That was a happy story. This is a sad one. A German Shepherd guard dog was incarcerated for a week in a small storeroom in Old Fort Road. The room had a grid door and just one small window high up in the wall. A member of the public heard it crying pitifully and reported this to the SPCA.

Jacqui went to investigate. The room is among the old PWD ex-army barracks. Well before Jacqui got to the room, she could smell an overpowering odour of faeces. The dog was not barking, but was crying desperately. She photographed the disgusting conditions. Then she opened the door, put a lead on the dog and put it in her van. The room was among the very worst she had seen in which an animal had been kept. The German Shepherd belonged to a security company. Jacqui phoned the owner to tell him that she had taken the dog.

He came to her office with a long story of how the dog had been left in charge of a dog handler (what kind of dog handler, we want to know) while the owner had been away for a week. He said he was ashamed of what had happened, and that the security guard would have a disciplinary hearing. But how can an owner go away for a week without knowing anything about how his animal will be looked after? The dog was actually in quite reasonable physical condition but was psychologically traumatised by its filthy, disgusting incarceration.

The owner was told to take the dog home and that it was not to work again as it was already becoming elderly. The dog was taken to the owner’s home in Kwa Mashu. He has another home in La Lucia. The house will be checked on, and the future welfare of the dog monitored. Jacqui felt that the dog was in a very disturbed condition owing to this awful experience and told the owner that it was vital that he give it regular affection and attention to help it get over its appalling experience. The Inspectorate will monitor the case to ensure that the dog has at least 12 hours of freedom every day, which is the basic rule for all security dogs. .... more reports »