A Tragic Mystery! One dog was described as friendly another described as shy but these were the attack dogs that killed a grown man! One that had played with them before! Why did these dogs suddenly go into attack mode? Especially when a day before they played with the victim? Strange.
My heartfelt, condolences to the victims family.
News from SPCA Selangor
For Release on Thursday 13th January 2011
CAN’T BLAME THE DOGS, ONLY THE INAPPROPRIATE HANDLING, SAYS SPCA
SELANGOR, 13th JANUARY 2011– In light of the recent fatal dog-attack at a farm in Penang, the SPCA Selangor says that dog owners must always be responsible for the well-being and behavior of their pets.
“I would like to extend our heart-felt condolences to Maurice Sullivan's loved ones. This is an isolated case albeit a terribly tragic one, and I hope this will not lead to a sudden wave of ill-feeling or hate towards dogs across Malaysia," says SPCA Chairman Christine Chin. “Dogs are generally very sociable companion animals and they are hyper-social and hypersensitive. They love companionship and they innately understand their master’s habits and behavior and tone of voice,” she continues.
Over the centuries, humans have trained dogs to protect and guard their homes, property and livestock. Beside this, many dogs have been trained to assist the blind and disabled in going about their daily lives and provide much needed companionship for the marginalised.
Christine adds, “However, some dogs are specifically trained to protect their owner’s property and these dogs are trained to attack intruders that enter their territory. Generally these dogs become very fierce either as a result of the harsh training or restraining them in small cages/kennels and therefore have very little contact with other human beings other than their carers. It is usually us humans that inflict these frustrations on these dogs to the extent that they turn this frustration into rage and will become aggressive in nature.”
Taking away the dogs from the owner does not resolve the issue at large. It is having the adequate knowledge on how to be a responsible owner that will bring a solution to the issues that we face. Dogs are animals nonetheless, loving or otherwise, and we need to be mindful that it is us humans that are ultimately responsible for their actions.
The SPCA acts as the nation’s watchdog on animal welfare issues and operates a hotline for the public to lodge reports against owners that abuse, neglect or abandon their pets, as well as reports of homeless animals in distress. The organization would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to all the individuals who have been calling in to report cases of animal abuse or neglect.
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For more information, kindly contact Helen Chan (MARCOM Manager) at the SPCA Selangor office at 42565312/ 42535179 or via email at helen.spca@gmail.com
Note To Editors:
· The Society For Prevention of Cruelty To Animals (SPCA) Selangor is an NGO which serves Selangor and The Federal Territory.
· SPCA Selangor was established in 1958, with the aim of protecting defenseless animals and alleviating their suffering.
· The SPCA does not receive any government funding, relying entirely on donations from the public to support its services & activities.
· The SPCA Animal Shelter & Adoption Centre at Ampang Jaya temporarily homes 300-350 unwanted animals at any one time while seeking new homes for them. The animals are made up of surrendered pets, rescued cruelty case animals and stray or abandoned animals brought in by Good Samaritans.
· The SPCA would like to work closely with the people of Malaysia to elevate the welfare standards for our Malaysian animals – ensuring they responsibly neuter their pets, provide adequate food, space, exercise, care and medical attention, as well as encouraging them to be responsible neighbors.
