As I mentioned in yesterday's post Simon the gardener passed away sometime Tuesday night at Angau Hospital in Lae. Unfortunately there was also another “death” within the past week.
My mate “Sim”…
My mate “Sim” is no more. A week ago one of the neighbours discovered his body underneath their house. “Sim” had been dead for a couple of days as the stench was starting to spread.
“Sim's” real name was “Sniper” – although I gave him the name “Sim” right from the beginning. A dog responds to a particular sound and although his name was Sniper he sure responded to my call when I would call out “Sim”.
The above photo was taken sometime last year when “Sim” was still in good health. Sometime around October he got hit by a car and never really recovered. When I left for Sydney just before Xmas he was limping but he still had all his hair. Something happened during my absence that caused him to lose all his hair in five weeks. Five weeks !!
When he was hit by the car he should have been taken to the vet straightaway. Something in his hind legs or back was damaged and “Sim” found it very difficult to get to food when people would throw out scraps – the other dogs would beat him to it and he therefore went down hill very quickly.
The condition he was in just before he died was shocking and I will never understand why his owners never took better care of him. If a dog in his condition was found in Sydney the owners would probably be charged for mistreatment of an animal. Disgusting.
Eli, after she started staying with me on campus noticed the poor state of most campus dogs. She would say that the people of West Taraka take much better care of their animals than the people here on campus. The people living on campus having much more money than most of the poor folks in the West Taraka settlement.
Shame on the dog owners that live on campus and don't look after their pets. If a dog gives one thing during it's life, he or she gives loyality and friendship. Why do some people find it difficult or impossible to reciprocate just a little bit of goodwill? Perhaps its a reflection of their inability to feel and show compassion for living things – animal or human.
A visit to the vet and some decent tucker would mean that Sim would still be with us. I believed in the end he died for two reasons: underfed and underloved.
Something I struggled with whilst “Sim” was alive and suffering – I would always debate how much responsibility to take towards the care of him. In the end I decided that he wasn't my dog so therefore his condition was not my responsibility. Some of you might argue with this approach, some of you might agree. Nevertheless it was the decision I made. From time to time I would pick up some bones or dog food down at the shops. Interestingly, a few days of bones a few weeks ago saw his hair starting to grow back. I therefore concluded that his condition was mainly caused by not being fed.
Shame on the owners !!
Farewell “Sim” – if you do come back as a dog I hope you find yourself in a more loving and caring household than this time round.
tingting bilong yu…
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