00:00Sometimes we get phone calls even to go out and check on animals because when
00:06they call the police, the police telling them is the TTSPCA there to call.
00:10Most the times too, we need the police assistance because we can't go and take
00:15an animal from somebody if we think that it's being treated badly, we would need
00:22the police assistance. I mean sometimes we meet some police, some good ones who
00:27you know go out with us and then there are those who don't know anything.
00:32We were taken on a tour of the facility which at this time is overcrowded. The
00:37Trinidad and Tobago Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is
00:42pleading with residents of Tobago to adopt a pet today. The other issue that
00:48we have as well is when like people come and just dump the animals and then they
00:52either throw them in the bin, they throw them over the fence, they tie them to the
00:56fence, yeah they throw them in the yard, they leave them in the road and then it
01:00becomes a problem for everybody that living in this area here. Senior vet at
01:04the Tobago shelter Dr. Raquel Small recently received an emergency call for
01:09a lamb which subsequently died. I got an emergency call to come out for a lamb
01:15who unfortunately died before it came in. I did a post-mortem, it was probably hit
01:22by a car about three days ago and the owner did not look for medical help for
01:28this animal. It had what we call an abdominal hernia which basically means
01:32that the abdominal wall was ruptured and intestines were right under the skin. Yes
01:37it had several maggot wounds, it had a broken leg, it had some bruising in the
01:42chest and it did like I said die before it got in here. We might have been able
01:46to help the animal but even if the owner did not want to it would have been
01:51better if they euthanized than left it there to suffer. Officials at the shelter
01:56tell us more volunteers are also needed especially retirees. Members of the
02:01public who wish to adopt pets and or volunteer at the shelter can call
02:06233-1951. Elizabeth Williams TV6 News
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