A chara, – Why does Dublin city not have a dedicated round-the-clock service for animals in distress?
On Monday night while crossing Eccles Street to the Mater hospital, I noticed a slumped small shape near the middle of the road. When I went to have a closer look, I found a fox with a pool of blood pouring from its head, and thought at first it was dead.
A security guard came to help and with some rubber gloves lifted it to the path, and a Garda squad car passed telling us they would call the DSPCA. The creature was breathing and was warm, its heart still beating but beyond help. I knew from past experience that there would be no-one manning the phoneline at DSPCA at night, and the animal would be left to die a slow, painful death.
After a few hours I passed the same spot, and was saddened to see that although near death, the poor animal was in fact still alive and showed signs of consciousness.
When I was growing up in Dublin, there were always volunteers who could be called on at any time, day or night, to help with an animal in distress, whether it was a bird with a broken wing, a fallen horse, or a cat caught in a wire fence.
Along with many other changes in our modernised city, this practical help for wounded animals seems to be no longer available. It’s a sad indication of how much we’ve lost. – Is mise,
MARIA NÍ MHURCHÚ,
Broadstone,
Dublin 7.