Pound problems
On Tuesday June 19 I picked up a little white Maltese X dog on the corner of Albert Street and Melanie Drive, Warragul.
He was on the road and looking very confused. He is an older dog and his rather portly body indicated that he was someone’s wellloved and very well-fed pet.
He had no collar and rather than leave him at risk of being run over, I took him to a vet clinic so that he could be checked for a microchip and returned to his owner.
Later I rang the vet to find out if he was safely at home. They told me that unfortunately they were unable to locate the owner and had put him in the care of the pound. He was microchipped. Apparently the owner had not answered their phone calls.
So I called the pound, admittedly with some trepidation. I know of two cases of the pound either destroying an animal or threatening to do so.
On calling the pound I was informed by a Baw Baw council employee that he could not give out any information about the dog for privacy reasons.
Me: “I just want to know if the owner has picked him up. I do not need to know the dog’s name, the name of the owner or the address or phone number. I simply want to know if he is back home.”
Pound person: “I am afraid madam we cannot give out that information because of privacy regulations.”
Me: “But I am not asking you for any personal information. I simply want to know if the dog is still in the pound or his owner has claimed him.”
Pound person: “Our privacy regulations forbid us from divulging that information.”
And thus the rather heated conversation continued until I was fed up enough to hang up. Whose privacy is being breached here? The dog’s? I did not even want the dog’s name. I simply wanted information about if he was home or not and it would have involved a simple yes or no answer. I want to thank a total stranger for stopping me and asking if I was okay. I told her I was in a lot of pain. She hugged me and said a prayer for me to be well. I really was blown away with such care. What a beautiful person.
Bricks to Baw Baw Shire Council for putting water gutters across footpaths at road crossings.
The rough path is dangerous for mothers with prams and pushers and also mobility scooters driven by old age people. This is more prevalent in new housing areas.
Bouquets to the two lovely couples who stopped after a night out at the Garfield Theatre to change our flat tyre. It was very much appreciated.
To the Drouin woman who drove from Drouin to Westpac Warragul to hand in a key card I had dropped in the street in Drouin. Community citizen! Many thanks. Bouquets to all involved in the incredible transformation of the Warragul Riding for the Disabled horse float. Special thanks to Jason of Drouin Smash Repairs for all his work on it and for organising others who contributed. The float looks magnificent - thank you.
To man in 60s (who should have known better!) who ran across the road in front of my car as I was exiting a Drouin roundabout nearly causing injury to himself and a collision between myself and the car travelling behind me.
A big bouquet to Steve from Rowes Nursery. The other day I dropped a $50 note out of my pocket and didn’t realise until I went to buy petrol. When I got home I retraced my footsteps and rang Rowes Nursery where I had been earlier. Steve looked around and also walked down the car park to look for it.
That in itself was fantastic and when he found it that was the icing on the cake Thank you Steve.
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