Recently a visitor to Tobago e-mailed me, expressing concern about a dog living across the road from her vacation abode. There had been a lot of rain daily and, whenever she looked through the window, she would see the dog – tied to a tree with nowhere dry to sleep (the yard was very muddy), in what she described as "deplorable conditions."
Now aware of the dog’s situation, a friend and I discussed getting a shelter built for him – with the help of donations (cash and/or materials) from loyal supporters of animal rescue/welfare efforts.
This case is but one example of the far-too-many unsheltered animals existing throughout TT. I say "existing" because their quality of life is sometimes too low to even be considered worthy of a living creature.
About four years ago I encountered two Tobago dogs who had never had shelter. One of them, a beautiful yet skeletal creature, was tied under a mango tree on a steeply sloping hill; so not only did she have no protection from rain, but she had no flat surface upon which to stand or lie – a tiring existence. The other dog, tied to a steel rod in the middle of the stony garden, had absolutely no shelter and was constantly exposed to the elements.
The man who had introduced me to these dogs lived nearby and fed them daily, since the owners merely tossed scraps and bones to them on the odd occasion. The fellow animal-lover told me that during nocturnal thunderstorms, he would hear those dogs barking and screaming incessantly. On one such night, too distressed by their sounds to be able to sleep, he went with pieces of galvanize and stood over the dogs in an attempt to shelter them from the torrential downpour.
Two friends and I subsequently built a spacious doghouse for those two unsheltered canines. We painted the word "Home" on it. I believe the house is still there – but the dogs are not. One eventually died and, after we removed the other to give her life-saving veterinary treatment, she was adopted to a loving home.
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A "house" (a physical shell containing tangible objects designed to facilitate day-to-day living) is not necessarily a "home" – a place where, traditionally speaking, elements are in place to nurture a sense of safety, belonging, nourishment and emotional connection for those dwelling within.
The Habitat for Humanity website (www.habitat.org) states: “Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organisation that helps families build and improve places to call home. We believe affordable housing plays a critical role in strong and stable communities.”
I believe that a strong and stable community is also one in which people have the compassion and consciousness to recognise the need for "even dogs" to have "affordable housing" (physical shelter) that can be considered "places to call home" (providing high standards of well-being – love, food, general care).
After all, what message is sent by someone who thinks it is permissible to have any living creature exposed 24/7 to everyt
