It was with great satisfaction that we at The Island Sanctuary read the story of Splash (TMID, 26 July, 10). Splash was only at the sanctuary for a week, but during that time he stole the hearts of all the volunteers – especially those who were involved in his rescue.

Poor Splash was very probably the victim of some so-called ‘human’ who got fed up of him, and decided to get rid of him in a most horrific way. In spite of this, it must have been his lucky day because Claudette – one of our volunteers – and her son Nicolas, were in the right place, at the right time. As soon as they realised that the ‘object’ they could see was a puppy, and that it was struggling in the choppy sea, they alerted Claire, another volunteer. In this case, the Animal Welfare Department was unable to help since it is not equipped with boats, so Claire called the Civil Protection. They immediately responded and sent one of their teams to help. Incidentally, this is not the first time we have asked them for help and they have always been quick, professional, and caring. Thank you Civil Protection – you do a great job!

The rescue itself was not an easy one due to the rough sea. Through it all, Claudette kept in touch through her mobile phone with the Civil Protection Control, who passed on the instructions and directions to the team in the boat.

All the while, Claudette and Claire could see poor Splash who, in spite of his predicament, seemed to be doing the right things to survive! After two hours, they were finally able to take Splash to the sanctuary – where he received medical care, and, of course, loads of love!

After such a terrible experience, we were even more careful when it came to finding him a new home. Puppies – it has to be noted – can be destructive, and it takes patience and commitment to put up with such behaviour. Once a puppy is past the ‘cute stage’, many people (in Malta at least) take the easy way out and reject the puppy instead of teaching it. We have lost count of the number of puppies who were given back to us after a few months. Most of the time, this means the poor dog has lost his chance of finding a good home, since most people here insist on adopting puppies, and won’t give ‘older’ dogs a second chance.

Thank God the Abela family did not give in to the ‘temptation’ of returning Splash to the Island Sanctuary. It’s wonderful indeed when a dog who has himself been rescued has the opportunity to return the favour.

In Becky’s words: “Splash is still a loving dog and has a lot of love to return.”

As all of us who are involved in rescuing animals know, this is true of every dog and cat. Our hope is that when people choose to adopt a puppy/kitten, they will do so with a sense of commitment. After all, there is no such thing as a disposable pet!

Sylvia Zammit

PRO Island Sanctuary Association