Snow's Moonlight Rescue

 

Would you call this speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves?

(Since Snow was rescued and died, in 2003, the SPCA has improved its PCA Act enforcement, but not enough. Animal Advocates Society continues to get pleas for help for chained dogs with health problems. It is still hard for the SPCA to seize a dog for being chained, but it's not hard for the SPCA to seize a dog for untreated diseases and injuries and a lack of food, water, and shelter. We are still seeing dogs in seizable conditions who the SPCA does nothing apparent for. See the SPCA's announcement of its chained dog campaign here.)

 

Snow's Story                              Click photos to enlarge


Neighbours told us that Snow was kept for years in a filthy side yard as a guard dog. The BC SPCA in this municipality had been called many times by many neighbours.

The provincial Protection of Cruelty to Animals Act could have been used to help Snow. In fact, he could have been seized without a warrant because he was so clearly in critical distress. So too could have Animal Advocates Society's "Humane Treatment of Dogs" bylaws in this municipality have been used to help him.

So Animal Advocates was called. Snow was very old when we saw him, and he could barely get up from the hole he had dug for himself, so he lay there, being rained on. When he did walk, he often fell over. No wonder walking was so painful – he had old torn cruciate (knee) ligaments, and the pain must have been agonizing. One shin bone wasn't even attached to his knee, so he couldn't keep his balance. He was indescribably matted with urine-soaked lumps of feces, and his nails were long and twisted. And he was completely blind.

We got him when he was very near the end of his suffering.

We had blood tests done, and his kidneys were shutting down – they must have been painful too. He was anaemic and his prostrate gland was enlarged. He was emaciated under all that matted, dirty hair, and badly dehydrated. The neighbours noticed that the last few days there was no food or water put out for Snow. They believed his heartless owner was deliberately allowing him to die, probably as the cheapest form of euthanasia.

We couldn't do much for Snow, except clean him up, and keep him warm and comfortable, and talk to him a lot, and tell him we loved him, and scratch behind his ears, because he loved that so much. And we gave him all the junk food he wanted! We gave him cans of smelly, tasty dog food, and he wolfed it down; he could hardly get enough. And on Snow's last day, we gave him a barbequed chicken (with apologies to the chicken).

He was eating barbequed chicken when he left us for that wonderful place where all dogs go (because all dogs are good dogs): that place of fields and woods and creeks and seashores, and warm beds, and plenty of food, and loving hands and kind voices, and no pain, just pure doggy joy. Bon voyage, Snow.

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