I have great sympathy for people who lost pets, property and livestock in the fire in the Michelago area, but does ANYONE think it is responsible to have 18 greyhounds as pets? If you’re a breeder, maybe, but then there are regulations governing breeders (I think).
And the owner claimed to be a firefighter and to have her property well-prepared, but her dogs clearly weren’t beneficiaries of this preparedness. If they had been let out they could have outrun the fire.
I’m serious considering writing to the RSPCA about this – they have strong views on what they call “Animal Hoarders”.
UPDATED: In reply Madame Workalot has sent in the following:
My name is Jennifer, and Bruce and Lindsay Perrin are my parents. Mum, Dad and
myself lost 13 of our beloved greyhounds on Thursday.I would just like to thank everyone for their well wishes and understanding.
What my parents have gone through was horrific, however we have all been
absolutely overwhelmed with the community response and the assistance provided
by everyone, including greyhound breeders, trainers and enthusiasts all over the
world.IrishPete, I really don’t have anything to say to you. However, I would like to
clear up some of your concerns.Myself and my parents had 18 greyhounds. All of these were racedogs until about
2 years ago, when we all decided to retire them. When we originally got the dogs
we made a pact we would not put them down when they finished racing, and they
would remain our pets. We live on approx 100 acres at the foot of the Tinderry
Mountains, and our neighbours have never had a problem with our dogs.Our dogs were not in wire enclosures or typical greyhound accommodation – they
had timber houses, with a large timber yard for each dog. In addition, they had
long fenced off paddocks behind the kennels where they would be exercised each
day. In hindsight, they may have been better off in greyhound enclosures but
they had a very happy life and were just beautiful dogs.You may not be aware of this, but there were two or three firetrucks on the
property during the fire specifically to protect the dogs. The firies were not
able to save them all, the fire was just too intense. Both of my parents
suffered from smoke inhalation and burns to their faces trying to protect the
dogs and the aviary. There simply wasn’t time to consider letting the dogs or
the birds loose – it happened too quickly. From the time the fire was reported
to the time it reached the property, it was a mere 45 minutes. The firies
thought they had done all they could to protect the animals, and in a normal
fire their actions would have saved the dogs. However, it simply wasn’t a normal
fire.Five dogs remain – all are suffering from smoke inhalation and one has been at
the vet since Friday being treated. I thought I was going to lose her, however
thankfully she seems to have turned the corner and I should be able to bring her
home tomorrow. Thank you all once again for your kind thoughts. I will update
you in a couple of weeks with progress – for now, we are trying to clean up and
just deal with what happened.