Horrifying cases of animal cruelty dominated the headlines this year with dogs being buried alive, crucified and even bound and thrown out at sea. These events led to the largest protest against animal cruelty Malta has ever seen and the government pledged it will increase punishments for such crimes in 2012. However, Claudia Calleja also found that this year had its fair share of happy endings with abandoned animals adopted into loving homes where they learnt not all humans were mean.
Maya, the friendliest dog
Allison Farrugia was browsing through timesofmalta.com in November when she came across a story entitled: Friendliest Dog Begs For A Hug. A man had found a mixed breed pit bull tied on a short chain in a hidden spot among a pile of rubbish in San Ġwann.
Ms Farrugia immediately called her boyfriend, Marc Pace, who also loves animals, and told him about the poor dog.
Some time later her boyfriend rang back and told her he had contacted the Animal Welfare Department and they would be adopting the one-year-old female dog that had been named Spot by her rescuer.
The couple treated their new pet for sand fly, a bladder infection and a skin condition and neutered her. They also changed her name to Maya since Spot was too masculine.
The day they took Maya home, Ms Farrugia went home during her lunch break to feed her new pet.
“Before eating she came and jumped on me, as though to hug me, then went to eat... She got used to us immediately... She’s such an intelligent dog and really lived up to being the friendliest pet... I can’t understand how people can abandon animals,” she said.
Pisellina, the queen cat
Alwyn Borg Myatt does not usually watch TV, but one day in October, while she was working from home, she decided to switch on her television.
In the background she heard Ms Chetcuti speak on a morning show as she held a white cat that had been rescued from the streets.
Ms Borg Myatt, who lived in Italy for six years, already had two cats – Patata and Polpetta – who she had rescued during the Italian Abruzzo earthquake as a result of which they ended up homeless.
When she moved back to Malta she brought them back with her and promised herself she would not adopt another pet.“But this white cat was so sweet, so small. I couldn’t resist,” she said. So after the programme she called Ms Chetcuti, who she knew, to ask if the cat had been adopted. Ms Chetcuti took the cat to her house at about 3 p.m. and, soon after, Ms Borg Myatt took the cat to her vet.
The cat was skinny, had fleas, her fur was tangled and had a heart murmur.
“I decided to adopt her and look after her as best I could... For the first month here all she did was sleep and eat, she was so weak. But now she’s the queen of the house and is getting along with the other two cats. She even sleeps next to me at night,” she said, adding that the cat, who she called Pisellina, is a ball of affection.
Duke, the miracle pug
Frida Mifsud always wanted a pug. About a year ago she was watching a television programme when she saw Janice Chetcuti, from the Animal Welfare Department, holding a pug that had been rescued by the animal ambulance. Ms Mifsud, a Gozitan, contacted Ms Chetcuti to adopt the dog and was told it had sand fly and dragged its hind legs that seemed paralysed. At the time the dog was called Paginu.
“I decided I wanted to adopt him so I went down to Malta for the dog and took him home. Initially he was quiet and hesitated to eat around people. But with time and medication (he had sand fly and an eye infection) he started gaining weight and strength,” she said.
Ms Mifsud decided to rename her new family member Duke. “He turned out to be a very loving dog... He can now use his hind legs and runs around like any other dog... What happened to him is a miracle of love. He no longer drags his hind legs... My message is that we should give these dogs a second chance... It’s worth it,” she said.
Cruel endings
Star. On May 19, Star was found buried alive in a field in Birżebbuġa with her nose poking through the soil, gasping for air. Forty lead pellets were removed from her head. Star succumbed to her injuries on June 6, a day after hundreds of people turned up in Sliema for the biggest protest against animal cruelty ever held.
Pharaoh hounds: On June 14, three dead Pharaoh hounds, or Klieb tal-Fenek, were found dead tied together in the sea off Marsalforn.
Gaia: On September 30, a jogger in Kalkara heard movements in a skip and found a boxer dog close to suffocation tied inside in a black garbage bag. The boxer, named Gaia, died later in the day.
Crucified: On October 16 a priest walking along Mosta’s Main Street was confronted with the macabre sight of a dead dog nailed to a wooden cross that was upside down. On November 16 a second dog, a Chihuahua cross-breed, was found crucified in the same way on the gates of the oratory of the Sacred Heart.
Animal awareness
More than half of the 2,000 injured or abandoned animals, rescued by the animal ambulance until November, have been homed, explained Janice Chetcuti from the Animal Welfare Directorate.
About 600 animals were homed directly through the directorate’s Għammieri offices while another 500 were fostered by volunteers since they needed to be bottle fed and then homed.
Recent figures showed that over a quarter were put down once taken to the San Franġisk animal hospital but animal organisations were not surprised given the terrible condition of these animals rescued from the streets.
Ms Chetcuti stressed that the Animal Welfare Department was there to assist animals and not to be used as a sort of pest control. She was glad to see how Maltese were becoming more sensitive and aware of animal rights.
“Animals are nowadays treated with respect and love and not as possessions. Though this year was marked with very sad events – like those of Star, and Gaia – it will always be remembered as the year in which these lovely creatures were defended with a vengeance from most of the Maltese people and also given justice by the courts,” she said.
In fact, this year, the court was often praised for giving harsh punishments for animal cruelty. In November a man received a record punishment for animal cruelty when he was given a five-month jail term and a €20,000 fine for placing Gaia in the skip. He appealed the sentence.
By law, anyone found guilty of animal cruelty can be fined between €233 and €46,500 or jailed for a maximum of one year.
Government plans to publish a legal notice that will raise the fines to between €500 and €50,000.
Anyone interested in adopting a rescued animal can go to Għammieri between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Monday to Friday. To report animal cruelty call on 2590 4132 or 2590 4113. For the ambulance’s help call the police headquarters on 2122 4001.