ARE ROGUE DOGS BORN OR MADE?
Photos and story
by Sheila Toney
Dr. Sofia Vasconcelos of SPAD (Sociedade Protectora dos Animais Domesticos) has two possible answers. She explains: “In Madeira, dog owners sometimes want to make their animals extra ‘fierce’ so that they will be better guard dogs. Also, people, who lead busy working lives, often leave their dogs chained up at home all day until they return from their jobs at night. Dogs are social animals and so they need love, attention and exercise in addition to food. It is a very bad idea to try to make them more aggressive so that they will frighten intruders away. Dogs are territorial animals and they will soon raise the alarm by barking at strangers; their very presence makes them good guardians of the home”.
Sofia tells the story of the so-called “killer dog” (pictured above) as an example of the disastrous results which can follow from the bad treatment of normal animals.
“Two women living in the Sao Martin area of Funchal kept three dogs in a small house where each dog had its own room. The women were terrified when one of the dogs became aggressive towards them and then killed one of the other animals. The women were afraid to leave the house so they telephoned SPAD for help. When our staff arrived, the women were at first afraid to open the door to let them in. One of our clinic assistants, Bruno Correia, eventually entered and was able to catch the problem dog without any trouble. The dog was aggressive only to its owners and not to our staff”, Sofia said.
The dog, which was taken to SPAD, shook with fear whenever anyone approached him. Despite patient efforts by SPAD staff, he was too traumatised by past ill-treatment to regain his trust in people and, sadly, he had to be put to sleep.
Lucas, aged seven, is a “gentle giant” now but earlier in his life, he was also branded a troublesome dog. He had been in the care of SPAD since 2006 when he was brought in with his mother by owners, who did not want them. He was adopted but his woman owner soon returned him to SPAD, saying that he was “very energetic and had run away after a cat”. He came back very thin and was diagnosed as having skin cancer. Lucas had a change of fortune when he was sponsored by the Vice President of SPAD, Doctora Michelle Quintal, who paid for his medical treatment and frequently visited him to give him attention and walks. Lucas recovered his health and was found a new owner in Germany (she previously adopted a Saint Bernard, so she is used to big dogs). Lucas needed an extra-large crate in which to travel to Germany and to make the journey easier for him, Dra. Quintal gave him one of her T-shirts to lie on. He was met off the plane by Barbara Linkis, the German grandmother, who has found a new home for him – just as she has found adoptive owners in Germany for more than 800 other SPAD dogs over the last 12 years.
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