Dogs in Saudi better off than dogs in Penang

FMT:

Man wins right to sue Penang council over death of beach dog

Butcho, a female mongrel aged 15, was tranquilised by city council officers at a Penang beach in 2018 

GEORGE TOWN: The High Court here today allowed a pet owner to sue the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) for negligence over the killing of his dog in a stray catching operation in Batu Ferringhi beach here two years ago.

Beachboy Chendeladevan Kuppusamy, 51, had tried to sue MBPP after his dog “Butcho”, aged 15, was shot with tranquillisers by MBPP dog catchers and later dragged by the neck into a council lorry.

However, the Sessions Court here had dismissed his case, filed on July 30, 2018, on technical grounds, one of which was that Butcho was an unlicensed dog.

Chendeladevan, assisted by pro-bono lawyers, had appealed to the High Court saying his dog had been licensed since 2014, claiming negligence against the city council.

Today, Judicial Commissioner Wong Hok Chong allowed the appeal and ordered the case to be tried.

“This matter ought to be decided at trial and cannot be dismissed summarily,” he said in delivering his decision today. He ordered MBPP to pay RM4,000 in costs.

Chendeladevan was represented by Marcia Lopez while Karin Lim appeared for MBPP.

According to Chendeladevan’s statement of claim, MBPP had in bad faith taken his dog away at a public beach by force and later caused its death.

He also claimed the dog catchers had lied about the whereabouts of Butcho when he went to the dog pound to reclaim it.

Chendeladevan and Butcho 

This was after an officer claimed that the dog escaped from the lorry on its way to the pound. Later, a third-party informant told Chendeladevan that Butcho had died.

He is claiming for general, aggravated and exemplary damages and other reliefs deemed fit by the court. He is also demanding for Butcho’s remains to be returned to him.

On Feb 28, 2018, MBPP’s dog catchers caught Butcho at the Batu Ferringhi public beach near the Golden Sands Resort, as part of an operation of rounding up strays following complaints of attacks by stray dogs.

However, when Butcho was taken away, the council was rebuked by tourists as the senior dog was “docile and harmless”. There was a large-scale protest at the beach when Butcho was declared “dead”.

Chendeladevan, in his court statement, claimed witnesses saw Butcho being dragged by the neck into a council lorry despite having a dog tag.

Mayor Yew Tung Seang had later said Butcho had died of old age and cardiac arrest.

He said the dog was regarded as a stray as it had no licence, and the council had every right to seize it.

Witnesses saw Butcho being dragged by the neck into a council lorry despite having a dog tag 

An application for a dog licence was only made after the dog catching operations were carried out, he was reported by Harian Metro as saying.

In a statement of defence in court, MBPP had said the dog catchers had indeed shot Butcho with a tranquilliser as allowed under the law. It said the dog had fled into the sea after it was shot, forcing dog catchers to wade into the sea to rescue it.

Later, Butcho was placed in a net and placed in a dog pound lorry, the council said, denying that it dragged the animal by its neck into the vehicle.

MBPP said it was alive and “dazed” when it was in the lorry, as per the account of dog catcher Wan Mohd Arif Hakimi Wan Deraman.

Arif had found Butcho to be “breathless” and “likely dead” in the lorry while the canine was on its way to the council dog pound in Sungai Pinang, the statement read.

The council claimed it sent Butcho’s remains to the Veterinary Services Department office in Bukit Mertajam.

It said when Chendeladevan had come to reclaim the dog, Arif told him that Butcho had escaped en route to the pound, so as to calm him down at the pound’s office.

The MBPP also denied claims that a staff at the pound had asked Chendeladevan to renew Butcho’s dog licence to reclaim the canine.

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Daily Mail:

First dog cafe opens in Saudi Arabia: Owners can dine alongside their pets despite the animals being banned from most public areas because Islam deems them unclean

• The Barking Lot cafe opened its doors in the Saudi city of Khobar this summer
• It has delighted animal lovers in a kingdom with few places to take pets outside
• Saudi religious police used to treat walking of pets as a ruse to approach women

By AFP

Dog owners in Saudi Arabia can now enjoy a cup of coffee alongside their beloved pets at a new cafe - a first for the ultra-conservative kingdom.

In Islam, dogs are considered unclean animals - unlike cats - and are generally banned from public places in Saudi Arabia.

But The Barking Lot, which opened its doors in June in the coastal city of Khobar, has delighted animal lovers in a country where there are few places to take pets outside the home.

A woman sits with her German Shepherd at a first-of-its-kind dog cafe in Saudi Arabia where religious police have historically taken a dim view of walking pets 

A girl holds a dog wearing sunglasses at the pet cafe in the city of Khobar, which opened this summer in a sign of changing times in the ultra-conservative kingdom 

Owners can bring their dogs to the Saudi cafe, with the pets getting pampered as their humans drink coffee

The country's once-notorious religious police used to ban the walking of pets, saying men were using it as a means to make passes at women.

But the ban was widely flouted and pets are becoming an increasingly common sight.

The adoption of strays has become more popular in the kingdom, which is trying to modernise as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's 'Vision 2030' plan.

Animal shelters have sprung up in several cities.

The Barking Lot's Kuwaiti owner, Dalal Ahmed, said she got the idea during a previous visit to the kingdom.

'I came to Saudi Arabia for a visit with my dog, but wasn't allowed to walk on the beach with him,' she told AFP.

'I was very sad and decided to help by opening a coffee shop for people who have dogs - and even for those who do not.' 

A woman holds her dog at the new cafe which has delighted animal lovers in a country where there are few places to take pets outside the home

A woman holds her dog at the Saudi cafe. In Islam, dogs are considered unclean animals and in the past were generally banned from public places in Saudi Arabia

Young men and women gather at the cafe with dogs of all sizes.

Some pets playfully romp around, while others sit on their owners' laps, or wait patiently at the counter as their guardians order drinks.

In one section, dogs are treated to washes and blow dries as part of the grooming services offered.

'The idea of this cafe is very new,' said Johara, a Saudi citizen. 'It's a distinct place where dogs can come and meet other dogs.'

For Nawaf, also from Saudi Arabia, it was the first time visiting the cafe, which he described as 'beautiful'.

'I came here to play with the dogs, which now have a cafe for themselves for the first time in Saudi Arabia,' he said.