Dumb dog owners are walking sad, deprived mutts in sealed containers and prams – so cruel

A distressing tendency is developing for unthinking pet owners to walk their dogs shut in sealed containers. This is cruel. You see it in Sai Kung and also downtown on the island.

In this case it is a domestic helper doing her dumb boss’s bidding. A little dog that looks like a brown poodle is in the container on her chest. It is sealed in except for air holes. We remonstrated gently with the helper saying to her it was a cruel way to look after a dog. Why didn’t she let it out on a lead? Presumably scared of her employer she would not do so.

Let’s turn to an authority. Dr Pauline Taylor, former executive director of the SPCA now managing director of the Pets Central chain. Below Pauline is writing about pushing dogs around in prams which is much the same thing. Pauline was responding in her Sai Kung Magazine column to a reader’s query about whether doggie prams were a good idea:

“Are you serious! There is no place for a doggie pram unless you have a disabled or elderly dog that cannot walk on its own feet.

“Dogs love to walk and get immense stimulation from their surroundings. By subjecting your dog to a doggy pram (or a sealed container, we add) you are depriving your dog of so much including exercise, smells, social interaction with other animals and leaving their own messages along the way for other animals to pick up.

“Doggie prams are gimmicks and unnecessary in day to day doggie life. In addition they promote obesity, isolation from other dogs and may even cause fear in some dogs who develop behaviour problems as a result.”