We live in Cospicua and have found that many of the people here are very generous and kind towards animals; they have donated clothing and other items to The Stray Animals Support Group (SASG) shop in San Ġwann and look after their pets well.
We have also re-homed four stray dogs, all found abandoned at around six to eight months old.
We have quite a "celebrity status" in the streets of Cospicua as we are regularly seen walking our four dogs - much to the amusement of the local people, not to mention the people on the sightseeing buses and other tourists.
It is scenes of happy dogs being walked which we are certain visitors to these islands want to see and not stray dogs and cats roaming the streets, hungry or injured.
I recently read an article in The Times concerning the reduction in the numbers of tourists during last year.
As these islands secure much of their income from tourism surely every effort should be made to ensure that visitors keep returning year-on-year.
Animal cruelty is not a good advertisement for any country and with some effort from us all this problem can be made history.
What useful purpose could dogs serve in the communities within the Maltese islands?
The government and other authorities could "employ" these animals to perform a number of roles. For example: In the rehabilitation of people who have suffered ill health or loss, for re-habilitating young people who have entered a life of crime or drugs, for use in prisons to provide a calming effect and a worthwhile focus for inmates, for use in homes for the elderly to provide some comfort and friendship to those who do not have families and friends and for use with children who are terminally ill or undergoing long stays in hospital; additionally people who have been served with community service orders could spend some of that time at animal sanctuaries looking after abandoned and unwanted animals.
Could the Maltese Islands become pioneers in the use of dogs to improve the social welfare of people?
If more people owned dogs and took them for regular exercise, could the overall health of the people in the Maltese islands be improved? We have made many friends as a result of walking our dogs and the exercise is certainly beneficial.
Please contact your local sanctuary if you are looking to give love to an unwanted animal. Dogs make wonderful friends and companions, they are excellent to guard your home and they will ensure you meet new friends. Research shows that people who own animals can live longer, healthier and happier lives - but they can't look after you if you do not look after them.
Please contact me if you can help: cheryl@thetrustshop.com.