posted by Michel on Mar 30

Recently, I joined a group on Facebook entitled “Save Brindi From the City of Halifax” which is about a dog that was seized by the Halifax authorities over a year ago. He’s been on death row ever since, not even being allowed visits from his owner. What’s worse, from what I can tell he’s not even been properly evaluated by knowledgeable dog trainers to establish whether or not he is indeed as dangerous as some are making him out to be. As a result, Halifax is forking out lots of taxpayers’ money on legal proceedings and forcing the owner to do the same. The only ones that benefit from this are the lawyers, nobody else. Not the community, certainly not the dog, not the city, nobody! IMHO there were ample opportunies for more efficient and friendly ways of handling the situation, where the dog involved could have been fully rehabilitated and be returned to the care of its owner.

At the request of Maureen Hurly, one of the group’s active members, I emailed the authorities and, very nice I must add, got a reply. If you want to read the discussion. Here it is. Read the rest of this entry »

posted by Michel on Mar 24

If there is one thing I truly hate about the Philippines, it surely must be cockfighting. Why do I hate it so much? Read on!

A recent article in the Examiner tells us of a representative who wants a cruel and heartless pastime to be registered as “cultural heritage”.

That representative, and indeed the government, fails to recognise cockfighting for what it really is: a national addiction to gambling. Nothing more, nothing less. It has no more to do with Philippine culture than, say, having to go to the loo everyday.

I realise that in our own country, much to my resentment, use of soft drugs is legalised under certain circumstances and that many individuals engage in the drug scene in one way or another. Some make a good living from it. Others, the addicts, are forced to steal to get their daily fix. There are those that use (soft) drugs and carry on living, if only a little shorter. So intertwined with life over here it most certainly is, but calling drugs part of our cultural heritage? NO WAY!!!

Gambling, of course, makes the poor even poorer and the rich even richer. It induces crime and spreads poverty. Additionally, it is simply torture of living creatures that suffer badly and unnecessarily, all in the name of, wait for it, “entertainment” … In short this is definitely NOT what I would want my national cultural heritage to associate with. Should’t cultural heritage be about things that you are really proud of? So what pride can one possibly have over a pair of innocent birds that are forced to kill each other (which they would never do in nature)?

Furthermore, the people that frequent these gruelling and bloody events only teach their offspring that (animal) suffering and drawing blood is “fun” and that gambling is an acceptable pastime. So will these youngsters be guaranteed a peaceful and crimefree society when they grow up? I think not!

Cockfighting must be banned, it’s bad, bad news for filippinos!

Innocent victim of gambling addiction

posted by Michel on Mar 9

Recovering after sterilisation in our garden

Nabas enjoying a decent meal

Sadly enough, not all the animals that we try to save make it. Another one of our beloved guests has slipped through our fingers and died last night. Ginny. Poor little Ginny.

She had a tough life by the looks of it, of only around 2 years. Completely emaciatiated and her little body covered in mange. She had probably been hit by a car judging by her rear hind leg’s limp and the fact that she lived near a very busy road where drivers are not known for their compassion towards other living creatures, human or animal. We tried to give her the best possible treatment. Tried to feed her so she would regain her strength. But all to no avail.  Perhaps the (heart)worms got to her, or some horrible virus, we really don’t know at this point. We’d like to think that we gave her a happier life than the one she had known before: we took her to the beach on many occasions and allowed her to make new friends. She had some good and tasty meals too at first. Alas, her appetite dwindled a few days ago and she died on the morning she would have been taken to the clinic.

Farewell my dear, dear Ginny. At least you knew some love and proper care before you died. We won’t forget you, ever!

An equally sad story is that of our sweet old timer Nabas. In fact, it was Nabas who alerted me to the deplorable state that some local dogs were in as I was driving through her town. So eventually we managed to take Ginny and Jackson as well. Nabas was neglected and left to fend for herself by her owner. When she arrived at our kennel, she really enjoyed the dog food that we gave her. We cleaned her up and although she was clearly not used to being handled, she was a friendly soul. It turned out she was almost completely blind, had numerous smaller tumors as well as arthritis. Still, she enjoyed the regular meals, more comfortable housing and attention she was getting.

So all in all, it didn’t come as a surprise when we heard that poor old Nabas had died. I felt sad, very sad, that we didn’t get to her a few years ago so that we might have given her a better life. In the end, she was only with us for a month and we can only hope that during that time, she felt much better.

Rest in peace dear Nabas!

Ginny shortly after she arrived in our kennel

Nabas having a well deserved rest in her kennel