Safe for now: The puppies in the cage being rescued from the dog compound at MPSPK in Taman Batik, Sungai Petani.
SUNGAI PETANI: A pair of animal-loving sisters sought to rescue some 40 dogs from the pound here, but ended up saving only five puppies. The other 35 were put down by the Sungai Petani Municipal Council (MPSPK) before they could get the papers to have them moved to shelters in Penang and Kedah.
An upset K. Rajaspari, 52, feels that the dog pound should not have been in such a hurry to kill the animals. She said her sister had gone to the pound on Wednesday to rescue the 40-odd dogs there, but was told that they would have to find alternative homes for the animals and pay fines to have them moved. They were allowed to take five puppies, though.A day later, they went back to the pound only to find that the other dogs had been put to sleep.
“I am so disappointed. I told the council I wanted to take all the dogs to shelters.
“I said I would bring letters from the Seberang Prai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and a shelter in Pendang. But things did not turn out well,” Rajaspari said.
The five rescued puppies are now in the shelter in Pendang.
A health officer dispelled talk that the council had acted cruelly. She said the rescuers had been given time to find alternative homes for the dogs and were even allowed to take the puppies.
For the bigger dogs, the officer said, the rescuers would need to pay a fine and apply for permits.
“The rescuers did not do so, hence we had to put the dogs to sleep,” she said, adding that the pound was too small to house the dogs for long.
She added that the rescuers had failed to furnish details on where the dogs would be placed.
“We can’t just let her take the dogs as they could be left to roam the streets again,” she said.
