Here is a post of Christa Cilia, a great animal lover and animal activist, about her experience while volunteering at Animal Welfare:
[Animal Welfare Malta!
When will you really start to make the welfare of animals a priority? When are you going to start to understand what a dog that is under your care has gone through after being abandoned by its owner? It is 2023 and you still have not understood that a dog that has been traumatized has not yet healed 100% but which has improved thanks to the consistent work and care of the volunteers. But you work against them instead of in their favour.
Recently, I had a week off work, and I decided to volunteer myself – taking the dogs at Ghammieri out for a walk. Besides the fact that you have limited their place for a walk, which is boring and dizzying as it is an uphill and downhill walk in the same place, you have built a wall, which is a blind corner. In order to go out and go back in with the dog, you have to pass around this wall. Whoever has come up with the idea of this wall and its building is yet another farse to the rest. In order to give you an idea, it is very easy for two dogs to end up getting face-to-face and fighting if a volunteer who is coming in with a dog meets with a volunteer who is going out with another dog.
This is what happened to Chico, whom you can see in these photos. A volunteer was walking in to put him back in his pen, and he found a worker at this blind corner. Chico took a fright as he found him there unexpectedly, and he growled at him. Obviously, this worker created panic, and as usual, it is the dog’s fault. Chico is being blamed.
Two years ago, Chico was taken to Animal Welfare in a traumatized state, and because of this accident, they are going to put him back where he started. They want him either to wear an obligatory muzzle or to stay in the pen 24/7. Making a dog wear a muzzle is not an easy thing. The dog has to get used to it slowly, and there is appropriate training for it. So, if for example, he is going to take a month to get used to this muzzle, this means that he is going to remain inside his pen for a month.
I want to add that in 2021, nine strong breeds were euthanized because they did not go along well with other dogs. Was an animal behaviourist recommended for those dogs? What happened? Was everything forgotten? How many dogs have to be euthanized and how many incidents have to be forgotten for a behaviourist to be brought in?
Please share so that hopefully they do something for these dogs!]
Now, I do not know how this story developed for Chico. But I am writing this piece to raise awareness among the general public as to how things are dealt with when it comes to the welfare of animals in a ministry run by the Labour government! There are far more improvements to be made in this ministry so that hopefully this nation changes into a more loving one towards all creation!
Anton Refalo, what has been done for Chico since the date of this post? Needless to say, instead of blaming the culprits (the blind wall) and understanding not only where these poor dogs come from but also what has led a dog to change behaviour, we traumatize him even more! Poor animal who is always at the mercy of stupid humans!
Anton Refalo, when will Animal Welfare work hand-in-hand with the volunteers and take the welfare of animals at a higher level? This site has already pointed at the need to have an adjacent rehabilitation centre or process going on with trained professionals so that dogs are properly trained before they are found a home. It is not the dog’s fault. These dogs were not properly trained by their previous owners. The volunteers need to be helped by all Animal Welfare workers who have the animals truly at their heart and see them with loving eyes! I am sure that there are some workers who do but this has to come from everybody who works there!
Anton Refalo, stand up from your eternal sleep and do something!
Here are some comments to the above excellent post, in which you can see that a volunteer has acknowledged this post. This site takes the opportunity again to thank all those volunteers who do all this excellent work with those poor dogs for free.
In the meantime, Chico is looking for a home as he is suffering in Għammieri. This site would like to take the opportunity to plead with any kind and loving heart out there who would like to give a new life to dear Chico:
