TIMESOFMALTA.COM

MARIO SPITERI WAS NOT CONTENT WITH THIS.
HE WANTED TO TARNISH MY REPUTATION AND CALL ME NAMES.
A PUBLIC OFFICIAL, TREATING A CITIZEN IN THIS MANNER.

HE USED TIMESOFMALTA.COM FOR HIS PERSONAL VENDETTA, AS IT WERE.

BUT LET ME START FROM THE BEGINNING:

Starved, dead dogs found in derelict building

Three puppies were rescued from starvation after they were abandoned in a former lepers' hospital in Għargħur that had become a dog cemetery, littered with carcasses and rotting body parts.

Abandoned Animals Association president Freddie Fenech said he received an anonymous tip-off on Tuesday evening, alerting him about the place. He called the police who accompanied him on site. When they arrived, they could barely take in the sight: carcasses and skeletons of dogs scattered here and there.

In certain parts the stench was unbearable. The 20-roomed barrack-like complex is derelict, with rubbish lying everywhere. Whoever was responsible for leaving the dogs there was not around during the raid.

There were the remains of at least five dogs but it cannot be said for certain because some of the body parts found scattered could have come from different animals.

There was even the bloated body of a dog which had died very recently.

Inside, they found three lonely pups, about three months old, hidden under a cupboard. They were scared and it took them a while until they ventured out from their hiding place, even after Mr Fenech offered some food in a plate he had brought with him. They would be vaccinated and flown to Germany, Mr Fenech said.

THIS NEWS ITEM BROUGHT ABOUT VARIOUS BLOG COMMENTS, INCLUDING, OF COURSE, MINE.

MY OWN COMMENTS WERE THE FOLLOWING:

Franco Farrugia (5 days ago)
'Flown to Germany'.
Why?
Is it because we, in Malta, do not have the heart to look after our own? Nobody says anything about this. We speak about our Independence; we speak about how the EU is presumably taking away our Independence, and then, when it comes to looking after three poor puppies, we LOOK THE OTHER WAY and let the foreigners do the DIRTY WORK FOR US.

We are only there to act as the machos, to victimise poor animals that have absolutely no fault! Animals that are vulnerable, animals that are simply the victims of man's stubbornness and egoism - man's savagery!

Shall we pat ourselves on the shoulders and continue looking the other way? Is it possible, in a country where everyone knows everything about everybody else, that nobody knows who the responsible people are? Or are they some kind of local untouchables?

And what, I ask, is the Government and the authorities doing about this? What does the Minister responsible for Animal Welfare thinking about this? And his representatives in the Animal Welfare department-of-sorts? Are they too, looking the other way?
Disgusting!

Franco Farrugia (4 days, 21 hours ago)
@ Mr R Azzopardi: "Germans are real animal lovers who do not buy a pet just because it has a pedigree."

I totally agree with you, sir. I have been gently advocating against buying animals, whether they are pedigree or not. To me - and I know that many will not agree with me - buying a pure breed animal is tantamount to not only wasting money but also to indirect cruelty to animals.

You buy an animal from the breeder and you are encouraging said breeder to push his 'pet' to breed more puppies or kittens!!! Not only that, but it is not the first time that breeders killed imperfect pups or kittens because they were unsaleable!!! Obviously, this is not always the case.

And furthermore, when you are buying a pure breed, you are also not buying a non-pure breed which you could easily get for nothing from our full sanctuaries, thereby making it possible for another stray to be admitted into the sanctuary.

In my opinion, breeders are businessmen, not animal-lovers!

And as for 'owners' of pure-breeds, it all amounts to social status. Like owning an expensive car instead of an average one.

Bullet-proof vest on!


Franco Farrugia (4 days, 20 hours ago)
@ Ms S Zarb Adami. No, indeed I am not in the least impressed. Loving animals entails that we go out of our way and help and protect also those animals that are vulnerable, that is, those animals that have no roof over their heads, no human beings to call their 'masters' and that, in short, are strays. By limiting one's love to one's pet is not enough!

And by 'animals', I am here referring to all animals, birds included. For in my opinion, it is equally disgustingly cruel to confine birds to cages, or even put an end to their natural life simply because we claim, falsely, that it is our 'sport' or 'passatemp'.

But that is not, for the moment, the focus of my attention in this blog.

Franco Farrugia (4 days, 19 hours ago)
@ M. Hermsee, Indeed, that is just it. We, the Maltese, still feel that the foreigner is there to bail us out, in everything.
At the same time, we don't want said foreigners to interfere in our internal affairs. We want the cake and eat it, too. We want the status quo, we have our own sacred cows, we have our royal family or families, we even sanctify some people who we tend to turn into an untouchable establishment.


AND NOW, READ THIS:

Mario Spiteri (2 days ago)
DISGUSTING INDEED! Whoever left those poor puppies and all those who are trying to use this incident for their their own advantage/benefit are just as disgusting.

Some 'animal lovers' want the stray dog/cat poulation to serve the purpose of scavengers and live on cockroaches, mice and rats!!!! while others indulge in just words and more empty words when not tackling jealous 'teacher bashers' !!!(*)

Imagine what benefit the stray dog/cat population would derive if more genuine volunteers were involved in DEEDS and not words!

Pointing the accusing finger is easy and some with their own hidden private agenda just vent their spleen in such a way!!!

There is nothing glamorous in safeguarding animal rights but just hard and never ending work.

(*) This is a reference to another argument I have about teachers - since I am a teacher - letters of which appear in the same newspaper, TMI. Obviously, Mario Spiteri has no respect for people's privacy, as can be seen!