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-Issue Number 200 |
Thursday, December 1, 2005 | Page
38 |
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Welcome
to the on line edition of the popular Tenerife free newspaper The Western
Sun. Click on the page pictures on the left hand side or the grid below
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ALL ABOUT ANIMALS
Founder president of Asociación San Francisco de los Animales
http://sanfranciscoanimales.losgigantes.com
Unhappy hunting ground for rescuers
The
hunting season in Tenerife has officially finished. And most people in country
areas are saying “thank goodness”.No more disturbances on Thursdays and Sundays, men shouting and dogs running over private property questing for rabbits and other small animals.
Unfortunately for rescue associations the real problem is only just beginning, with podencos (Canarian hunting dogs) left behind or deliberately abandoned by their owners because they are getting old or are considered to be bad hunters.
They seem to be the most used and abused dogs on the island. They are transported in conditions which would see owners prosecuted in the UK, are abandoned without thought in some of the most inhospitable areas of Tenerife and yet, through it all, manage to retain an extremely loving disposition.
Unfortunately, the longer they are on the loose the more timid they become, and thus, more difficult to catch for rescue. Despite the law requiring dogs to have a microchip many still do not have one, therefore the owner cannot be traced.
There have been many occasions when an owner was traced through a microchip, said he wanted the dog back but failed to collect it, thus abandoning his dog twice.
The law states that associations, or indeed a private individual, cannot do anything with a dog until 21 days have elapsed, apart from tending to its day-to-day welfare.
If the animal is identified the owner should be notified. He then has a maximum of 10 days from the notification to collect it, having already paid for the expenses accrued in the animal’s safe-keeping and maintenance.
Rescue associations frequently receive telephone calls from tourists saying they have seen a very skinny dog with big ears, scavenging for food. Most of the podencos are naturally light of build, but some who have been left behind turn into walking skeletons.
Some, like the podenco with only one ear pictured here, are lucky enough to be found by hikers who return with food and water and notify a member of a rescue association of its whereabouts. About that missing ear ... a vet I know has suggested it could very well have been deliberately cut off to remove an identifying markm such as an ear tattoo, a common practice among hunters.
Others, like the white podenco, manage to get to a barbecue area and, if they are lucky, are fed by the barbecuers. The other dog pictured was found in such a place, half starved, frightened and depressed. He had a chain and wire round his neck which was far too tight and had rubbed off all his fur. Had he put on weight it would no doubt have cut into his neck.
Podencos make wonderful pets, are kind and gentle, and are normally excellent with children and other dogs. I am lucky enough to have had one for 11 years. He accepts all the other rescue dogs taken in by me as friends.
If you are thinking of getting a dog, why not a rescued podenco?
It’s
a funny old life at the vet’s