Recently a man in the community approached a friend of mine on the road and asked him if he knows “the lady who loves animals.”
He attempted to describe me and my vehicle, and my friend, who eventually figured out that he was referring to me, called to say that the man’s dog had been poisoned and had died, leaving behind seven suckling pups. The man wanted to know if I would take the pups and care for them.
When I went to collect the orphaned pups, they were lying in dirt under the man’s house, covered in fleas.
While helping me to put them into the large dog crate I had brought, the man mentioned that 40 of his dogs had been poisoned over the years.
In Tobago, where the poisoning of animals is so common that it could be considered a national hobby, one eventually ceases to feel shocked upon hearing of these casualties – no matter the number quoted.
I must admit, however, I screamed out in horror and disbelief when, a few months ago, a woman informed me that in about two decades, over 70 of her pet dogs and cats had been poisoned by someone known to her. The family had made numerous reports, some with evidence, but nothing was ever done by the police.
Anyway, back to the orphaned pups. Within two days of being rescued, five of them had passed away – three in the arms of one set of people who had fostered them, and one in the arms of another. Apparently the pups had sucked from the mother’s nipples after she had been poisoned.
Two male survivors are doing well at their foster home – and, in about two weeks, will need a loving, safe, responsible home or homes. I say "loving, safe and responsible" because this, at the very least, is what "owners" of animals need to be.
Too many people in TT acquire puppies and kittens because “it cute.” Especially in the case of dogs, once they grow beyond the cute, fun puppy phase and become dogs that require proper nutrition, vet care, attention (walks, baths, quality time, etc) and financial investment, they tend to be neglected or gotrid of.
A few days ago I intervened in the case of a young dog which, on the day in question, was about to be dumped in a remote area of Tobago by an owner who no longer wanted him. Acting quickly to save him from that undesirable destiny, I arranged for the dog to be boarded until (hopefully) a loving, safe, responsible home is found for him.
If, by June 15 (when the Tobago branch of the TTSPCA reopens) he has not been adopted, he will be relinquished to the shelter and, hopefully, eventually adopted from there.
The dumping of an animal, an unfortunately common occurrence in TT, is never a valid "solution." As I mentioned to the owner, it is a form of animal cruelty. Unwanted Tobago dogs are frequently dumped in remote areas or on beaches. Animal-loving friends and I often encounter these canine "ghosts" – wandering, glassy-eyed, sometimes injured, covered in mange, skeletal.
What manner of human finds it normal or justifiable to abandon a vulnerable living
