This afternoon I had lunch with my very dear friend whom I have not seen for at least a couple of months as we were both busy, she with her work and I with a host of things that retirees normally find themselves doing.
She briefed me about the difficult time she and her friends at the SPCA were having in trying to get a piece of land so that they could build an animal shelter for stray and abused animals.
Somehow, animals are not well-treated in our country. There are many strays scavenging for morsels of whatever is edible in rubbish dumps. Why do we have so many strays?
Some have been wilfully abandoned by their heartless owners when they move into apartments, while others were irreponsible and didn't spay their animals when the litters increased. What most of these people do is to dump the animals far away enough so that they would not be able to find their way back.
My friend has been busy looking for homes for the strays and feeding them as she could not bear to see them go hungry. I could not help by taking in any because I'm often away. Some animals had been tied up for days and left out in the merciless sun while a mother cat and her kittens were thrown away at the rubbish dump.
Surely animals have the right to live, to be fed and housed. They have the right to be treated humanely especially if they have been reared. I find it very distressing to hear my friend telling me of the way strays are caught and caged and then put down, not by humane means such as being put to sleep by vets, but by being bashed to death, or poisoned. My brother's dogs were poisoned too, along with the strays that he had been feeding everyday.
Such a disregard for God's creatures only reflects on humans, especially those who have abandoned their dogs, and those who abuse their pets.
Do you believe in karma? Well, these inhuman people will one day get their come-uppance. Maybe they will be reincarnated as dogs or cats and share the same fate that they have doled out to their animals.
Happy are the animals that have loving owners and good homes where they are cherished and well-looked after. Sometimes these animal lovers go overboard. I have been told of rich people who house their dogs in air-conditioned comfort. Their kennels are air-conditioned!
A little bit of the milk of human kindness will go a long way. Children should be taught from young to value all forms of life and to treat their pets well. The old can also derive companionship from animals. In fact the company of animals has been found to be therapeutic for those who are ill and lonely.
Dogs are said to be man's best friend but unfortunately, many have ended up at the table, especially in Asia, where dog meat is a delicacy as it is believed to be "warm" and thus good for health.
I sincerely hope that my friend will find someone kind enough to donate a piece of land so that an animal shelter can be built for these poor abused and abandoned creatures. Any form of help is most welcome.
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