Jovintus saying goodbye to his pet dog Belang before it was put to sleep while his fellow villagers look on.
Jovintus Jovita
SERIAN: Belang and Tam, faithful pets in Kampung Paon Rimu had their canine lives cut short by personnel from Serian District Council (SDC) as they showed signs of being infected with rabies virus.
They were put to sleep as part of an operation by the local authority to eradicate infected dogs as the area is one of five villages in the district that have been declared by the state government as being infected by rabies outbreak. The areas are now gazetted for notification under Section 37 of the Veterinary Public Health Ordinance 1999.
The dogs’ owner, Jovintus Jovita, said he had to destroy the dogs as they could be carriers and infected by the rabies virus which are dangerous to humans, especially the villagers.
“Everybody is very cooperative with the authority though it is sad to be parted with the family pets which were given to us by a friend when they were still puppies.
“With what has happened in the village in the past few days we have to think of our precious life and I have no second thoughts about putting the two dogs to sleep,” he said when met yesterday.
“I hope animal lovers out there understand what we did. I had to let them go before they endanger our lives. We do not know when they would strike
“It seems to be the right thing to do because we have seen what happened to the two siblings who were bitten and then were admitted to Sarawak General Hospital for treatment,” he added.
Jovintus hoped the local authority would also do something to help the villagers to put other infected animals to sleep so that they would not endanger their lives.
“Who in the world would want to see such incident like this to happen here. Worst still, we never thought that such human tragedy can occur before our very own eyes,” he said when he heard that the two siblings had passed away soon after the interview.
Jovintus, a farmer, said “I love animals and after the threat is gone, maybe I will consider having other pet dogs to replace Belang and Tam. They were very good companions when it comes to going to the family’s farm.”
Earlier, local authority personnel administered the process of putting the two dogs to sleep. They were assisted by Jovintus and a few fellow villagers.
As of yesterday, SDC officers said they had properly put down five dogs – two at Kampung Remun and three at Kampung Paun Rimu Bakung. Other infected villages in the district are Krait, Paon Rimu and Lebur.