The north Italian city of Turin is at the forefront of animal rights – way ahead of the rest of Italy and indeed the civilised world. There, stringent laws require dogs to be walked three times a day (or risk a maximum €500 fine). Even dyeing a pet’s fur or walking a dog while riding a bicycle could be considered cruel if the dog were to suffer anxiety or tiredness as a result.
Bizarre or barking mad? Perhaps so, if you dwell solely on the difficulties of enforcement. It’s easy to be sceptical and wonder who is counting those dog walkers. But if you care enough about animals and happen to believe that laws exist to guide and encourage people, it sounds like a plan.
Once upon a time, I found myself looking after a dog, quite by chance. Although at the time having a dog was not on my radar, I very nearly buckled under pressure to keep him. The years have blurred the details but within a few hours it was obvious to me that I was inexperienced and unprepared, so I did the kindest thing and returned him.
I had a five-year-old son and a full-time job. I also lived in a flat, which meant he’d be cooped up and left alone for eight hours of the day. Even so, it was no easy decision and there were moments when I thought my ‘divided’ attention would be superior to someone else’s – the sort of someone who thinks it acceptable to leave a dog permanently on a roof-top. Ever since, I have agonised over the fate of that dog, wracked with guilt at not having stepped up and adopted him.
It is only now, many years later, that I have finally accepted that I did the right thing. Today I have a dog who, every day, confirms what all responsible dog owners will tell you: never get a dog if you don’t have the time or the inclination. My 17-year-old son now thanks me for not giving in to his childhood dream of getting one. He has finally understood that dogs are not weekend accessories and should never be acquired on a whim.
It would be good if the Animal Welfare Directorate were more focused and up to enforcing the law
According to India Knight, author of The Goodness of Dogs, knowing that you’re not ready for a dog is an intelligent, informed and compassionate state of mind. Spur-of-the-moment decisions probably account for the majority of dogs abandoned in shelters or living out their solitary lives at the end of a chain, in desperate conditions. Dogs need constant care and attention, a proper walk at least twice a day, and ‘going out’ three or four times regardless of the weather. Having a dog means that the next 10 to 15 years are not entirely your own. If you begrudge a single moment, then you’ve not thought things through.
Fortunately, I adore my dog. And almost two decades later, I find myself again going through the same first-time-mother-motions. I carry wipes, water and ‘treats’. I frequent dog-friendly beaches and restaurants and find myself debating whether to get the 120cm x 90cm paddling pool or the bigger one. I cut meetings short because of ‘a feed’ and have become friends with people I’d never have spoken to (mostly foreigners).
Seventy-five per cent of my photographs feature my dog. When people stop me on the street to tell me how handsome he is, I glow inwardly and agree outwardly. I am – as are most mothers – unashamedly partial.
And like most mothers, I am unable to distance myself from bad news, especially when it is too close to home. Last week, I could hardly bring myself to read the tragic story of the Alaskan Malamute Husky who fell (probably jumped) three storeys to his death, on the hottest day of the year, after managing to break out of his wooden rooftop ‘prison’.
This, of course, came after a year of reports made to Animal Welfare by concerned neighbours. Sadly, the poor animal was failed and there was no effective intervention. Seeing him lying on the tarmac covered by a sheet was almost a relief. Hopefully justice will be done posthumously and this will serve to spare others a similar fate.
There are many stories like this. A few weeks ago, I made my own report about a dog permanently tied to a leash in a Gozo field – (I hasten to add that the owners are neither Gozitan nor Maltese) – only to receive a very non-committal and evasive reply from Animal Welfare in Malta. Apparently inspections in Gozo fall within the remit of Malta and there is no one in Gozo able to carry out an inspection immediately or at short notice. Now that is bizarre.
As far as I can tell, Animal Welfare is not that proactive, unless an animal is being beaten to death or looks visibly ill-treated. I contend, though, that reports like these should be heeded immediately. We may not be Turin or Switzerland (where dogs must have their own doggy companions), but it would be good if the Animal Welfare Directorate were more focused and up to enforcing the law. Perhaps the logistics of re-homing make that problematic but it’s really no excuse.
I’d like to think that animal cruelty is on the decline and that a lot of good work goes by unreported. Incidentally, I love the idea of water dispensers en route to Gozo. Even so, it would be wonderful to wake up one day and discover that the karozzini have been spared the summer months or that certain dogs have been rescued from desperate conditions.
A ‘new politics’ for the Nationalist Party? Or, not to be outdone, the government? Woof woof.
michelaspiteri@gmail.com