Editor:
On Feb. 14, Meesha-chan Grubisic was killed when she attempted to rescue her dog from being killed while it was charging across a busy traffic street to see another dog. It shows that dogs function by instinct first and commands next, if they so wish.
While this happened on Goldstream Avenue in Langford, this can easily happen in Ladysmith where dogs parade along sidewalks, often free to roam.
Similarly, while hiking anywhere on trails, loose dogs should be leashed at least when people with or without dogs approach the unleashed dog(s), no matter how well the dog is trained.
Our family once had a Scottie. It was a great little dog. My wife fed and groomed it during daytime. If, however, it had to go outside during the night, it came to my bed to wake me to let it out into a fenced garden, sometimes hiding under a dark tree during a black, rainy night.
When it was Saturday morning, time to go to the hardware store, it waited at the front door, ready to occupy the passenger seat in the car. When, on a Saturday, it had to sit in the back with my wife in the front, the Scottie moaned and groaned! That was our relationship with it. All that was part of its routine. BUT when I opened a hand quickly as if to grab someone, it would growl immediately, ready to jump up to grab my hand. That was its instinct — to protect. We did not train our Scottie to do that.
As stated above: Animals are animals.
Similarly, cats are hunters, from domestic cats to lions. All have sharp, retractable claws and fangs for front teeth.
Where we are living, we had entire families of quail wander through the grounds. Since there are cats on the prowl, the quail have vanished.
Our neighbour just recently witnessed how a very large cat jumped up about a metre to catch a hummingbird at the feeder. The bird flew off and the cat got wet.
Recently, I saw the back of a cat sitting below some tree branches, while wagging its tail, most likely in anticipation of a catch. I clapped my hand and scared it away.
Cats should not be allowed to run wild throughout residential areas. Cats are hunters.
Animals are animals.
George R. Weiss
Ladysmith
