People who rescue dogs and hand them over to the Animal Welfare Department should be allowed to adopt the rescued animal following a rigorous vetting procedure, commissioner Alison Bezzina is urging.
As things stand, anyone who finds an abandoned dog must report to a police station, veterinary clinic or Animal Welfare Department to check whether the animal has a microchip featuring its owners details.
If rescuers then care for the dog at their home and no one claims ownership of the animal, they can adopt it after seven days.
However, if they hand the dog over to the Animal Welfare Department, they are relinquishing their right to adopt the animal.
This internal policy remained unknown to most until it was flagged by a couple who were not allowed to adopt a dog they rescued in torrential rain.
Bezzina believes the policy is well-intended as it safeguards the dogs, since rescuers tend to experience an emotional link to the dogs they find and this could lead them to adopt the dog on emotional impulse.
This increases the chances of the dog being returned to the sanctuary after some time - a traumatic situation for the dogs.
“When they are handing over the stray dog to animal welfare officials, they are handing over full responsibility of its wellbeing to them, including finding the best home and family for them," she told Times of Malta.
“So while I believe that some finders should be considered as potential adopters, something the current policy does not allow, they would need to be vetted with everyone else who is a potential adopter.”
Abuse of free medical services
Bezzina added that the policy also ensured people did not abuse of free medical services.
Rosalind Agius, manager of the Association for Abandoned Animals, has witnessed abuse herself over the past years.
In one instance, Animal Welfare was called to take in a dog which the rescuers claimed had been found squashed. These same rescuers later dropped by at the animal shelter to adopt the dog.
It transpired that they were the actual owners of the dog, which had been injured by accident and that they had called in the department to avoid covering its treatment fees.
Agius noted that both the department and the shelters fork out money to care for an animal that is rescued from the streets, and for years, people were abusing of the system.
She was also very much aware of cases in which potential adopters base their wish to home an animal on emotional impulse, such as wanting to adopt a large dog when they lack adequate indoor space.