Dog `put down` - by mistake?

A Frenchman who brought his dog to Malta on Thursday evening and who left it at quarantine was fearing the worst when he was told that his dog had been `put down` on the instructions of the government vet.

Alain Goldhagen, a Parisian who works in Libya, came to Malta for a holiday last week. His wife, Chantal, had come to Malta a few days before and they were looking for a property where she wanted to stay while her husband was in Libya.

Mr Goldhagen said he had made all the necessary arrangements for the dog to be kept at the airport quarantine for six months before he came from Tripoli.

"I was told that this was the procedure and I accepted it. All my paperwork was in order before I arrived on the Air Malta flight. The dog, a six-year-old beagle, was in a good state of health. It is not a very common breed but extremely affectionate. My wife really loved it and it kept her company. It was more than a dog to her," he said.

He said he placed the dog in the required cage and checked it in along with the luggage.

"Before boarding the plane in Tripoli, passengers identify their luggage and I saw the dog there. I have not seen it since," he said.

Mr Goldhagen said he phoned the quarantine section on Friday afternoon and there was no reply. Yesterday he said he spoke to the person on duty, who informed him that the dog had been put to sleep on the instructions of the government vet.

"I was told that the dog was found running about in the arrivals hall and had been taken to the quarantine section where the vet in charge gave instructions to put him to sleep. I cannot figure out how my dog ended up loose in the arrivals hall," he said.

Contacted late last night, Chief Government Vet Dr Lino Vella said he was trying to verify what had happened, but the information he had at the time was that a dog without any documentation was taken to quarantine and as it had originated from North Africa, it was immediately put down as a precaution because of rabies.

"It is not the first time people from North African countries bring with them dogs without any documentation and often abandon them at the airport when they realise they do not have the required paperwork for them. We do not take any risks because of the diseases that may be involved," he said.

Dr Vella said it could well be that people have all necessary documents but they assume that, because they have the documents, everything is fine.

Very often, people fail to inform customs beforehand about such matters as arrangements have to be made as it is the duty of customs to take the animals to quarantine and to fill out the necessary paperwork," he said.

Mr Goldhagen said he was very disturbed by the whole incident.

"My agent had prepared all the necessary papers. I have copies of all the vaccination documents and all other records as well as the import licence for Malta. This dog travelled with us from Singapore to France to Libya. I cannot believe such a thing could happen in Malta," he said.

Aaron Stivala, whose agency handled the paperwork confirmed he had all documents in order.

"Our driver even informed customs we were expecting a passenger with a dog. I cannot believe it that a well-groomed dog brought in a proper container is mistaken for a stray and killed. I cannot believe that we can be so efficient in such matters, such as putting down an animal so fast. A check with the passenger list to see who might have brought such cargo would have saved a lot of suffering and inconvenience," he said.