Pets on Bequia

*Please be forewarned that a section of this story is disturbing*

I grew up in the suburbs of Ontario, Canada, where pets were treated almost like family by their owners. Dogs either lived inside the home or in their own little houses in the back yard, and were taken for leashed walks around the neighbourhood. They were well fed and watered, groomed, and taken to the veterinarian if they got sick or, heaven forbid, got fleas!

When I moved to Bequia in the 70’s several dogs were poisoned by my sister’s next-door-neighbour, and that was my introduction to the manner in which dogs were treated on the island. One or more dogs had killed sheep belonging to the man next door, and not knowing WHICH dogs were the culprits he had laid poisoned meat liberally throughout the entire neighbourhood. This upset me dreadfully because several dogs had died, and my Canadian-conditioned brain could not come to grips with such an act of cruelty towards pets.

Mac, having lived in Canada for a period of time, patiently explained to me that “pets” as I knew them didn’t exist on Bequia, people kept dogs for security and cats for rodent control. Dogs were usually kept tethered in the yard and cats roamed freely, they certainly were not kept inside the home. Dogs were never leashed and taken for walks, they were fed scraps when available, and were not groomed and bathed with special soap. When they got sick, they died; the country didn’t have the luxury of a veterinarian back then, neither access to pet meds, so dogs often died of heartworm or distemper. In other words, the animals may have been given names, but they were NOT like pampered North American pets!

One of the problems facing the island was (and to some extent still IS) the prevalence of stray animals. With no way to have them spayed or neutered, the dog and cat populations grew in leaps and bounds. Everyone loved the cute kittens and puppies but no-one wanted them once weaned – they were just more mouths to feed, and there were only so many table scraps to go around. One couldn’t go down the road to buy a sack of dried dog food or cat food, and having to cook chicken and rice for the animals was an expense not many could afford.

One day I was chatting with some passengers from the Yankee Clipper at the Pizzeria, the dining room was packed with tourists happily feasting on lobster pizzas, conch fritters and rum punch. One of the ladies at the table exclaimed;

“Awe, look, a puppy! So sweet!”

Turning, I saw a little boy, about four or five years old, leading a puppy down the steps with a rope. Some of my customers got up from their tables to fuss over the little puppy, oohing and aahing as they petted the tiny creature. I knew the small fellow, he lived in a tiny house on the hillside beside the house Mac and I rented. One of their dogs had given birth to several pups, and I wondered where the lad was going with his “pet”. When asked, he said;

“I gwine take she in de sea”.

The fact that alarm bells didn’t immediately ring is something I think about to this day. I can only assume I was tired or distracted, because I had lived on Bequia long enough to KNOW why he was going in the sea with that tiny puppy! Sure enough, about 10 minutes later the little boy reappeared, this time dragging a very dead puppy behind him. He had been sent to drown the poor thing, and it was the first of 8 puppies! I have never forgotten the horrified hush that fell over the dining room as the Clipper passengers watched that dead puppy being bump-bump-bumped back up the steps, it was a dreadful sight.

The little boy’s family was poor. I understood why he had been sent to drown the puppy, and knew that the other 7 pups would probably meet a similar fate. It was sad but the family had to eat, and they simply couldn’t afford to feed so many dogs.

Today Bequia has access to veterinary care, there is even a free clinic for those who can’t afford to have their dogs and cats spayed or neutered. People are taking much better care of their animals – I can thankfully say they are now treated more like “pets”! There is definitely room for improvement, and groups such as the Vincentian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Bequia Animal Protection Alliance help a lot to promote public awareness. It DOES cost a lot to feed pets on the island, but at least dog and cat food can now be purchased at the grocery stores.  Medication for heartworm and tics and fleas is expensive too, but now that numbers can be controlled hopefully the drowning of kittens and puppies will come to an end. I certainly hope so, because that bump-bump-bump scene with the dead puppy was horrific!