It hardly seems necessary to say that it is cruel to abandon an animal at one of the transfer sites, but stories like the one I heard today make me realize that some people are willing to be cruel.
The borough animal shelter has a 24-hour drop off location with heated cages. If you have a dog or cat that do not wish to take care of anymore, take the animal there. Do not treat the animal like a piece of trash.
On Tuesday at about noon, Bill and Sherry Perry of North Pole found an abandoned black dog chained near the rear of the North Pole transfer site. She said the dog had about 18 inches in which it could move and it had obviously been there overnight and was suffering in the cold. It had no food or water.
Sherry and Bill took the dog, which was 8 to 10 years old, to the North Pole Veterinary Hospital, where doctors and staff donated time to treat the animal in hopes of saving it. The dog was in pain and suffering from several problems. The dog, which weighed about 50 pounds, was euthanized later in the day because of its deteriorating condition. Among his other problems, his bladder was not operating properly.
Perhaps the dog would have died anyway, but the humane thing would have been for the owner to take the animal to the animal shelter instead of leaving him out in the cold.
When animals are brought to local vets, the animals are considered wards of the borough, with the goal of getting the animal back to its owner or to a new home.
The vet typically contacts the animal shelter for direction on medical treatments.
Read more: NewsMiner.com
