An easy route to pain and suffering
A large elderly dog is abandoned by his owners and left to die
WHEN I first see the photo of the St Bernard, my heart goes out to him.
He’s dirty, not in good health, and apparently suffering from a bad case of mange on the skin of his back and legs. If left untreated, this infection becomes increasingly uncomfortable and painful, and in some cases can even lead to death.
How is it possible that a dog of a breed famous for loyalty and affection could end up in such a state?
Since animal-rescuer Tharinee “Carrie” Wipuchanin of pickapet4home has sent me the photo, I phone her immediately for more details. Surely it will be easy to find a caring home for this unfortunate dog.
I can hear the sadness in Carrie’s voice. “Laurie,” she says, “the dog cannot be adopted. He’s not suitable for any home.”
He’s not only ill and covered with skin disease, she explains, but he has another problem, one that she discovered immediately when she found him abandoned at a temple.
This St Bernard is so vicious and aggressive that no one can approach him, not for any reason. The mange needs treatment with medication and special daily baths, but he won’t allow anyone even to put a muzzle on him.
With a smaller dog, the problems might be much more easily managed, but, as you know, St Bernards are massive animals – around 65 cms high. Some males can weigh as much as 90 kilos.
I don’t know the measurements of the boy in the photo, but I suspect that even ill and malnourished, he would be impossible to handle without sedation.
The unfortunate dog has yet another problem. He’s at least six, maybe seven, years old. In St Bernard terms, he’s elderly, and wouldn’t be expected to live much more than another year or so.
It’s an irony of nature, I think, that the larger dogs have a shorter lifespan than the smaller breeds. I’ve known miniature poodles to live past 20 years. By the time your St Bernard is nine years old, he’s passed into the sunset of his life.
I look at that photo again, and this time, I feel angry and dismayed. No one knows where this dog came from, but I can suspect how he spent his life.
Anyone can turn a dog – large or small, a St Bernard or a chihuahua – into a fearful, aggressive animal. Just tie him up and let people tease him, throw rocks at him and torture him in other ways.
In a short time, you have a dog mistrustful of any human and ready to defend himself in any way.
St Bernard puppies are so cute, so friendly, that it’s easy to fall in love with them, even though they can be quite expensive.
Some people, though, are firm believers in following nature, letting their growing dog do whatever he wishes. They don’t think ahead to when the pup grows into the huge size of adulthood. Their solution to controlling the big dog is to tie him up, never to get near him again.
Competent breeders advise that St Bernards must be trained as early as possible. The breed is friendly overall, but grows so large that even an adult human would have difficulties controlling an untrained fully-grown dog.
Without firmness, kindness, patience and understanding, the owner ends up with an unhappy, stressed animal doing his best to survive a terrible environment the only ways he knows how.
What happens to such a dog? The photo shows you.
It’s so easy to create a vicious animal. It’s much more difficult to help a dog become the best he can be.
As for this St Bernard, Carrie will care for him as long as he lives. Given his age and health problems, it won’t be so long.
