Dear Editor,
I received a call on Sep-tember 3 from Anna (name changed to protect the innocent) telling of an incident that happened two weeks ago while I was out of Guyana on vacation (I regret not being here to provide some assistance). Anna’s voice was emotional as she explained.
A large and beautiful female common breed dog had taken up residence in the yard facing the Public Road where her mother lives. The yard fronted several homes, was poorly fenced and had a gutter with dirty water on one side. The dog was a stray but very loving and protective of “her” yard. The dog had given birth less than 2 months before but for lack of attention all her babies died. Several of the residents gave the dog their table leftovers and liked the animal.
In one of the houses facing the yard lives a man who rears chickens; his place is fenced but has no gate into his yard. At around 8.30 am one morning a week ago, the man with the chickens came into the common yard with his Pitbull and seemed to go berserk; he trapped the female dog at the side of a house, called her a “chicken killer” (remember his yard has no gate) and, while Anna’s Mom looked on in fright, he released his Pitbull to attack the common breed dog. The female stray put up a good fight and defended herself against the Pitbull; the man became so furious he picked up a two by four and started to beat her. The dog’s cries were so distressing and painful that Anna’s mother covered her ears and prayed for the dog’s misery to end soon. The Pitbull then rejoined the assault but when the man saw the female holding her own he started beating her once again with the wood. Some residents around the yard were begging the man to stop beating the dog but to no avail. When the man could beat her no more and the dog became very weak the man dragged her to the gutter and held her head under the dirty water until she drowned. This monster placed the dead dog’s mutilated body in a bag and took it away.
During the beating, Anna’s Mom called Anna at her workplace and told her what was happening. Anna, crying hysterically, called my number and was told I was out of the country. She then called the GSPCA (while the assault was happening), and told a male employee what was happening. To her dismay, she was told, “It’s a matter for the police, not the GSPCA.” The whole incident lasted approximately 30 minutes.
The purpose of this letter is not to lay blame (although I pray the perpetrator ends up in dog hell) but to raise some important questions:
Who is responsible for controlling this type of cruelty: the GSPCA, the police or no one?
If the GSPCA or the police are responsible what is the procedure to get some action?
If no group is clearly responsible than how can we change the laws to bring Guyana into the modern world?
I cannot help but believe if Anna’s Mom had known who to call and the responsible party had taken action, the perpetrator could have been charged and jailed, as he deserves. Some say the police don’t like to get involved in animal cruelty issues, but I have found them very helpful on more than one occasion.
Unseen they suffer, unheard they cry, in agony they linger, in loneliness they die!
– Anonymous
Yours faithfully,
Syeada Manbodh
