Dismay at scanning decsion

Oct 29 2010 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

Dear Editor, – As the owner of two cats, I read the article in the PA (Friday, October 22) regarding the council’s continued decision not to scan “road kill” pets with dismay.

I believe it is important to have closure, when a much loved member of the family goes missing.

If the owner of the animal is responsible enough to have their animal chipped – as recommended by all vets – then the council should, also behave in a responsible and respectful manner and scan any “road kill” pet, to enable the owner to achieve this closure.

I unfortunately lost a cat on one of Perth’s roads two years ago, which was devastating in itself.

However, the driver who hit her had enough of a conscience to firstly call around the doors to see if she belonged to anyone and secondly, take her body to Fair City Vets, where she was scanned to positively identify her and we were allowed to see her.

They also arranged for her body to be transferred to our own vets, thereby not leaving her to the indignity of a landfill funeral.

Given the number of “road kill” pets reported in the article was only 25 for last year, surely this would not be either an onerous or costly task for the council to undertake, given they already check and record any “road kill” victim, removing collars, etc for the owners to collect.

Linda Leggat,

Acharn,

Perth, PH1 2SR.