I was going to write an article this week on how to care for your kid’s pets when they go off to (boarding) school or University, away from home. That is until a friend of mine showed me an article in a local newspaper written by their Sports Editor, on Monday, September 10^th, 2007. 
 

At first I really couldn’t believe what I was reading and found it difficult to understand the reasoning to start a sports article by announcing that he  will now (and I quote directly from his article) “ think twice before kicking the (profanity) out of a stray dog for turning over my garbage and creating an unsightly mess.”   As I try and gather my wits about me, and dig deep to find an explanation as to why an editor of a respected newspaper should feel the need to open his article with these poorly chosen words. In a country where we have so much cruelty and animal abuse, and yes, child abuse; the experts will tell you that animal cruelty and abuse is the first step towards child abuse and spousal violence. The stray dogs that Mr. Sports Editor will now think twice before “kicking the (profanity) out of” are a product of our own doing. A nightmare created by the Bahamian people, for the Bahamian people. Responsible dog owners do not allow their animals to roam the streets uncontrolled. People have dogs and do nothing to keep them confined to their property. Kicking the (profanity) out of these poor, pathetic, products of our irresponsible society, does nothing more than make the stray dogs vicious. Go to other countries, you do not see hoards of stray dogs at every corner.

I don’t know how big in size Mr. Sports Editor is, but I’d be happy to wager that he is larger than any of the strays that come and turn his garbage over creating “an unsightly mess”. I have always abhorred people hitting, kicking, punching, or picking on somebody or some thing smaller than themselves.  It is to me a weakness that makes my skin crawl.

As if this opening dissertation was not sufficient to make any reasonable person’s (who respects animal life) blood boil, Mr. Sports Editor continues in the same paragraph to say, and I quote:   “even us Bahamians, when it comes to those smelly “Potcakes” who just wouldn’t go away.”   As a Bahamian myself, I would firstly like to say, “Speak for yourself ”.  I would like to make several points on the Potcake issue.   A potcake is a noble dog who has been forced to forage and fend for himself through no fault of his own. Born like any other puppy, he is faced with the cruel fact of life from day one. In countries that enforce their animal ownership laws, they do not have so many stray dogs that they all look alike and have pratically become a breed, so much so that they have their own name. Shame on us for allowing the stray dog situation to become an epidemic! Another point, Mr. Sports Editor, all dogs will become “Smelly” if they are not cared for, bathed, and have to live in holes, under buildings or in the bush. In fact, even humans, given the same conditions would be of a questionable odor.

As if Mr. Sports Editor has not already said sufficient to put in question his love for God’s creatures, he proceeds to tell us that “If anybody in America, who needs a hug right now, it would certainly be Vick.” Oh, really, that sentence can only have been constructed for effect, because, if anybody took a few seconds to analyze it, the only sensible reaction would be to laugh at it. For those of you who have not followed the sports news for the past few weeks Michael Vick is a football hero who plays for the Atlanta Falcons and was charged with running a very large and profitable dog fighting ring. There were numerous houses in the woods behind his home, all painted black to avoid detection. When his house was raided a dog fighting pit was found, blood stained carpets and many graves of dogs killed in fighting. When originally charges he claimed it was his cousin and that he had no involvement, until somebody told on him. He was eventually arrested and charged. This man was (but hopefully is no longer) a hero to thousands of children across the U.S. and certainly the Bahamas. For more information on Michael Vick I suggest that you Google him and you will be reading for weeks.

This rather long editorial proceeds to state that Vick is being treated as if he had killed humans. Vick has received a lighter sentence (because of plea bargaining) and stands to receive a MAXIMUM of five years in jail. I don’t know if anybody can put me right, but I have never heard of a person who has willfully tortured and murdered another human being to have been given a maximum of five years in jail, more like life or the death penalty. I think that the statement that Vick is being treated as if he had killed humans is just blatant bravado.

Then Mr. Sports Editor  has a whack at Christians, but I will leave that to the theologians and clergy to respond to... I would like to, however, take this opportunity to point out that God created all creatures; and I cannot believe that he would be pleased to see how some of us treat his creatures.

On the subject of dog fighting, to throw that away because it is similar to cock fighting….so that makes it all alright? I can’t imagine what sick mind takes delight in watching two animals tear each other apart until death. What kind of pervert finds pleasure in watching that, I ask myself!

There is dog fighting in The Bahamas. There is cock fighting in The Bahamas. There is big money in dog fighting and cock fighting, and plenty of perverts who enjoy watching these odious “sports”. Have you ever noticed how many small pet dogs are missing, almost every supermarket and post office wall is festooned with “Missing” flyers and pets that have disappeared. Many of these are stolen to teach the pit bull how to fight and how to kill. These small little pets that have never had to fend for themselves in their cozy lives are thrown into the pit to be torn apart by a young pit bull “gladiator” in training. How utterly revolting! The pit bulls are not to blame, they have been conditioned from birth to behave like this.

In one article, so many topics have been broached and “blown away” by senseless and careless words. The minutes it took to write them has wiped away weeks of careful teaching in the schools, because sports articles are “cool”, the young people will read these misguided words, and one more poor, pathetic stray dog will get “the (profanity) kicked out of him” because it has been showcased in one of our leading papers as being acceptable…but don’t get caught!

Mr. Vick apologized for his behaviour because he was scared. Once a big strong football playing hero, he was reduced into a mumbling mass of cowardice before the world. Why, because “Rambo” Vick is scared that his own hide could be in prison. That’s the motivation. Oh, and yes don’t let’s forget the millions he could make playing football that he will miss. Perhaps he should have thought about that earlier. With all the money he makes playing football, why does he need to encourage blood sports to further feather his nest?

The bottom line is. 1. The potcake is like any other dog. He is a sweet loving animal who all too often falls on hard times. We, ALL BAHAMIANS, should make the effort to make things better for the potcake, not write articles ridiculing them. 2. Keep your trash in a bin, in an enclosure, this is also directed to ALL BAHAMIANS (Mr. Longley, please take note). 3. Dog fighting, Cock fighting, and any other animal fighting is odious, and only appeals to the sick of mind.

I end this article with the words of the great Mohandas Gandhi:

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals..."

You be the judge!