EDITOR – It was with outrage that on Friday 21 March I encountered flagrant cruelty to a dog in Padfield Park. This animal had apparently been injured and could no longer walk. It was then, what can only be called dumped in the garden without protection from the elements.
It was emaciated and covered with flies; in pitiful condition and had been so since Sunday 16 March. I enquired with the owner why they hadn’t taken it to a vet or to the SPCA. Their attitude was dismissive, and they said that they would take it on Monday, three days hence.
This caused me to contact the SPCA. Their inspector immediately went to the premises, summed up the situation and with the owners consent (obviously just too glad to be rid of the problem), took possession of the dog.
The animal was examined, found to be beyond rescue and put down. Any caring person would have been painfully touched by this situation. The sad thing is that there is inadequate legislation regarding the prosecution of these people, and in this instance I’m talking about middleclass people. The point of my letter is to ask that we be aware that these things are happening in our own neighbourhood and that we should act for creatures that are subject to these abuses.
Heather Cilliers
Pinetown
