Dogs have the biggest hearts, and it’s blatantly obvious that some humans do not.
Rescuing animals is one of my favourite things to do. I understand that it is a lifelong commitment, and these animals will rely on me for the rest of their lives. They are family. The bond is there permanently.
However, some people think rescuing or adopting a dog or cat can be temporary. They think they can just “give them back,” or discard them like a pair of old shoes. And that kind of thinking is a real problem.
Without proper education on how to care for these animals, what their behaviours are like, and what expectations should be had, we will likely see more and more heartbreaking stories like this one below.
Understanding how animals think, how they communicate, and how they learn is imperative when rescuing or adopting.
There are currently 56,043 stray dogs across the UK, according to Dogs Trust’s Stray Dogs Survey report 2018. The number of strays collected by local authorities in the UK is at its lowest level in 21 years, and is 15% down on last year. But sometimes a rescued dog can be returned to the streets by heartless people.
In Kent, UK, an elderly dog was seen chained to a fence railing at Jasmil Kennels in Upchurch, with a heartbreaking note attached to him.
It read, “Please can you take me in as my owner has abandoned me after 10 years because I have not learnt to be good so I have been returned here where he found me.”
Swale Borough Council Stray Dog Service is now aiming to track down the owner so that they can get a better understanding of why and how they could do such a heartless thing.
The service, which said the dog had not been micro-chipped, said: “This elderly black labrador was found tied up to railings at Jasmil Kennels this morning. We would very much like to speak to the owner to establish why the dog has been abandoned.
“If you recognise him and can be of any assistance, please contact the council in confidence or message this page. He will now be taken into our care.”
A spokesperson for the council added: “If an owner is struggling with their dog, this is not the way to deal with it.
“Rehoming is the last option, but this isn’t the way to do it, so we would appreciate any information we can get so we can speak to the owner.”
If you can’t take care of an animal for the rest of its life, then please don’t break their spirit and their heart by doing something as cold as this. Call an animal rescue service or a friend, but don’t abandon them on the street where they will wait for you to return. It’s beyond cruel.
If you’d like to help animals who have been abandoned or found on the streets, you can always donate dog or cat food to local shelters, spend time volunteering with the animals so they have companionship, or raise awareness so other animals won’t have to go through this.