HEARTBREAKING CONDITIONS AT SELAYANG DOG POUND

I have just returned from a trip to the Selayang Dog Pound. I went together with Joanne and Leigh at the invitation of the SPCA. The conditions at the pound were horrible in my opinion.

The dogs were in a terrible condition, physically and emotionally. All the dogs were filthy, alot of them were sick and were shivering terribly, a number of them had wounds and sores, and almost all of them were very very thin. There was faeces in the cages, and some pans of water were undrinkable as it had urine in them.

There was no food anywhere today, and I suspect that they were all very hungry too. The congestion in the cages caused fights to break out - a few happened while we were there. But what struck me most was the fear that emanated from them when we arrived. It makes me wonder what these dogs are subjected to on a daily basis at the pound.

The dogs only calmed down after about 10 minutes when they realised that we were not going to harm them. Quite a few of them were very friendly and were starved for affection. We knew immediately that these were not strays per se, but were dogs that had homes and owners who loved them.

It is most unfortunate that they had to end up in this pound, where all that awaits them is impending death, and a horrible one at that.

1. The dog shelter - note that in the event of heavy rain or a storm all the dogs would be completely drenched!
2. A pen with a cow and cow-dung everywhere just opposite the cages where the dogs are


3. A small white dog that was very friendly and starved for affection


4. One of the dogs that had sores on his skin
5. This was another friendly dog that was pleading for us to take him away.


6. These dogs were terrified of us initially and are quite sickly. They were shivering and were lying down all the time.
7. This white dog had a severe maggot wound on his right hind leg. He has not been treated for a whole week. SPCA had already notified MPS of his condition when they visited last week. Note the faeces all over the place.


8. This poor boy was caught with a huge padlock and a heavy chain. MPS did not remove this from him.
9. This girl cannot even get a drink cause the water dish was full or urine.


10. This boy was foaming at the mouth


11. Note the faeces on the floor of this cage too


12. Another friendly doggie. Note the faeces on the ground
13. Two puppies isolated from the rest with no food.


14. The very cramped conditions in the cages, and almost all the dogs were sick


15. Two very sick puppies
16. Sick dogs that were shivering away in the middle of the day







Here is a chronology of what happened at the pound today:

1330 SPCA's Alan Hor and Cunera Kimlon, and I arrived at the pound. We were told that the caretaker had gone out for lunch and would only be back at about 1430hrs

1345 We went to a nearby stall for lunch

1415 We returned to the pound. Joanne and Leigh had also arrived by this time. We were not allowed entry into the pound although the MPS were aware that the SPCA would be making a visit to the pound today to check on the conditions of the dogs as well as to donate 3 cages to the council.

1425 A Cik Nazmeen from MPS arrives. She informed us that we were not allowed into the pound. No reason was given except that this was the instructions that she received.

1450 We were finally allowed to enter the pound. All of us walked into the pound while the SPCA truck drove in. The dogs started barking and howling in fear. As we approached them we saw that they were all so frightened and were crouching at the back of the cages.

What struck me most was the stench that was emanating from the pound. I suffer from severe sinusitis and can't smell a thing usually. But one can only imagine how terrible the smell must have been for to have been able to complain that it was bad.

The first thing that I noted was the presence of a cow in a pen, with cow-dung all over the pen. Wasn't quite sure why the cow was there though.

We were told that Vet Fine (M) Sdn Bhd makes two trips to the pound each day, once at about 10am in the morning and another at about 3 or 4 pm in the evening.

We counted 45 dogs in total (5 of which were puppies). 1 puppy was running loose in the area, while 2 others were in a small cage away from the main cages. There were 7 large cages in total but only 6 were used, while the 7th was used to store some stuff.

The dogs were in appalling conditions. There was one dog with a heavy chain and a padlock on his neck. He was caught that way and left that way. Another dog was foaming at the mouth and we suspect that he may have distemper. Some of the dogs had large ticks on them, and the puppies were sickly and grossly thin. Other dogs had wounds and sores and were shivering. They probably had caught colds from the being hosed down with water twice a day by MPS personnel.

Due to the congestion in the cages, a few dog fights broke out while we were there. I cannot imagine what it's like during feeding times, assuming they are fed at all.

There was faeces everywhere, and most of it was runny with mucus, which meant that a large number of these dogs were seriously ill. Some of the dogs had faeces on their fur or had to stand or lie in the faeces and urine as there was nowhere else to stand.

1530 Joanne & Leigh left.

1550 Alan Hor, Cunera and I left. Vet Fine didn't show.


All in all this was a terrible afternoon for me... I cannot understand how our local authorities can have so many stipulations for 'acceptable living conditions' for people who would like to own dogs, when they cannot even provide the most basic level of care and shelter for the dogs that they have either caught or confiscated.