00:00As the saying goes, dog is a man's best friend.
00:07Yet thousands of dogs and cats are neglected or abandoned each year in this country.
00:12Thankfully, many of them are rescued by the Trinidad and Tobago Society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
00:19Last year we took in about 3,000.
00:22Mostly, many of them are given up by owners or people have rescued them off the streets or from a difficult situation and given them into the shelter.
00:34We also get abandoned, lost and injured animals.
00:39Occasionally we get some, we also get from the Port of Spain Corporation on occasion, which are the strays that they pick up.
00:49This, as the society says, there are no functioning state facilities which provide a safe haven for animals.
00:55We have practically no facilities to take in unwanted animals.
01:00So let's say someone doesn't, you know, they don't want a dog or something and they can't find an alternative, the tendency is to abandon the animal.
01:11And maybe if it was easier for people to give up an animal to a facility where they felt comfortable that it was being handled properly, you would have fewer cases of abandonment.
01:23She believes at the root of the problem is the fact that there are no consequences for owners who abandon or neglect their animals.
01:31The society is calling on government to action key animal welfare legislation through the Dog Control Act and the Animal Diseases and Importation Amendment Act.
01:42We are still awaiting implementation and for some structure to implement that act and also awaiting regulations.
01:53So we're really pressing for some action on that because we deal with so many cruelty cases and calls from the public for assistance with animal cruelty.
02:05And I mean it's really distressing for us to have to take these calls, see the videos and sometimes or often not be able to do anything about it.
02:16She notes that readily accessible and affordable spaying and neutering options will go a long way.
02:21But the society is unable to offer these services to the general public.
02:25In fact, she laments, and not for the first time, that the society may soon be forced to close its doors due to financial constraints.
02:35We have an annual shortfall in the region of $400,000.
02:40It costs us over a million dollars a year to run this facility.
02:46So we are really asking for a government subvention because we also feel that we have taken the place of the government facilities certainly in the north of Trinidad.
02:58There are no government facilities and even the south facility is not functioning.
03:03So we are even taking in dogs like from San Fernando Hospital, the San Fernando Wharf.
03:11We make trips regularly to south and central to deal with cases.
03:17So I mean it's impossible for a shelter this size to cope with problems right around the country.
03:25In the meantime, members of the public are being urged to adopt.
03:29Tell me why you think it's important to come here to adopt these animals.
03:33Well, I think it's important because some of these animals have really been dumped and neglected by their rightful owners.
03:41And I think it's a good thing that TTSPCA is doing in terms of bringing these animals here, rescuing them and taking good care of them because this animal is already vaccinated.
03:51Right. And I didn't have to pay anything but just the fee for the animal itself.
03:58And they spay, they neuter the animals, they take good care of the animals and the animals are happy.
04:03You know, and after coming out of the situations that they would have come out from, TTSPCA rescued them.
04:09If you would like to help the shelter stay afloat, you can make a donation to the TTSPCA's RBC account.
04:16Number 1-000-9401-266-1446.
04:23Vanessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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