SPCA: Everyone plays a role in protecting strays
By Nuradzimmah Daim - November 23, 2020 @ 10:15am
AMPANG JAYA: Happy, April and Wilson seemed eager to go for their afternoon rest as their caretaker, Amin Eghtedari, 33, stood guard at the gate leading to the kennels, calling each one of them by their name.
The three dogs are among the 160 strays that found a home at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Selangor here.
All of them, save a few newbies, returned to their kennel without a leash, thanks to training and trust built between them and the staff.
"We make sure that potential foster parents and the dogs are well-acquainted before allowing them to be adopted and find their 'forever home'.
"We make it a point for potential pet owners to come by a few times to make sure that they are a good match for the dogs.
"Compatibility is essential, as we don't want people coming back to return their dogs.
"We keep tabs on the dogs even after they are adopted to ensure that they have a good life.
"We also give advice to owners who are facing issues with them," said Amin, who worked as an electrical engineer.
The Iranian, who has experience in training police dogs in his home country, said he and an SPCA dog trainer would coach strays.
SPCA Selangor chairman Christine Chin said the non-governmental organisation strove to provide a better life for strays.
She said everyone played a role in protecting strays and contributed to controlling the animals' street population, adding that rehabilitation and re-homing were a small part of SPCA's roles.
The catch-neuter-and-release method, she said, was one of the steps that could be taken to address the overpopulation issue.
"The problem occurs when there is a high number of strays in residential areas, where they pose issues to the public.
"Municipal councils would catch them and place them in their pounds.
"More often than not, these strays are euthanised as the pounds cannot accommodate a large number of animals.
"The condition of the pounds is not conducive for the strays and they are not welcoming enough to attract people to come and adopt the animals."
Chin said SPCA was willing to work with councils to improve the condition of their pounds and provide a more comfortable place for strays.
The vicious cycle, she said, would be repeated unless people stepped up and played their bit in addressing the issue.
The public can help by ensuring that their pets are spayed or neutered to prevent them from being abandoned when owners can't afford to care for the offspring.
She said SPCA had spayed or neutered 1,835 cats and 733 dogs from January to October, with 80 per cent of them being females.
Last year, with funding from the public and the Stray-Free Selangor programme, it spayed or neutered 3,903 animals.