Abandoned / disabled animals
Many visitors come and send all sorts of abandoned animals that they find. There are those which fell from the nest, those with broken legs and wings, those that are ill and also those that wander into traps. But most distressing of all are the ones who send their pets over because they are moving and their new place doesn’t allow pets. They promise to visit but I haven’t seen them since. Would you be willing to do that?
There are also those who rear birds without knowing the proper methods of taking care of them to the extent that the birds end up with overgrown beaks, making them look really ugly. And when the birds are ugly and bald, they’d send the birds here too. They never bother to understand their pets, so why are feathers plucked? Why are animals stressed? Who are the victims? The people or their pets?
Not all places accept animals like that. When the animals are not pleasant to look at, they are kept in cages in separate rooms and only given food until they die. I have often wondered why these animals aren’t kept out front. They can list down the animals’ illnesses or disabilities and the cause of these can be used to educate the public. When I did ask, the person in charge simply said, “No one wants to look at a sick animal”. My, that is sad. But what can I do? I’m in a different department altogether and have no right to voice out my opinions.
Cases of abandoned cats, or dogs beaten to death without reason. Because a favourite shoe was chewed, dogs are sent to animal centres like the SPCA. But when nobody is willing to take these dogs as foster pets, the SPCA has to put them to sleep. There was a time when I saw a kitten at the market, sitting all alone at the side of a drain. It only had one eye. I asked the traders there, and they told me someone had kicked the kitten for trying to steal a fish. Kicked a kitten until it lost an eye? Oh God, why are they so cruel? I was so sad to see the state that kitten was in.
A puppy was forced into a narrow pipe for six days without food or water, only able to bark for help. Every night I wandered around looking for the source of the yelps and when I finally found it, I immediately called the fire brigade. The puppy couldn’t even walk, all cold and hungry. I took care of it for two weeks. Brought it to the vet, gave it vitamins until it was healthy and it finally found a new owner after I posted flyers all around the neighbourhood.
I will always swear to help and protect animals in need to the best of my ability. Let all my neighbours say that my house looks like a zoo as long as I’m content. From tortoises, mice, cats, birds even bats would be cared for until they were well enough to fend for themselves.
