Call To Regulate Pet Sitters In Malta Reignited After Golden Retriever Louie Dies Under Care
The death of a “beloved” golden labrador while under the care of an unlicensed pet sitter has relit calls for the sector to be regulated – with pet sitters needing licenses before they can take on a client’s pets.
“Louie, a healthy, balanced and beloved golden retriever aged one year and four months suffered a painful and lonely death while with a pet sitter (who is external to Louie’s day care service provider), due to perforation of his organs,” the MSPCA said, sharing images of the dog.
He was training to be a therapy dog, but died after “he was left unattended in the presence of work materials including pieces of wood and metal (fildiferru) which he ingested”.
“Louie was a cherished family member.”
This is just the latest case of a pet dying while under a pet sitters’ care. While pet sitting is a useful service for pet owners, there are only two registered pet boarding facilities on the island. Those boarding facilities are Tat-Targa Kennels and Niveksu Kennels.
On the other hand, Malta has dozens of pet sitters offering pet sitting services, whether it be for a few hours or a few days, and none of them are regulated or licensed.
MSPCA called out the the lack of “proper oversight or licenses” leading to fatalities.
“No pet should suffer this kind of death and no owner should come back knowing they were away having fun whilst their pets were dying,” it said.
Noting that owners need to rely on word of mouth and external reviews when deciding where to leave their pet, the MSPCA said it was “unacceptable that these services can be offered by anyone looking to earn some extra cash with limited or no knowledge”.
MSPCA urged for any new legislation to also look into providing “safe and immediate access to autopsy and proper freezing for any size of dogs in case of death” among other recommendations.
“Authorisation or licenses should amongst other things, stipulate the number of animals that the place can offer. A ratio balancing the number of dogs per carer should also be introduced in case of pet-sitting services to ensure that each animal is getting the attention they require. An assessment of the environment should also be carried out on a regular basis,” it noted.
“And licenses can be revoked at any time, upon reasonable assessment of infringements to legislation and/or when animal welfare is being side-lined for profit by said services,” it ended.
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