Loving a Dog Comes With Great Responsibility

Dog is a man's best friend.  I do not know if it is still true as of this moment.  Whether you treat your dog as your best friend or not, that will not except you from doing your responsibilities as a pet owner.

A photo taken from bing images.

In the Philippines, one of the causes of death of persons is rabies contamination from the bites of a dog.  Thus, inorder to address this problem, our Congress has legislated the Republic Act Number 9482 or otherwise known as "The Anti-Rabies Act of 2007".

Rabies is a zoonotic disease (a disease that is transmitted to humans from animals) that is caused by a virus. The disease affects domestic and wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with infectious material, usually saliva, via bites or scratches. 

Rabies is present on all continents with the exception of Antartica, but more than 95% of human deaths occur in Asia and Africa. Once symptoms of the disease develop, rabies is nearly always fatal.

Rabies is a neglected disease of poor and vulnerable populations whose deaths are rarely reported. It occurs mainly in remote rural communities where measures to prevent dog to human transmission have not been implemented. Under-reporting of rabies also prevents mobilization of resources from the international community for the elimination of human dog-mediated rabies ( http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs099/en/ ).

Responsibilities of Pet Owners under R.A. No. 9482:

1.  Have their dog regularly vaccinated against rabies, and maintain registration card which shall contain all vaccinations conducted on their dog for accurate record purposes;

2.  Submit their dogs for mandatory registration;

3.  Maintain control over their dog and not allow it to roam the streets or any public place without a leash;

4.  Be a responsible owner by providing their dog with proper grooming, adequate food and clean shelter;

5.  Within twenty-four (24) hours, report immediately any dog biting incident to the concerned officials for investigation or for any appropriate action and place such dog under observation by a government or private veterinarian; and

6.  Assist the dog bite victim immediately and shoulder the medical expenses incurred and other incidental expenses relative to the victim's injuries.

Should the pet owner violate any of the provision of R.A. No. 9482, he/she may be penalized with:

1.  Pet owners who fail or refuse to have their Dog registered and immunized against rabies shall be punished by a fine of Two Thousand Pesos (P2, 000.00);

2.  Pet owners who refuse to have their Dog vaccinated against rabies shall be liable to pay for the vaccination of both the dog and the individuals bitten by their dog;

3.  Pet owners who refuse to have their dog put under observation after said dog has bitten an individual shall be meted a fine of Ten Thousand Pesos (P10, 000.00);

4.  Pet owners who refuse to have their dog put under observation and do not shoulder the medical expenses of the person bitten by their dog shall be meted a fine of Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos (P25, 000.00);

5.  Pet owners who refuse to put leash on their dogs when they are brought outside the house shall be meted a fine of Five Hundred Pesos (P500.00) for each incident;

6.  An impounded dog shall be released to the owner upon payment of a fine of not less than Five Hundred Pesos (P500.00) but not more than Five Thousand Pesos (P5, 000.00);

7.  Any person found guilty of trading dog for meat shall be fined not less than Five Thousand Pesos (P5, 000.00) per dog, and subject to imprisonment of 1 to 4 years;

8.  Any person found guilty of using electrocution as a method of euthanasia shall be fined not less than Five Thousand Pesos (P5, 000.00) per act, and subject to imprisonment of 1 to 4 years; and

9.  If the violation is committed by an alien, he or she shall be immediately deported after service of sentence without any further proceedings.