AUGUST is traditionally known as being the saddest month for dogs and animal shelters in Cyprus, due to the sheer amount of pets being dumped before irresponsible former owners go on their summer holidays.
Overcrowding at the few shelters on the island means that even puppies need to be put down if they are not claimed or adopted by anybody.
But in the eyes of some, even the dogs which are brought to the shelters might be actually considered the lucky ones.
“There is a rubbish dump on the way to my property where people leave their dogs when they don’t want them any more,” said Jennifer Brown, owner of the Rosewood Kennel in Nicosia.
“The dogs I’m finding there were abused so they don’t trust people. It takes a lot of time to make them friendly again. I have to bring them food and water every day before I can try to take them to the shelter,” she added.
Last year, Jennifer found 16 dogs left this way and even came across dogs that were left on the kennel doorstep.
“They didn’t even ring the bell.”
The treatment and care of animals is a blight on the island’s reputation. Leaving dogs in the heat without water, keeping them in cages and not letting them out or giving them enough of food are all too common.
“People think they can treat a dog like a goat,” adds Sharon Becket of the Nicosia Dog Shelter.
“Pets have different needs. They have to be taken care of. One group of people who seem to understand this the least are hunters.”
Even though it is possible to report owners who mistreat their pets to authorities, not many of those who see it make a complaint. According to a report from Animal Health and Welfare, conducted every four months, only 42 complains from January until April were made in Cyprus with just 23 recommendations made.
“We can help the animals only by raising awareness on what is happening around them,” said Theophanis Petrides of the State Veterinary Services.
“It is important that people react when they see something wrong.”
Some people, continued Petrides, even neglect to pinpoint the location of the neglected animal in their letters of complaint.
“When we actually receive a letter of complaint that contains the location of the animal believed to be mistreated, we send our vets to check it out to see if there is reasonable suspicion against the owner,” he said.
According to legislation, the owner is informed about his or her offence and a veterinary service official goes back for a second inspection after two weeks.
The veterinary services do not have a right to take the dog away immediately.
If the offence has still not been rectified, then the services have the power to take the animal away, provided they have authorisation from a higher body.
“The case would then need to be looked into by the authorities and the animal is taken away with the assistance of the police.”
But that’s not enough, argues Becket, who told the Cyprus Mail, “I’ve complained about an owner who kept his Husky on a chain in the sun with no water, the authorities came and gave him two weeks to fix the matter. The dog could be dead in just a few days.
“There should be special body to take care of this issue because the veterinary services have too much work to do with other matters,” she said.
Educating people in Cyprus on issues such as the proper care of pets was another issue that needs to be improved.
“We should focus on educating people about the needs of the pets, and make them more sensitive about it,” said Becket. “This should include the police, other relevant authorities, vets and even pet shops.”
But for now, filing a complaint to the veterinary services remains the only avenue towards saving an animal.
“So far, there are only 25,000 registered dogs but there are many more out there that are not registered so the actual number of dogs is not known,” said Petrides
“We are doing the best we can, we need to raise public awareness.”
Becket believes that the best solution lies in actually sterilising the dogs.
“For some reason people don’t want to do it,” she mused, “but they’re not the ones who need to euthanise puppies. The population of dogs and cats on the island needs to be put under control.”
There are around 200 dogs at the Nicosia shelter and it is painfully apparent that it cannot contain the amount of dogs ending up there.
Around 70 to 80 new dogs turn up every month with those numbers growing rapidly in August and during Christmas.
Around 60 of these dogs need to be put down every month, while only 12 to 15 will end up finding a new home.
But despite the maximum capacity, Becket always agrees to take on new animals.
“I want people to know that there is a place they can take unwelcome animals. Even if needs to be put to sleep, it’s better then it starving to death somewhere next to the highway.”
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