BELOVED PETS

Shannon News, 22 October 1926, Page 3

BELOVED PETS

PATHOS IN ANIMAL HOSPITAL. LIFE OR DEATH VERDICTS. ! Below, a “Sunday 'Chronicle’' repre- , sentative describes a typical day at the Peoples Dispensary for Sick Ani--1 nrals of the Poor, in Commercial road, London, He is not much to. look at —just a nondescript pnppy down on his luckbut to. the ui'chin holding him so tenderly in his arms he is a king among dogs—a real honest-to-good-ness pal and playmate. Six weeks ago the boy found him whimpering in the gutter, his coat be draggled with mud and his little body emaciated with exposure and suffering. He snuggled him beneath his jacket, took him home, and fed him. For the first time in his chequered life the pup knew th e delights of a warm blanket and a regular meal. But- now tradgedy had stepped in to spoil the idyll; the little dog had fallen sick, and in his master’s eye is a gleam o'f apprehension. “Don’t Hurt Him.” That is the sort of picture you get every day at the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals of the Poor, where pets who have been stricken by sickness and disease tire “vetted” by animal doctors with as much care and attention as their masters and mistresses would receive at the hands of a surgeon in. hospital. A white-smocked man with a kindly fac e P°P S bis head round a door, labelled surgery. “Bring him. in, sonny,” he invites with a smile. “Let’s see what we can do for him.” Fearfully the boy comes forward ! hugging his pet in his arms. i “Y-you won't hurt him?” he quavers. “I don’t) want him hurt.” A hot little tongue shoots out to lick the boy’s 'hand, and a pair of beseeching eyes look into hki- With a sob he places his pet on the operating table and turns away.' A crimson froth round the pup’s 'mouth makes the vet. look gravey-he leverts open the jaws—then laughs. There is nothing serious—just teething troubles. Order of the Boot! “Get him an old boot, smear it with grease, and let him chew away at it," he instructs. “He’ll be O.K. in a few days.” The boy’s relief as he gathers up the pup in his arms is pathetic. Not a day goes by without its little tragediels, its touching dramas of animal and human love. Perhaps an old and trusted friend is growing feeble, and his anguished owner has brought him to be destroyed. Very few dog lovers can bear to watch their pets be. put to their last sleep, and the owner, his face, lined with grief, hands his friend to the 'asisistant and sadly turns away. He has, parted with his best pal. Not very long ago, a man took a terrier /to the Commercial road branch of the dispensary. at was old and decrepit, and from human motives he wanted it to be put to sleep. For nearly an hour ho tried to say good-bye, but each time the assistant was carrying his pet away he broke down completely and gathered it in his arms again. At last, with tears rolling down his cheeks, he let the vet. do hiss task.

Still he waited, and when the body was taken from the lethal chamber he went to se e it. Kneeling down by the side he took the dog’s limp paw between his hands. “Poor old pal," he murmured brokenly. “Nobody could have been a better friend than you.”

Oven 100 cases are treated every day at the Commercial road dispensary. Those that are sufficiently serious are detained and placed in a hospital ward, wheer they can be kept under constant supervision. For over an hour I stood in surgery and watched the poor bring in their pets for treatment. • First came a boy leading a nondescript collie. “I want' ’im destroyed,” he announced, “and mother says I’ve got to wait for the collar.” License Not Paid, The vet. gathered the dog in his arms and placed it upon tht-c operating table. “Why what’s the matter with him?” he asked. "Nothing,” replied the boy. "We can’t pay the license, that’K ali.” And the collie, a look of fear in his eyes, was taken to his doom. Much as the dispensary officials would lik e to save dogs brought to them from destruction, they are powerless. The accommodation at the dispensary ils limited,, and the funds are brought in for destruction there ' is nothing for it but the lethal chamber. “But it is a shame,” said the vet. “Many of these people take a dog off the streets, and as soon as the license becomes due they get rid of it.”

Holiday Problem.

Next came a girl carrying a beautiful Persian eat in her arms. She also wanted it put to sleep. “Butwhy?” asked the vet. “It’s a lovely cat.”

“ I know it is,” said the girl, “but we can’t keep it.” And pussy was taken through the fatal door. Came a little boy, sobbing with a puppy in his arms. White-faced and anxious, he watched the vet. make his examination. But there was nothing really wrong, and he was sent joyfully away. “We ’ don’t really get many cases of deliberate cruelty to pets,” said Superintendent Kendall, the. chief of the branch. "Such cruelty as does occur is mostly the result of lack of animal knowledge. ,