| Only real scum neglects a pet | |||||||
| by BUDDY AMATO | |||||||
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One of the most valuable things you can do for your pet is to make sure it has a veterinarian of record and that is is not a stranger at his or her office. Many animal cruelty cases arise out of the fact that people do not bring their pet to the vet when they get sick. It is the law that you provide proper vet care for you pet, when it gets injured or becomes sick Many people are not aware of the fact that the penalties for neglecting our pets well being are quite large and you, on top of a financial hit from the judge, can receive a disorderly persons record, I have made convictions where the judge removed all animals from the person's household as well as charge them with fines. In many cases this type of outcome can simply be avoided, by just doing the right thing. The right thing is exactly what you would do for your child, or yourself, if you became sick or injured. I had a case where a person allowed his cat to starve to death. When asked, "Why did you not bring it to a vet when you realized that it just kept going down in weight?" He replied, "I did not have the time!" This idiot didn't even have the brains to come up with a kindergarten level excuse! It turned out that the cat could not digest the food the owner was trying to feed it. If the owner had, in fact, brought his cat to a vet, the vet could have run simple tests that would have helped in the remedy and brought the cat back to a decent body weight. The cost that the vet bill would have incurred, would have been far less than the judge's fines, and there would have been no problems with this person owning animals in the future. Another case in mind is one that really recks of abuse. A pet owner accidentally his his pet with his car. The animal suffered a broken leg. Instead of bringing it to the vet, this "loving pet owner" decided to ignore it and the animal just suffered until we discovered the crippled dog and made the owner bring it to the vet. This owner is now facing charges under the cruelty statues and will have to explain this negligent act to the judge. People have to remember, if you have a pet and accept it as part of your household, you must treat it as if it were just that, a family member. The law does not allow you to disregard the animal when it gets sick or when it becomes injured. No matter how it happened, you are to treat your pet as if it were your child and do the right thing. We have had people bring their "loved pets" to be put to sleep for things that are not life threatening, and at the same time ask up if we have any other animals that they an adopt. They say this all in the same breath, as if the pet, that was sick and treatable, was just an old piece of clothing that had worn out. That is something I will never understand, but, at the same time it explains why many people have problems grasping the fact that your pet should be treated, again, as if it were a family member. Can you imagine if this person were allowed to have their child put to sleep because it had developed a breathing problem or if it had the nerve to become the victim of their parent's and got its foot broken because the parent slammed the bedroom door on it! Animals deserve better, especially from their owners. It is bad enough that there are homeless animals out there, that cannot fend for themselves. It is a sad state of affairs when the pets that have good or so called "Good Homes" are abused. I don't want to make it sound like, if you do not bring your pet to the vet, you are a bad pet owner. I do understand that circumstances somethings become a major factor in whether or not it is possible, due to the cost. The answer to this is there are many alternatives. You can make special arrangements and there are organizations that will lend a helping hand when necessary. You can always call your local S.P.C.A. for help in finding these resources, and at the same time, you will be doing the right thing, for your valuable family member, your pet Buddy Amato is a Hazlet business owner, who operates Amato's Karate and Weapons Academy. For more information, call (732) 671-9555.
Copyright Buddy Amato Amato's Goju-ryu Karate, Nunchaku, Bo-staff, Aikido, Sword, Kendo, Sais, Kick-boxing, Tai-Chi and more 589 Palmer Ave, Keansburg and is the author of Buddys Animal Kingdom, NJ 07734 (732) 671-9555 |
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