Let’s take better care of our animals

Kia ora koutou.

This is the Guardian’s final issue for 2018.

We follow the 12-month calendar from January to December, and we now observe Matariki in June.

For this issue I chose to invite readers to send in photos of their pet canines to observe the Chinese Year of the Dog which changes to the Year of the Pig in February. Animals and our pets bring so much joy and comfort, and it is on this note I’m sharing my aspiration for 2019. I wish that the human race will be more conscious toward the care and protection of all animals. My concern is for the animals that have no shelter from the extreme heat. They live in paddocks, waiting for the inevitable; but where can they shelter from the searing heat of the sun, or the torrential rain? Every day I pass a paddock in Turakina where a lone horse lives. Throughout winter he has had no shelter, no coat to protect him from the weather. Sometimes cattle will graze along the fenceline and I’ve seen horse licking the back of one. It’s a lonely existence. Horses need companionship, animals are like that. I inquired about horse and was told there is a legal wrangle happening. I stopped again the other day and he let me scratch his ears and rub his nose.

He ate the apple I left on the fence post.

It gives me comfort to be able to commune with him. Somehow, a legal wrangle between parties in some distant office with mounting papers and costs by the hour are anathema to the life and intelligence of a horse.

This week we bring you the stunning pictures by Alexander Robertson of five free activities in the surrounding environs of north Manawatu¯ . Go and discover your beautiful region.

Thank you for sharing your stories this year, and we’ll be back with our first issue on January 10. Nga mihi o te tau hou

■ Remember to contact us: merania.karauria@nzme.co.nz