1 | | I grew up with dogs and loved | | | | |
| | them. Like many households, we | | | | |
| | gave them soppy names such as | | | | |
| | Candy and Rupert. We shared | | | | |
| | holidays with them and | | | | |
| | sometimes they slept on our beds. | | | | |
| | Then I moved to London and | | | | |
| | began to hate the brutes – or so | | | | |
| | I thought. | | | | |
2 | | My problem, in fact, was with | | | | |
| | their owners – and the way they | | | | |
| | indulged in antisocial habits | | | | |
| | through their pooches. I’m not | | | | |
| | just talking about fouling parks, | | 7 | | There is some comfort for the |
| | pavements and other public | | | | animal rights lobby in new |
| | spaces. No, there are the | | | | legislation coming up. The new |
| | boneheads who keep vicious pets | | | | animal welfare bill in effect lowers |
| | as trophies. And don’t forget the | | | | the burden of proof of abuse of |
| | otherwise normal types who say, | | | | animals by including a welfare |
| | “Don’t worry, he won’t bite,” when | | | | offence. This will oblige animal |
| | their darling creature leaps on | | | | owners to keep their pets in a |
| | your two-year-old and slobbers in | | | | suitable environment and give |
| | his face. | | | | them an appropriate diet. It |
3 | | The owning of a dog can affect | | | | means the police can threaten |
| | your sanity. How else to explain a | | | | prosecution as soon as they can |
| | weird new trend in dog-turd | | | | prove neglect. |
| | disposal where an owner will | | 8 | | But there is still no barrier to |
| | scoop their poops into a carrier | | | | owning a dog, other than the fact |
| | bag, then throw them into a | | | | that it will cost you food and |
| | hedge? Eccentric? Barking, | | | | veterinary bills of around £1,000 |
| | I reckon. | | | | a year and that it’s a big |
4 | | Perhaps this kind of attitude | | | | responsibility. The dog licence |
| | makes doggy types oblivious to a | | | | was abolished in the 1980s and |
| | much bigger ethical problem – the | | | | there is little enthusiasm for |
| | suffering that many dogs (and | | | | bringing it back. You’ll still be |
| | cats) go through so that we can | | | | able to get a puppy from the litter |
| | keep them as pets. There are 6.5m | | | | next door, or the doggy in the |
| | dogs spread across 20% of UK | | | | window at the pet shop. Animal |
| | households, making them the | | | | campaigners hope that secondary |
| | nation’s most popular pet. Even | | | | legislation planned as a follow-up |
| | so, a large number end up | | | | to next year’s bill will bring in |
| | unwanted. According to Dogs | | | | codes of practice as to who can sell |
| | Trust, more than 100,000 strays | | | | dogs, and that they will be sold |
| | are rounded up by animal welfare | | | | with a guide to looking after them |
| | charities each year − 7,800 of | | | | – washing machines come with |
| | which end up being destroyed. | | | | instructions, so why not dogs? |
5 | | Dogs keep the RSPCA busy. In | | 9 | | So much for bad owners, but |
| | a report last month, the charity | | | | what about dogs themselves? |
| | detailed some of the horrific acts of | | | | [id:77655] they have a lot going for |
| | cruelty inflicted on our four-legged | | | | them. Sniffer dogs arguably keep |
| | friends. It also described last year | | | | us safer, and save many lives in |
| | as one of the most ‘violent’ years it | | | | disaster zones and conflicts by |
| | had experienced. | | | | finding injured people in rubble. |
6 | | And what of the breeders who | | | | Dogs improve the quality of life for |
| | insist on certain characteristics in | | | | many. The blind are an obvious |
| | pedigrees? So many traits that are | | | | example, but don’t forget the |
| | considered desirable by breeders | | | | elderly and housebound who rely |
| | cause suffering in the animal. | | | | on dogs for companionship. Dogs |
| | British bulldogs, for example, have | | | | are often involved in daily |
| | been bred to have very short noses. | | | | organised visits to children’s |
| | “Virtually every British bulldog is | | | | wards, nursing homes, hospices |
| | deformed in one way or another. | | | | and mental institutions. |
| | They can’t breathe properly,” says | | 10 | | Many studies suggest that dogs |
| | Chris Laurence, veterinary director | | | | have therapeutic benefits. So, there |
| | of Dogs Trust, “and they have legs | | | | are many excellent reasons for |
| | like Queen Anne chairs so they | | | | having a dog. It’s the owners you |
| | can’t walk properly.” He adds that | | | | need to worry about. |
| | larger dogs are more prone to | | | | |
| | bone cancer, and long dogs such | | | | |
| | as basset hounds and dachshunds | | | | The Guardian |
| | have back problems. | | |