The Animal Lovers In Us

Story: M. ISMAIL

OVER lunch recently, my two girlfriends and I got to talking about pets. One has five cats and a dog while the other has six dogs. The first thought that crossed my mind was where do they live? Well, they don’t live in condos or apartments or flats so that’s reassuring. They live in houses, with a garden.

I beamed at the thought – healthy and well-loved animals running about on the greens and cuddling and hugging and playing about with their owners. Most pet owners, if they are women, will refer to themselves as Mummy to their pets. So what do male pet owners call themselves? Anyone knows?

A good home - that's all a doggie ever want.

 Clipart: Puppy Doghouse-MEGANSB (OCAL)

(Below) Clipart: Misa-AMY TRUONG (OCAL)

Has everyone forgoten?

Our conversation also included that dreaded dog abuser every one talked about – from Malaysia right across the universe! And he is not caught till today, neither is there any news as to whether the Malaysian authorities have done anything about it.

That’s one of the things I hate about cases such as this. The whole world can get so riled up about this act of cruelty, sign petition, demand action only to find several months later everything has simmered down and the poor dog is forgotten and no one is talking about it anymore.

 But I’m not surprised. We’ve all heard of worse cases – molestation, rape, abuse, the whole lot – that have just disappeared into the night air. No one knows what’s happened. If any of these victims are lucky some action would have been taken. But if the matter is a little too complicated – Hello! Goodbye!

One of my girlfriends said it is almost impossible to trace the abusers just by watching the video. It could be anywhere in the world although the abusers spoke in Malaysian Chinese. They could be Malaysian Chinese living abroad. Never mind the fact that the thumb-drive was found in Malaysia. In fact, the recording might not even be so recent.

Animals are adorable. Why hurt them?

 Clipart: (above) Cute Puppy Dog-KELLY (OCAL)

(Right, below) Sad Dog With A Broken Leg-JOHNNY AUTOMATIC (OCAL)

Something that my girlfriend said hit me squarely in the face – how society gets so upset and angry when they actually watched a recording such as this and yet not flinch when they see a stray walking aimlessly on the street, dying of hunger, its body blotched with peeling skin and maybe with one eye less.

STOP hurting them!

What’s the difference, she asked? What’s the difference between a stray and the abused dog in the video? The pain, she said, is the same. The brutality is the same. The torture and cruelty is the same.

Why is it we don’t pick up a stray animal and give it shelter when it’s right there in front of our eyes and yet we go up in arms when we see something so tragic as in the video?

Let’s be honest. How many times have we seen these strays being kicked about by humans, both young and old because they were in our midst as we are about to enjoy our food at the mamak stalls?
                                                                                                   

How many times in our lives have we seen someone kick their cats because the cats persistently wrapped themselves around their owners’ legs, something so innocent and yet can easily make us humans annoyed.                                            

We are all guilty, in some ways or other. We are all abusers of different degrees.

If animals can live in harmony with each other, why can't humans accept this?

 Brindle Boxer And House Cat-MOHAMED IBRAHIM (OCAL)