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| Puppies awaiting adoption at HKDR |
When the word pain is mentioned, many will immediately think of their experience of physical pain, while some will say pain comes from within. Pain is often one of the main factor that has prevented people to do things, like taking up martial arts, snowboarding, rollerblading, Brazilian waxing.., just to name a few.
My most physically painful experience so far came from receiving 3 stitches on my scalp, while the emotional one came from the ending of a relationship. Nonetheless, none of my experience matches the last hours of a little puppy called Pinky.
Pinky was mauled to death by his kennel mates and left to die alone.
I am writing about an abandoned dog whose short life was filled with more pain than happiness. Pinky was a 6 months old puppy whose name came from his distinguish pink nose, along with his nose he had a beautiful cream coat and dark eyes, he could had been an animal actor in the film "Babe". In another word, he was a very cute puppy.
Before ended up being an abandoned pet, Pinky had a home, however his owner's constant absence prompted the owner's sister to give him up to Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD). The role of the AFCD is to house a surrendered animal for approximately 4 days and then promptly destroyed by administrating euthanasia, this practice applies to all domestic pets including dogs.
Pinky had his lucky escape when he was rescued from the AFCD by Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR) during one of its scheduled visits; there he was given a semi-permanent home, along with 200 other abandoned dogs, while waiting for a permanent one.
I was one of the fortunate ones who have met little Pinky, he was such an unassuming little dog who was happy and liked to play with his fellow kennel mates, also puppies around his size. Sadly, the last time I saw Pinky was 3 days before he was found lifeless, with bites all over his little body at another kennel for larger puppies. The reason why he was moved was unknown, it doesn't matter now anyway.
I suspect Pinky was first picked on by larger puppies in the new kennel, there were at least 4 of them in a field of approximately 20 puppies. Little Pinky was known to be feisty, he must had tried to defend himself but was outnumbered, the exchange probably stirred up bad air within the kennel resulting a fight.
It must had happened in the dark of the night, where there were no humans around to hear his distress cries or to protect him from the horde of puppies who ganged up upon him. Poor little Pinky died alone in a world of pain, watched on by his aggressors, it must had been a very slow and lonely death.
Pinky's story is just one of too many among the abandoned dogs in Hong Kong. There are of course happy endings where the dog is adopted and welcomed as part of the family, however the chances of re-homing for an abandoned pet is slim, particularly for mongrel and older dogs. The rate of pet abandonment is high in Hong Kong, according to statistics, there were approximately 3,700 abandoned dogs last year, a rise from 3,000 from the previous year.
Without a proper pet ownership policy from the AFCD, ie. licensing or sterilizing, owning a pet is an easy process; furthermore, there are plenty of pet shops in Hong Kong, with at least one on every street, buying a pet is easier. While there are many responsible pet owners out there, it is those who treat their pets as commodities that are the ones who are getting away with the crime of animal cruelty by abandonment.
The irony is that in Hong Kong, it is an offense for littering but abandoning pet is not. Meanwhile, there will be more pets to be destroyed at the AFCD and animal welfare groups such as the HKDR will struggle to house more dogs due to overcrowding and funding issues, until the government of Hong Kong put its foot down, there will be more stories similar to Pinky's.
RIP Pinky.
