(MY) mind the pet

[Guest guest]

Features - The Straits Times

 

COVER STORY: Mind the pet

ANITA ANANDARAJAH

 

NOV 12:

--

 

Owing a pet carries with it heavy responsibilities. ANITA ANANDARAJAH

writes about doing the right thing for your pet.

 

IF you have this hankering for a companion, wait. Is it the kind that

has four legs, a wet nose and a tail that wags incessantly? Please,

allow me to knock some sense into your head. If it's the two-legged

variety, go ahead and shoot for the stars.

 

The gist of this little ringside bout is: are you good enough to buy

that puppy in the window? Owning a pet is like raising a child. So if

you're likely to lock your two-year-old in a 1x1m cage all day, deny

her walks in the park and playtime, forget the dog.

 

You see, common sense — failing which, your veterinarian — dictates

that a puppy be fed regular meals three times a day. That a bowl (not

a rusting tin) of fresh water and a warm, dry place to sleep are basic

requirements. And, should you move to your swanky new loft, you would

take your pet with you too or find it a new home, one where you know

it will be loved. Try re-homing a child. Or abandoning it in your old

house. Same difference when it comes to your pet.

 

Family planning, folks. If you're planning to have children, you'd

probably forego the studio apartment in the city for a suburban house.

So if you're planning to have a dog, the same would apply but bear in

mind the use-by date is some 15 years down the line. And cats can live

as long as 25 years.

 

A parent of any teenager can tell you that this species is loud, sulky

and expensive to maintain. Well, so is a dog. It barks when strangers

walk past and it may howl when the suratkhabar lama van drives by. The

upside is the dog will protect you with its life and shower you with

kisses just for feeding it. A dog won't deliver sizzling one-liners in

response to your concern about their latest squeeze nor will it get a

piercing in places you'll never see.

 

It does, however, go through similar phases a human does. As a puppy,

it is natural for it to chew on slippers and to dig your plants up.

They are teething and their gums itch; they are curious so they dig

and uproot. The onus is on the owner to teach his pet to be obedient.

Bad pet equals bad owner.

 

You should, ideally, feed your dog with a balanced diet and this

doesn't come in the form of leftovers, even if your last five dogs

survived to a robust 18 years on chicken bones and rice.

Specially-formulated pet food is expensive but it keeps your pet

healthy which may translate to fewer visits to the vet's clinic. Dry

food actually helps maintain your pet's gums and teeth by preventing

tartar buildup and requires no preparation (just pour out the

recommended portion into a clean bowl). Best of all, if you had to

leave your pet in someone else's care, food would not be a problem. So

what's RM50 a month? It's a whole lot more expensive to feed an

18-year-old.

 

This is what the SPCA's Sabrina Yeap had to say about responsible pet

ownership: " You should try to care for it until its last day. Most

people who have surrendered animals to SPCA didn't know that animals

go through teenage years, old age and they get sick before dying. Some

people put their pet down because it is suffering from cataract, loss

of hearing and rheumatism. "

 

So you may think you deserve the gold star for doing all of the above.

Well, it's time for a lesson in civic-consciousness. Do you pick up

after your dog during walks? How would you like to step into a pile of

poo or have your child lift it to her mouth? There is nothing worse

than a pet owner pretending to be oblivious to the fact that his dog

is defecating in front of his neighbour's house. Use old newspapers or

a poop scoop (the latter resembles a plastic spade).

 

Here's another no-brainer. Animals mate. Neuter your pet especially if

it has a tendency to escape through the hole in the fence you were

supposed to fix. Cats are independent creatures; like a teenager, it

would be difficult to pinpoint their whereabouts. By neutering, you

remove the chance of your pet having kittens/puppies — which will

" mysteriously " get poisoned/run over/pregnant — and reduce the number

of strays in the street.

 

Oh, and don't think you're an angel for feeding the strays in the back

alley. Remember: eat, meet and mate. Diseases and pregnancies spread

like wildfire in such instances. So if you can't afford to have them

all neutered (the SPCA offers neutering services at RM70 for cats and

RM90 for dogs), don't feed the strays.

 

Then there are folks who don't believe in neutering. " They feed strays

out of the goodness of their hearts but we are experiencing an

explosion in the population of street cats because these 'owners'

headed back to their kampung for Hari Raya. They leave these cats at

the SPCA because there is no one to feed them, " said Yeap.

 

If you do have strays in your back alley, round them up, get them

neutered and release them in the same place. This way, they won't keep

breeding, and no new cats will move in as long as these defend their

territory.

 

The next part of the reality check involves the primary caregiver.

Your pet is walked, fed, bathed and cared for — by your maid. Now what

happens when her contract ends and she leaves? It may not respond to

you or the next maid who comes along simply because it was trained to

respond to the first maid. Then you get frustrated with it and hit it

and starve it which causes it to defend itself by growling and you

dump it because you think is a threat to your young children.

 

When a man spurns his best friend surely the world must come to an

end. It did for Sheena the German Shepherd. But not for the man who

abandoned her and left her to starve and become infested with ticks.

He got away with a mere RM100 fine, no thanks to archaic laws. Yet to

be charged is the cat breeder who is awaiting trial for the

unnecessary cruelty on four of his 30 Persian cats. So unless you are

prepared to treat a pet like a member of the family, don't bother

getting one.

 

Questions to consider

 

BEFORE you decide to buy a cutesy cat or dog for your child or friend,

consider the following:

 

1. What is the purpose of bringing this pet into your home? Is it for

companionship or for security reasons? A guard dog shouldn't be

chained to your gate come rain or shine.

 

2. Who will be the primary caregiver?

 

3. Will you be able to spend quality time with it?

 

4. The nature of the breed. Some may be too highly strung for the

elderly or young children, for instance. Others may have a possibility

of diseases that may not be extremely expensive to treat.

 

5. Does it fit into your lifestyle? If you work long and erratic hours

and travel frequently a pet may not be for you.

 

 

Inadequate and outdated penalties

 

SPCA has been fighting for the past 10 years to have the 1953 Animal

Ordinance Act amended. The most recent case to demonstrate the

irrelevance of the penalty today was the fine imposed on engineer Lien

Chong San for neglecting his seven-year-old German Shepherd. Back in

1953, RM200 was a big deal but today it is a pathetic price for the

loss of a life.

 

Section 44 of the Act states that any person who:

 

a) cruelly beats, kicks, ill-treats, over-rides, overloads, tortures,

infuriates or terrifies any animal; or

 

b) causes or procures or, being the owner, permits any animal to be so

used shall be guilty of an offence for cruelty and should be liable to

a fine of RM200 or to imprisonment for a term of six months or to

both.

 

On Oct 15, animal lovers in England celebrated the passing of the

Animal Welfare Bill, which imposes a duty of care on those looking

after domesticated or kept creatures. Children under 16 will still be

able to own a pet as long as their parents ensure it is properly

looked after.

 

The new regulations update the 1911 Protection of Animals Act,

designed to prevent only outright abuse. Those causing unnecessary

suffering will face up to 51 weeks in prison, a £20,000 (RM132,000)

fine, or both. When will Malaysia buck up?

 

To date, there haven't been enough cases of animal abuse brought to

court. Thanks to the recent media blitz the Veterinary Services

Department has received an average of two reports per day from the

Klang Valley.

 

" We are not looking only at physical abuse but emotional abuse as well

but because these animals cannot speak for themselves, we plan to make

video recordings documenting the suffering, " said the SPCA's Sabrina

Yeap.

 

How the public can help: record incidents of suspected abuse and send

footage to SPCA or the Veterinary Services Department. Alternatively,

contact the SPCA hotline at 03-4256-5312 or 03-4253-5179.