Family: They killed our ‘Baby’
Council euthanised dog despite being told it belonged to us, says woman
SEREMBAN: A district council has come under fire for putting down a dog shortly after rescuing it from a drain.
A family has lodged a police report against the Kuala Pilah District Council ( MDKP) over the incident on Tuesday.
They claimed that after pulling out the dog from the drain, three council personnel euthanised the animal despite being told that it belonged to the family.
K. Lily, 32, said Baby, a one-yearold mixed breed, fell into a drain near their home at Taman Desa Melang last Friday and her mother could not get the dog out.
She said her mother continued to feed the dog with biscuits and several days later, called the Fire and Rescue Department.
She said the department personnel left after failing to get hold of the dog which had run away, and they then called the council.
Lily said that after the three council personnel managed to pull Baby out, they took the dog to the council yard and euthanised it.
She called on the council to amend its procedures when dealing with such cases.
“If you find an unlicensed dog, you should keep it in a compound and wait for a few days to allow its owners to claim it.
“You should not euthanise a dog immediately upon finding it,” she said.
When contacted, MDKP president Syahrul Nizam Saleh said the dog had to be put to sleep as it did not have its licence badge on.
He said the council’s dog licensing by-laws clearly stated that dogs must have the licence badge attached to their collar at all times.
“We had to put the dog to sleep immediately as the Taman Bukit Pilah Perdana area is a hotspot for strays.
“If we had released the animal, it would again have been a nuisance to the residents,” he said in an e-mail response.
Syahrul Nizam said the council by-laws also stated that dog owners must get a licence for their animals from the council.