Caring for animals carries day

I bumped into Greytown couple, Brian and Alicia Roberts, using a dog pram to ferry their elderly, blind, deaf dog Keko as part of their morning ritual with their other younger dog.

YOU can never fail with animal stories in the newspaper.

Quite often, and unfortunately, the stories be about animal cruelty. In court yesterday, a man was charged for cruelty to ducks, after he ran over two of them while fleeing the police. Elsewhere, the SPCA handles heartbreaking cases of cruelty, and to his credit Masterton SPCA manager Lloyd Warren has, from what I hear, been pretty thorough with seeking prosecutions.

As an owner of two dogs, and a variety of other animals in my life, I know animals are generally uncomplicated bundles. They want to be safe, warm, socialised and have a full stomach, and will happily tick along with whatever else is going on. Their dependence on humans varies between species, with cats being a bit more independent, but their reliance on their owners is so high it makes their neglect and distress so hard.

Which is why it's terrific to see people who go that extra step to assist an animal.

I bumped into Greytown couple, Brian and Alicia Roberts, using a dog pram to ferry their elderly, blind, deaf dog Keko as part of their morning ritual with their other younger dog.

Since a dog's sense of smell is so important, I can imagine Keko enjoyed the routine just as much as any other dog, before heading back home for one of his 12-hour sleeps.

And our praise goes out to Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic Adam Stevenson, who tried to coax a traumatised dog out of the back of a wrecked vehicle on Masterton-Castlepoint Rd on Tuesday afternoon.

To be fair, Ging the labrador was already having a bad day, according to the owner. He had just returned from vet treatment when the collision occurred. Ging was unhurt, but he had clearly decided that whatever was going to happen next, he'd be better off staying in his owner's car.

Mr Stevenson spent quite a few minutes patting and talking with Ging, before he and the owner eased the poor dog out, only to have him promptly crouch in the ditch.

It meant Mr Stevenson had to carry him out, thus giving us one of the best photos of the week.

It's a very easy thing to care for an animal. But to have that empathy for their situation, or to care for them their entire lives, like a member of the family, is outstanding.