UPDATE ON KAI THE SHAR-PEI

Kai the Shar-pei has undergone surgery to correct his eyelash issue and is doing well. This adorable guy was abandoned by a woman in Ayr railway station Scotland January 2 after an online adoption deal ended in an unexpected way.

The woman left him there after the seller took off with a partial payment handed over as security while she took the dog for a get-acquainted walk. The seller hopped in his car and drove away with the half-payment. Instead of handling the situation responsibly, the woman told a railway employee she was tying the pooch up and leaving him. She proceeded to do just that leaving Kai with all his worldly belongings behind. 

What bothers me is this woman insists she did nothing wrong! Since when is it OK to just tie up any dog (yours or someone else's) and leave them. Did she not think it might be better to have a station manager call the police or call the police herself, or contact the SPCA, or bring him to SPCA herself? The law considers this abandonment and under Scottish law she is subject to being banned from pet ownership for a period of time or for life. I believe this is fitting in her case.

No amount of talk can convince me this wasn't a heartless, callous thing to do. It doesn't matter if she was scammed - she abandoned a living breathing creature to an unknown fate. To my mind pets go into the same category as any humans who cannot fend for themselves - would she walk away from them too? 

I did a bit of research before starting this post in order to find out about Gumtree, the internet site where Kai was listed for sale. Apparently Gumtree is a free classifieds. That brings me to my next point - why would you adopt a dog from a site such as Gumtree or Craigslist or any such site. That's what all the national SPCAs, The Humane Society, any of the other large organizations and the many smaller rescue groups are for.

Think this out before you look for a pet. Go to the rescue groups, the SPCA or any legitimate organization to adopt a pet. There is an even happier postscript to this story. Aside from successful eye surgery, Kai has been adopted! Once he is healed, he will head off to his new forever home.

Kai the Shar-pei with his belongings.