My Bit(e) - Against Cruelty to Animals

I want to help my furry pet friends out as much as i can. And as the saying goes - you can only save (help) so many. But i dun plan to save the world of furry pet friends- i believe that each and everyone plays a part.

About a week ago - my parents came to visit me for a couple of days. At the end of their trip I was supposed to send them to the bus stop to catch their bus home. Just leaving my house - I spotted a shihtzu sat quietly by the roadside. I stopped the car and went to take a look. He had a hole in its head, and his right eye was sealed shut with infection and for a while i thought that he had been involved in an accident and was waiting to die. I had to decide what to do as i was cutting it waaayyyy too close for my parents to catch their bus. So i found a towel in the boot, caught the little fellow and put him in the back seat of the car. I thought if he was going to die - i would like him to have a shorter and painless death where i could being him to a vet and have him put to sleep.

I managed to make it to the bus stop with minutes to spare and said my goodbyes in the car. The little pooch was quiet all this time just licking his paws. I moved off and due to traffic was off to a slow start. Eventually i got to the vets - carried the little pooch in and informed the front desk that the doggy was involved in some kind of accident. Mr Vet took a look and told me something that shook me to my roots with anger, indignation and fear. It was a MAGGOT wound - apparrently the dog had an ulcer in his right eye and it started tearing terribly and his then owner obviously did not take care of him. With so much tearing - the flies were attracted to lay their eggs which hatched into maggots that eventually ate the doggy's face away (big hole in the head).

How can anyone treat their pet this way? What was going through the imbecile's mind? this was a shihtzu - you would have to buy this dog at more than RM$1,000.00. It makes me mad to think that people can be so careless with life and money. If one dog died we would just have to go get another from the shop. Not that this lack of attention to a dog's need would have been justified if it was a local pariah dog. My GOSH!! when i heard what the vet had to tell me - i was literally shaking mostly with anger.

the vet gave me a choice - put him to sleep or help him heal? Will i be able to afford his medical costs? I said yes...heal the little bugger up and i will find him a home. I will bear the cost of this journey of healing. So i left the doggy in their capable hands.

Over the next week and a half i would go visit the doggy to see how he was doing. I was asked to name him and chose the name Mags (short for Maggots - i know...GROSS). I'm glad to report that Mags is doing well. The hole in his head is healing well. his right eye is still in the process of healing but no one can be sure if he will ever be able to see through it. At least he has got one good eye. He is barking and although shaven (they had to shave him coz he had matted hair which would have caused more skin problems later - it'll grow back - in about 2 months) is eating well and putting back on the weight he has lost since being abandoned.

In the interim i have been searching for a new home for Mags. And i'm appalled by some of the questions that i have been asked - is he cute? Does he have any scars? Will he look normal?
Does it matter? I mean really - does it matter? By adopting Mags - you would have gained a friend for life. Always there for you. And all it asks is for that bit of TLC, food and attention.

And i had one case of this girlie feeling really sad that she had lost her dog to the ultimate end. She said - i would never take another dog again. It hurts too much. I feel sad for her for the loss of her best friend. I feel even more sad for her as i know she is missing out on something (big in her life enough to cause her so much grief) in life that would make her happy. We all know we lose big time at the end when we have lived big time when we are alive. And what matters most - the end or the journey? Our greatest memories are sometimes also our saddest. I digress.

Your pet is not your accessory. He/She is your friend, family, confidante, cheerleader, causer of muntah darah scenarios (i.e. peeing in the house). Please treat all animals with the care and respect you would give to a fellow human being. You should NOT get a pet for fun, for the kids, for whatever insane reason society has deemed as normal for a person to walk into a pet shop, flash the plastic and bring a pet home.

Your PET is LIKE your CHILD (for people with children), your BMW/MERC (for yuppies without children), your aging parents (for people who do not have a BMW or children). No one would like to have a festering wound in the eye that cost you your sight when it could all have been avoided. Dumping the pet indicates the owners are complete and utter morons than probably will not have any respect for any living thing even though related i.e. family

whilst i cannot do anything against the consumerism of today's sociey i can help by lobbying against the government appointed animal catchers that do not treat the strays they catch with any humanity. I am involved in getting signatures to lobby for a ban on the shooting of dogs and the implementation of other humane practices. I can only hope that the individuals that read this do their bit against the cruelty to animals