rachel_fplee
24-08-2005, 10:10 AM
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/8/24/central/11813259&sec=central
A POPULAR pet shop in Ikano Power Centre, Petaling Jaya, has come under fire for letting a sick dog under its care die without receiving medical care for two days.
A customer had returned a toy poodle to the Wonderful World of Pets inside the Pet Safari outlet two weeks ago when the animal was found to be suffering from severe diarrhoea due to a viral infection.
The puppy was put into a cat cage and left in a secluded corner of the store near the fire exit. It could not take any food or water but no veterinarian attended to it.
When The Star visited Pet Safari on Aug 10, the puppy had already died and its legs were hanging through the cage bars underneath which was a puddle of bloodied, watery stools.
The puppy section is managed by the Wonderful World of Pets, which is renting space at Pet Safari alongside eight other tenants.
The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) animal inspector Sabrina Yeap said this was a case of unchecked animal abuse in pet shops.
“The bloodied watery stools are an indication of a dog stricken with the Parvo virus, or it could have been suffering from internal bleeding due to a fall or a beating,” she said.
“It is normally difficult to save the animal when it has reached this acute stage. However, the poodle should have been euthanised and allowed to to die in a humane way,” she explained.
Wonderful World of Pets director Lewis Tan admitted there was a breach of protocol by his pet shop in handling the case.
“I was not in town, and my staff tried giving it food and water,” he said.
“We were waiting for our vet who was unable to come.
“The puppy was suffering from a genetic virus attack and its antibodies could not overcome it. There was little chance of it surviving.
“Being Buddhists, we do not believe in putting animals to sleep,” he added.
Yeap said the SPCA could not accept such an excuse given by the pet shop.
“Pet Safari has eight other tenants under its roof, including one that provides qualified veterinary services,” said Yeap.
“Why didn’t Tan get the vet to attend to the animal? Or he could’ve sent the puppy to any other vet outside Ikano, the nearest being in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, just 10 minutes away.
“Immediate action should have been taken when such a severely sick animal is placed under the pet shop’s care. It was pointless having workers feed the animal.
“From the SPCA’s point of view, any action that causes an animal to suffer is animal abuse. Irresponsible pet shops that do not care for animals should not be allowed to get away with it,” she added.
Veterinary Services Department, Shah Alam director Tee Thian See said his department would not take any action because they “did not see anything,” although there were witnesses and photographic evidence.
“Everything was in order when we checked the shop,” he told The Star.
“We can only monitor the situation. There was nothing there when we visited, so how can we take up the case?”
On Tuesday, Yeap, Tan and Pet Safari director Ng Whye Hoe held a meeting to clarify the issue.
Ng said Pet Safari was horrified at such an incident and promised to revise tenancy regulations. He said as landlord, Pet Safari had the authority to intervene if there were suspected cases of animal abuse under its roof.
“As a responsible pet company with over six years experience in Malaysia and Singapore, we will not tolerate such acts of cruelty,” he told StarMetro.
“We acknowledge that it happened at our premises and we will not avoid the issue.
“We pledge to improve our services and care to the animals.
“We are shocked because we select our tenants carefully and we have over 100 years of combined experience between all our nine tenants,” explained Ng.
The SPCA appeals to other buyers of similarly sick puppies to make statements or to report cases of animal abuse in pet shops by calling 03-4256 5312.
A POPULAR pet shop in Ikano Power Centre, Petaling Jaya, has come under fire for letting a sick dog under its care die without receiving medical care for two days.
A customer had returned a toy poodle to the Wonderful World of Pets inside the Pet Safari outlet two weeks ago when the animal was found to be suffering from severe diarrhoea due to a viral infection.
The puppy was put into a cat cage and left in a secluded corner of the store near the fire exit. It could not take any food or water but no veterinarian attended to it.
When The Star visited Pet Safari on Aug 10, the puppy had already died and its legs were hanging through the cage bars underneath which was a puddle of bloodied, watery stools.
The puppy section is managed by the Wonderful World of Pets, which is renting space at Pet Safari alongside eight other tenants.
The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) animal inspector Sabrina Yeap said this was a case of unchecked animal abuse in pet shops.
“The bloodied watery stools are an indication of a dog stricken with the Parvo virus, or it could have been suffering from internal bleeding due to a fall or a beating,” she said.
“It is normally difficult to save the animal when it has reached this acute stage. However, the poodle should have been euthanised and allowed to to die in a humane way,” she explained.
Wonderful World of Pets director Lewis Tan admitted there was a breach of protocol by his pet shop in handling the case.
“I was not in town, and my staff tried giving it food and water,” he said.
“We were waiting for our vet who was unable to come.
“The puppy was suffering from a genetic virus attack and its antibodies could not overcome it. There was little chance of it surviving.
“Being Buddhists, we do not believe in putting animals to sleep,” he added.
Yeap said the SPCA could not accept such an excuse given by the pet shop.
“Pet Safari has eight other tenants under its roof, including one that provides qualified veterinary services,” said Yeap.
“Why didn’t Tan get the vet to attend to the animal? Or he could’ve sent the puppy to any other vet outside Ikano, the nearest being in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, just 10 minutes away.
“Immediate action should have been taken when such a severely sick animal is placed under the pet shop’s care. It was pointless having workers feed the animal.
“From the SPCA’s point of view, any action that causes an animal to suffer is animal abuse. Irresponsible pet shops that do not care for animals should not be allowed to get away with it,” she added.
Veterinary Services Department, Shah Alam director Tee Thian See said his department would not take any action because they “did not see anything,” although there were witnesses and photographic evidence.
“Everything was in order when we checked the shop,” he told The Star.
“We can only monitor the situation. There was nothing there when we visited, so how can we take up the case?”
On Tuesday, Yeap, Tan and Pet Safari director Ng Whye Hoe held a meeting to clarify the issue.
Ng said Pet Safari was horrified at such an incident and promised to revise tenancy regulations. He said as landlord, Pet Safari had the authority to intervene if there were suspected cases of animal abuse under its roof.
“As a responsible pet company with over six years experience in Malaysia and Singapore, we will not tolerate such acts of cruelty,” he told StarMetro.
“We acknowledge that it happened at our premises and we will not avoid the issue.
“We pledge to improve our services and care to the animals.
“We are shocked because we select our tenants carefully and we have over 100 years of combined experience between all our nine tenants,” explained Ng.
The SPCA appeals to other buyers of similarly sick puppies to make statements or to report cases of animal abuse in pet shops by calling 03-4256 5312.