A few days ago, a trending video of golden retriever Killua’s owners finding their beloved dog dead inside a sack in a known dog slaughterhouse in Camarines Sur triggered the anger of netizens including politicians and celebrities.
Killua was brutally killed by Anthony Solares for allegedly acting aggressively and biting people.
This led to the public calling for justice and the protection of animal rights and the non-government organization Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) to assist the owner in filing criminal charges against Solares.
Positive for rabies
However, PAWS revealed that Killua tested positive for rabies giving an entirely new narrative to the case.
“PAWS would like to inform the public that Killua’s body tested positive for rabies and urges those who may have been scratched or bitten by the dog to immediately get post-exposure shots,” the NGO stated.
Solares who brought the dog to a slaughterhouse and dog meet cooking area, also owns a carinderia business.
“PAWS also calls on anyone who may have consumed dogs coming from the area where Killua’s body was found to get post-exposure shots.”
Concerning the result of the test, PAWS stated that since the body had been buried five days prior to testing and the contaminated area where many stray dogs have been slaughtered, it is possible that the result is not accurate.
Still a crime
Whether or not Killua had rabies, the violent way Solares handled the situation and his actions after killing the dog still merit criminal charges, PAWS stressed.
The group noted that the standard protocol that Solares should have followed is to capture and observe the dog for 14 days or, in case of highly suspected rabies cases, be humanely euthanized with no damage to the head.
Criminal charges for animal cruelty were filed against the suspect citing the evidence from the CCTV footage which showed Solares chasing Killua and poking him while hiding under a car – possibly due to fear – to make him come out and beat him to death.
Solares will also face charges of Anti Rabies Act for engaging in dog meat trade.
“Dog meat traders are not only cruel people but pose a serious threat to public health,” the group insisted.
New narrative?
Whether Killua really had rabies or not does not matter because the narrative wouldn’t be any better.
Basing on the CCTV footage, the narrative will then be “A dog with rabies running away scared was chased and violently killed by a psychopath acting more aggressively than an infected dog.”
Basing on the account of the owner, “A dog meat trader was caught with a rabies-infected dog he killed.”
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #Killua #AnimalCruelty