Thursday, July 23, 2009

Irresponsible Pet Owners... Sigh...

My dad got bitten by a dog last night. Sigh...

My parents take evening walks regularly around the neighbourhood. There's this particular house with 3 dogs and around the same time, the owner lets his dogs out to do their 'business' on the roadside. Typical of Malaysians. As long as the dog doesn't SHIT in their house compound, they can pretty much SHIT anywhere they want.

So, last night, as usual, my parents went for their evening walk. And as usual, this neighbour lets his dogs out. My parents were across the road from where the dogs lived. Just as they were released, one of the dogs ran across the road towards my parents and bit my dad on his thigh. Luckily the dog owner saw and quickly called the dogs back. And thankfully the dog let go and returned to its master.

The bite wasn't deep. Partly also as the dog bit the part of his thigh with shorts covering it. Phew!

The owner offered to bring my dad to the doc's for treatment. Initially my dad was hesitant (as he always is when it comes to visiting a clinic) but my mum managed to convince him. So off they went to a 24-hour clinic with the dog owner and got his ATT jab, antibiotics, antiseptic wash, cream and painkillers. It isn't major but things could have been worse.

I am thinking... what if the dog has diseases? Worse case, rabies! What if the wound had been deeper? What if the dog didn't return to its master and continued attacking? What if the other 2 dogs attacked my dad at the same time? What if 1 attacked my dad and the other dogs attacked my mum? There are just so many possibilities that I can think of.

So there you go. Irresponsible pet owners. Why didn't he put the dogs on leash when letting them out to do their 'business'? So what if it's 3 dogs? Buy 3 leashes? It's only the responsible thing to do. I mean, if that fella goes out for his evening walks, he wouldn't fancy being bitten by a dog, would he?

Oh well, as Malaysians, I think many of us still have a lot to learn when it comes to being responsible pet owners. I'm not saying every Malaysian is irresponsible. Mind you, I have seen a couple walking 7 dogs and all of them are on leash.

Just like in my previous post, how is it possible a tame puppy wanders into my backyard? Quick update though, the puppy is now back with its rightful owner. A teenage boy lost the puppy while playing at the playground opposite my house. Again, why wasn't the puppy on a leash?

I hope and hope that we will all learn to be responsible pet owners....

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sigh! This is sad isn't it? Anyway, hope everything is fine with your dad.

Audrey said...

Thanks. He's fine. Lucky it wasn't a deep wound.