when visitors some and then complains that his dog bites guests and uses this excuse to abandon him.A bad pet owner tries to avoid vet visits and goes when an illness reaches emergency proportions and the animal cannot be saved.
A bad pet owner feeds the dog what he wants and does not care whether the dog eats his food or not. Poor skin, hair coat, muscle tone and obesity problems are the result of a poor diet. Bad pet owners neglect bathing, clipping toe nail, brushing coat, parasite control. Bad owners keep the animal waiting even when he has made it clear it's time for a walk, Bad owners put out food at erratic times or have to be reminded by the animals to be fed. Bad owners think of chains as their first essential. When the animal bites , they never look at the reason. The first reaction is beating, then starving , then locking up and then abandonment.. Bad pet owners never treat pets as family members. They consider them guards or status enhancing showpieces .
For those that are bad, here is the law:
Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 makes it an offence to a.keep or confine any animal in a cage B. Keep for an unreasonable time any animal chained or tethered upon an unreasonably short or unreasonably heavy chain or cord c. neglect to exercise or cause to be exercised any dog habitually chained up or kept in close confinement d. fail to provide the animal with sufficient food, drink or shelter. e.administer any injurious drug or substance f.abandon an animal specially if it is old or unwell d.subject an animal to mutilation, starvation, thirst, overcrowding or any form of illtreatment. The punishment is fine, jail and the taking away of the animal
If you are a bad animal owner then you pay for it in many ways. One is legally which is becoming more and more as neighbours become vigilantes.Two, is the luck factor : all my life I have seen people this theory working: people who are good to animals get very lucky and the converse happens to people who are mean. More than these is the fact that you have lost an opportunity to enjoy the company of a creature that would have only added to your joy. A dog is a not an accoutrement. Get to know him and learn how to read his language as he does yours rather than slap a leash on him for ease of control . Enjoy his company , make sure he exercises the right amount, eats well, and is socialized with people.You will learn about unconditional love, patience, tolerance, compassion from this dog or cat.
To
join the animal welfare movement contact : gandhim@nic.in
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