To the two do-gooders who saw fit to make complaints to the RSPCA. No, I'm not an animal abuser, neither are my family. Yes, my dog is skinny and you can see his ribs, but no we are not starving him.
Did you happen to know that my dog is nearly seventeen years old? Did you also happen to know that he is currently undergoing diagnostic tests at the vets to determine the cause of his weight loss? No you didn't and that's because you didn't care to ask my mother who made eye contact with you as you beat a hasty retreat.
Your actions, however well intentioned nearly caused my dog to be put down. Luckily the RSPCA officer who came to our house saw that he was not mistreated and just an old dog. Today she came around again and I showed her videos of him running on the beach earlier in the week. From those she could see that he was well cared for and that he was still lively. Despite losing weight he still has a good quality of life.
I'm not an idiot, I know he wont live forever. Trust me when I say that if I could see him in pain and suffering I wouldn't hesitate to do the right thing and put him down. But right now, he's loving life and I'm loving life with him. I'm glad of every extra minute I get with him because I know how close I was to losing him for good.
I hate being judged like this, anyone who has any sort of experience with animals can see that my dog is not mistreated just getting on in years. So don't scowl at me as I take my beloved pet for a walk, after all if I was starving him and kicking the shit out of him do you really think I'd be taking him for a walk in the park?
Twats.
4 comments:
*hug*
I'm couchsurfing just outside Geneva right now and the woman I'm staying with has (I think) eight dogs. And a cat. And hens, ducks, guinea pigs and rabbits.
The vast majority are rescue cases - all of the dogs are from neglectful "owners" who themselves should be shot.
You can *tell* when a dog's been abused, even years before. Some people just jump to the wrong conclusions all too quickly. And I bet the RSPCA don't go knocking on their door asking for an apology for wasting their time.
However... surely a minor inconvenience for you could easily have been the saving of a dog had the situation actually *been* bad.
I hate always looking on both sides of an argument, but... *shrug*
Trust me, tis was more than a minor inconvenience. The RSPCA was first saying that we should put him down or they would take him from us and put him down. I was in tears for about three days before she came around again. That time my dog was a lot more lively and greeted her at the door and danced about. I showed her the video I'd taken of him at the beach earlier in the week where he was running up and down and playing in the water. She concluded that he still had a good quality of life and therefore it was our decision.
We took him to the vets today and they also said he's still active and is happy and so not to put him down just yet. We've got him some specialised dog food and we're going to try him with that and see if that does him any good.
A minor inconvenience I can forgive, but this whole episode has put me under some serious stress, I can't remember the last time I've cried so much. Maybe that's a little sad over a pet, but he's been with me since I was 6 years old and I know he's still happy. He may not have much longer left, but he's gonna have a fun time in that extra time.
First I have to say - that's an amazing age for a dog! Secondly, I fully agree with u. I work in a vets as a receptionist and we see alot of cases that can be misconstrued as abuse, all because the animal is old (as you say) or due to an illness the animal has, etc.
There are too many do-gooders out there at the moment, and its causing the unnecessary deaths of animals. In any case, euthanasia is not always the best thing for the animal, weight loss is common of old age and as such a certain diet is usually implemented by the vets (but of course, the do-gooders only see what they want to see).
We had the same problem because our cat was really skinny; she was fed twice a day (and ate the lot), she had a chilled lifestyle, and she was 24 when she died of old age!
The people should at least have the decency to apologise to you for putting u through that.
MB, thanks for your support. To be honest I don't need an apology, I'd settle for the people just being told that "no, the dog is not being mistreated"
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