| In 1995, AAS was phoned, as we are
almost daily, about a dog that was being treated very cruelly.
The SPCA had been called many times, but always said as long as she
has food, water, and shelter, it was not cruelty. Read and
judge... Nita was kept in a the tiny metal cabin of a small boat
that was moored in Surrey. She had been there for about six
months, from the time she was quite young. She had been
purchased from the Surrey SPCA as her owner constantly told everyone
who commented on his dog's misey, saying, "The SPCA sold her to me
and they don't see anything wrong with this, so &*%# off and mind
your own business!
She was fed, watered, and roughly taken out for few minutes every
other day, and then roughly put back into her tiny rolling prison,
back into her urine and feces. She cried almost constantly,
begging for the help that never came...not from the SPCA anyway.
As usual, a brave woman did what the SPCA would not do, and
removed Nita. Yes, she broke and entered. Yes, she stole
property. Just like at least one woman does every night of the
year in BC, if not more often.
AAS took her of course, and found her the home the SPCA should
have found for her, but as it only sold dogs, not rehomed them, it
did not matter to them if the purchaser was a cruel or not.
The lovely irony of this is that Nita, so terrified of boats that
she cringed and cowered, ended up on a boat again, but this time as
the First, and Dearly Beloved, Mate, on Eric and Ann Hansen's boat,
the
the Dana L, a 30' sailboat.
|
|
August 1998: Look at the way Nita is being touched... |
Nita quickly became a
member of our family and participated in all that we did. She had
her own kennel, her refuge, that she slept in and she had her own
space in the rear of the SUV. When traveling, our belongings were
jammed into the back seat and Nita had the rear area to herself.
She was happy as long as she was with us. Nita loved to eat,
particularly “people food” and she loved raw broccoli and Caesar
salad. She knew that she always got leftovers and if dinner went on
too long, she spoke up with a low
rumbling
growl to remind us that we’d forgotten her. Or if she thought we
were ignoring her, she poked a head under our elbow or put her nose
on the edge of the table and talked. She loved her raw food but her
favourite was the beef tripe and she became quite vocal when the
package was opened for her dinner. |
