Along the road from Le Tropical Hotel to the village of Trou-d?Eau-Douce, there is a sign by a well-meaning Dr Hans stating that Mauritians love their children and that drivers should drive slowly. Dr Hans is to be recommended for this.

However, his good advice is often ignored by drivers who race down this road, causing considerable alarm. If a child has never been run over, one may be in the future, which would cause much heartache and great sorrow. The dogs, cats and probably other animals have definitely been run over, not only on this road but also in other roads.

Some animals have visible signs of injuries and their limbs have grown on the skew, since they did not receive veterinary care.

Worse still, there are many strays, which roam the streets looking for good. People often throw stones at these animals or chase them away. Some have been in fights and some are suffering from mange and are extremely thin. When well-meaning people try to give them food they often run away as they have never known kindness.Two cases come to mind. Once, an adult dog with such bad mange she couldn?t stop scratching. She was past eating, but very mild and tried hard to please me by taking the food and spitting it out again. The other case was a puppy of about two months old. She was covered in ticks and flies and was being eaten up alive. I gave her milk with bread in it and she kept on coming back to eat a little more. Then she turned to go and followed her, forlorn little figure, she did not even hope I would adopt her. Since I stayed in a hotel and would have to fly back to South Africa, I knew I could not take her. I begged some children and then some adults to take her, but no one would.

Then I picked her up and put her into a box and carried her down the road, not knowing what I was going to do with her. The children laughed, not seeming to comprehend the kindness I was showing. They thought I was abnormal. Surely at least one cared? I passed a house at the Total petrol station where I had been talking to a man named Sydney the day before. He had shown me his dogs, a mother dog and three tiny puppies. He took the puppy in the box and promised to look after her but I knew she?d die. The next day he said she was worse and I took her to a Mr Basgeet who gave her an injection and told us to tell Sydney to bring her back on 5 March. But of course it was too late and she died at 11 o?clock the next day.

Thank you Sydney for bathing her and showing her kindness in her last few days. I, too, loved her and gave her a name, Tammy, in memory of one of my dogs. I also cuddled her and rubbed her sore tummy ? she was not used to such good food ? but it was too late, she could no longer eat.

As I leave your beautiful island, the lovely climate I will always remember the suffering dogs and cats, and most of all have sleepless nights when I recall the stories I was told about people who do not care and take small puppies away from their mothers, and throw them somewhere she can?t find them. There they are left to dehydrate and die, perhaps attacked by insects. This happens all over your island. Can someone, anyone, please do something about this cruelty? Surely people should be fined if they are so cruel ? if they did?nt want their bitch to have puppies why didn?t they have it sterilised?

Rita STRYDOM