Every year, during the Passover vacation and after it, the disgusting phenomenon of abandoning animals comes to light, when dogs and cats are abandoned at the Society after their owners have gone away on holiday.
One of these incidents happened this week, when a resident of Ashkelon reported about three dogs that had been left tied for ten days in the yard of one of the neighbors, without food or water, crying and barking at the top of their lungs. According to her this same neighbor had left for a vacation in the north of Israel and had left the dogs tied up in the yard with no one in charge of them and without any food, while one of the dogs already had an injury to its neck from the iron chains.
Representatives of the Society decided to go to the site to examine the state of the dogs, and at the same time the spokeswoman for the Society turned to Yossi Asulin, the spokesman for the city of Ashkelon. Two veterinary inspectors who had arrived at the spot accompanied by police inspectors, found the starving dogs in a distressed state. They tried to contact the owners, and from talks with neighbors it turned out that for over a week no one had come to take care of the dogs.
Under the authority of the municipal police the dogs were taken from the yard to the local dog pound. There they received water, food and veterinary treatment. The municipal veterinarian, Gad Sharvit, announced that the dogs would stay at the pound until it would be decided what to do with them. “The owners of the dogs contacted us and I told them that they would meet with me, and after the discussion with them I would decide what to do about the dogs. We are talking about a case of neglect and a violation of the law about cruelty to animals, and the responsibility is that of the owners”.
The case described above is one of severe abuse and neglect of animals. Unfortunately, this is the ugly side of the holidays, during which a large portion of the population goes on vacation and looks for cheap solutions for their pets. Instead of finding the services of a pet boarding facility or a person to care for the animals, many people abandon the animals at the Society, on the way to the airport, or simply leave them to fend for themselves. According to law, abandoning animals is forbidden, as is abuse and neglect of animals. We want to thank the Ashkelon municipality, which acted quickly and most appropriately in the case of those three unhappy dogs, and we are asking the public to keep their eyes open and to report any case of suspicion of abuse or neglect.
Main photo: Press Relations Department of Ashkelon City Hall.
