Utlang: No impounding for healthy-looking dogs

CEBU, Philippines — Instead of impounding healthy dogs left to roam the streets, the Cebu City Veterinary Office will be issuing citation tickets against their “irresponsible” owners.

Doctor Alice Utlang, city veterinarian, said that she will not allow health dogs in their impounding area.

“Di ko mo tugot nga ma viral nasad ang office (City Veterinary Office) sa ka daghan nga iro sa pound nga ang uban di na gani ka higda ug lisod sila maglihok ug mostly nila puro mga gwapo ug maayo ang lawas,” said Utlang.

She said it is not right that the dogs will be punished through impounding when most of those seen roaming around the streets have owners.

To regulate this, Utlang said they will no longer be impounding healthy-looking dogs but rather send them home and issue their respective owners with citation tickets. According to her, the city is prioritizing impounding sickly and wild dogs that are rabid.

Utlang, who was just recently reinstated in her position, however, clarified that during her watch they didn’t experience congestion in their facility.

“Our pound is not a dumping ground. We give chance to dog that has quality to be adopted,” said Utlang.

To determine a healthy-looking dog, Utlang said they would categorize them based on their appearance, this means that these dogs have owners and thus will not be impounded.

For the citation tickets, Utlang said that pet owners can be penalized from P500 up to P5,000 for different violations. These violations include- locking up dogs and cats inside the car, improper disposal of waste, unregistered and failure to immunize against rabies, and pets positive with rabies among others. — (FREEMAN)