THOSE of us who have pets at home can attest that they help us reduce stress and depression and often selflessly and faithfully serve their masters.
We also know how some species of canines can be trained to perform difficult and dangerous tasks better than humans can.
Dogs are trained to sniff drugs, search and rescue, and for disability assistance.
Recently, we have seen how dogs accomplished heroic deeds in locating bodies under the rubble following the landslide in a campsite near Genting Highlands.
More recently, rescue dogs have been deployed to locate people trapped under rubble following the earthquake in Turkiye.
Some worked day and night, under the most trying circumstances, without seeking special treatment from their handlers.
But as these heroic dogs are, in a sense, behaving like humans, are we being humane to them?
Occasionally we read of acts of cruelty to animals and punishments meted out to the culprits.
Under our Animal Welfare Act, a person commits an offence if he beats, kicks, ill-treats or tortures any animal. But the courts have generally been somewhat reticent when punishing culprits.
In 2011, a woman who tortured and stomped kittens to death was fined only RM400.
A year later, a person who poured boiling water on a stray dog was fined just RM200, and in 2013, a woman was given a light prison sentence for killing her employer’s dog.
At the forefront of efforts to increase awareness of the proper treatment of animals is the Society of Prevention of Cruelty To Animals (SPCA Selangor).
Founded in 1958, the society is a well-respected and trusted animal welfare Organisation that has gained recognition from animal lovers all over Malaysia, but it can do with more support from the public.
There is much truth in the saying that our respect for animals makes better beings of us all.
A recent picture and video showed how a dog after one shift of work searching through the ruins in Turkey found 10 people and saved their lives.
These creatures are really the “unsung heroes” which must be acknowledged.
Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye
Patron
SPCA Selangor
