Think before you adopt

The appeal in the Courier last week re ‘adopting’ kittens that have ‘lived’ in a cage all their lives and now face euthanasia if homes are not found, is so very sad. We are constantly bombarded with appeals like this in the newspaper and also on Facebook to adopt, foster beautiful (and some not so beautiful, but a life, none the less) animals. There are people like myself out there that would desperately like to help and adopt or foster, but simply cannot due to the fact that Ballito is actually very pet unfriendly, as most complexes and estates do not allow animals.
I live in complex that does allow pets. I am however amazed to observe a specific dog in my complex that is restricted to a tiny piece of garden and left there on his own from early morning, when the people go off to work, until long after dark. This poor animal paces up and down, barks and basically lives a sad, lonely life day in and day out. Why people?
In the good old days, we were required by law to have our animals (dogs) licensed yearly, and their license disc had to be displayed on the collar of the animal. An inspector would pay random visits and you were fined if things were not in order.
This should be brought back to deter people acquiring pets willy-nilly and once the novelty wore off the animal’s life became a misery. The revenue from this could then go to the SPCAs or animal shelters that so desperately needs funds to keep going.
M COMBRINCK
Woodview