PITY OUR PETS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3212, 6 May 1911, Page 11

PITY OUR PETS.

THE CRUELTIES OF IGNORANCE

Many of us, writes Mrs Humphry.-in the “Daily Telegraph,” are unwittingly cruel to our pets. A\ ith mistaken kindness we overfeed them, and by doing so invite abiding and often ratal ailments. Too much food 1 causes indigestion of a very uncomfortable kind, leading to ill-temper and snappishness, just as in the case of human beings, especially when combined with insufficient exercise. . , , . , Lap dogs led on a leash do not get enough exercise. They need to run and frisk. As to fox terriers,, rough and smooth, and all large dogs, it is cruelty to keep them without it. They are framed for swiftness, muscular' development and powers of endurance. They should run miles every day, with a minimum of two hours. It is sometimes necessary to keep watch dogs chained, but is is absolutely cruel to let them go for days without occasional release and regular exercise. The kindly owner sees.to it that the dog is loosed while all the bands in some factory are away at dinner, and that a run is given tliei creature whenever possible. The boredom endured by chained dogs is voiced by them in the most lamentable of yawns, with that note- of hopelessness in them that one hears in the cry of neglected children. _ , “He is too fierce to- oe let off the chain, sir.” Of course he is! Cause and efrect. Had he not been , kept on the chain without occasional relief he would not have become fierce. Twelve hours of listless inactivity, often without a bone for occupation and amusement; and there are 365 days in the year. In Switzerland a plan is sometimes adopted by which the yard dog is allowed a certain amount of liberty and exercise. A stout pole is stretched across the yard about 12 feet from the ground and firmly fastened. On this is an iron ring with long chain attached. To the chain the dog’s collar can be fastened, so -that lie can have the width of the yard.for stretching his legs. An inspecter of the S.P.C.A. once found a Great Dane in a horrible condition after nine years on the chain without once being let loose. And often there are tortures of thirst added to imprisonment. Few, indeed, are the dogs who are given fresh water daily, and whose drinking vessel, when knocked over by the chain, is duly refilled. Such omissions as these come from want of imagination. They are unconscious cruelty. Perhaps may be ranked under the same head the practice of letting dogs follow motor cars and motor cycles; and yet it is difficult to believe that any man or woman could be insensible to the signs of exhaustion and to the suffering from thirst of the poor animals after a race of two hours or more at tip-top speed. The dust from the car or cycle is thickest at the level of the dog’s mouth, and, together with the heat of exercise, creates a violent thirst. It vas pitiful to see a poor dog following a motor cycle make a dash for a pail of water left handy for some horses, but tear on again without having had a single drop in his frantic haste to keep up with his owner. Canine pets are not the only ones that suffer from 'tinconscious cruelty. Canaries contract catarrh and asthma owing to their cages being hung in draughty windows. Other causes of discomfort are cages too small, perches too light for the natural grasp of the claws. These, birds delight in sunshine, but many of them spend the greater part of their lives ill gloom. They sing too well, their shrillness is stormed by veiling the cages wth a cloth. Chosen for their powers of song, they are snubbed for using them. It reminds one of the medical student who brought an alarm clock to wake him early, and when it did so with a noisy clatter, flung his boot at it. One of the most diabolical of the tortures of a certain Oriental nation in former days consisted in cutting off the eyelids of a victim and leaving him bound and helpless lying face upwards under the scorching rays of an Eastern sun. This cruelty as deliberate, but an analogy may be found in the placing of a glass tank containing goldfish in a. sunny window. One often sees this. The owners of the beautiful little pets cannot be aware that goldfish have no eyelids, and suffer much when unprovided With shade on a sunny day. Pets brought to olir cold climate from hot countries suffer much from cold. Monkeys and marmosets are miserable if not kept warm. The latter need a hot water bottle, and even when provided with one often develop paralysis.'

Sonne of the most tender-hearted 1 are guilty of such thoughtless acts as these, often from sheer ignorance as to the structure and necessities of the dumb creatures that are dependent on them. A romantic girl brought some gazelles from the east of Europe, and shut them in cages on the lawn. Accustomed to the freedom of the hills, to leap from roc'lc to rock in perfect liberty, the graceful little animals soon pined and died. All from want of thought.