First off, for anyone wondering where Malta is, it’s an island located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea.

The story isn’t about where Malta is but what’s happening to resident Ronnie Scicluna, a man whose love of dogs has landed him in jail.

Mr Scicluna’s story goes back a few years. Unable to see sick or abandoned animals on the streets, he began to pick them up, housing them at the former Palm Beach Restaurant, now a derelict building in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.

The number of dogs started increasing and so did the complaints from residents, who lived just metres away and could no longer tolerate the incessant barking 24 hours a day, or the fact the place had turned into a slum.

She roped in Noah’s Ark, an animal welfare organisation in Mellieħa, and together they re-homed some 40 dogs, relieving Mr Scicluna of his burden and getting the authorities off his back.

Residents’ grievances reached the authorities’ ears and Mr Scicluna was threatened with eviction. In 2006, Joan Baker, a retired English lady with a big heart, intervened to help Mr Scicluna.

Things improved for a while but then homeless and injured dogs started showing up again.  Mr. Scicluna couldn’t help but resort to picking them up and bringing them back to the original compound, resulting in fines.

Faced with pending fines and unable to pay them, Mr Scicluna was thrown in jail. An e-mail is now being circulated by his supporters who are claiming the authorities have abdicated their responsibilities.

However, animal organisations are not surprised that Mr Scicluna landed in jail, even though they are sorry to see him in such a spot.

“Rennie’s heart is in the right place, but he doesn’t have the know-how or the resources. He could not look after the animals properly and he kept big dogs with the smaller ones. We tried to help, but after a while we gave up,” said Brenda Swift, president and co-founder of Share Malta (Support for Homeless Animals, Research and Education).

Those in favor of Rennie Scicluna say he needs to be released from jail, he shouldn’t be there.  His opponents feel that he has been hoarding the dogs and consider that a form of animal cruelty.

I don’t know what kind of conditions the dogs were kept in, but isn’t anything better than a throw-a-way dog left on the streets because no one else would help?  If there was a system in place for homeless animals, which they say they’re now working on, Rennie Scicluna would never have been put in a position to break the law.

Give me a bark, let me know what you think about what happened to Mr. Scicluna.

A man in West Jacksonville, FL who fled from the storm last week left his two dogs chained up in the carport.  Two city workers found the dogs and saved them from drowning.

The owner, David Hamm, went to a city shelter to seek refuge from the storm. He will now face two animal cruelty tickets and fines of up to $1,000, said Robert Currey, a field supervisor for Jacksonville Animal Care and Control.

Luckily, an anonymous tip notified Animal Care and Control officers, who went to rescue the dogs by boat. The officials felt Hamm’s decision was more irresponsibility than cruelty.

While I understand the need to take shelter during a storm it is incomprehensible to me that you would leave your dogs chained in an area where you know they could drown. The city opened over 10 shelters for the storm, including at least two pet-friendly ones.

One of the animals, a Labrador mix, was standing for hours in water that sometimes reached his chest and had a skin condition from long before Friday, Currey said. Neither of the dogs was licensed, but both were up to date on their shots, said Fred Forbes, interim division chief of Animal Care and Control.

Field supervisor, Robert Currey, stated “Legally, there was not a reason we could keep them from getting the dogs back.”  Apparently, absolute disgust doesn’t fall under the realm of the law.

This is an unbelievable story out of Argentina about a dog that saved the life of a baby .  The 14 year old mother abandoned her baby in a field where a  neighbor eventually heard the cries from behind his house.

The man went outside and found the infant lying beside the dog and its six newborn puppies, said Daniel Salcedo, chief of police of the Province of Buenos Aires.

This amazing dog, who was nursing her own puppies, left them to go get the baby and bring it back to be with her.

The dog had apparently carried the baby 50 meters from where his mother had abandoned him to where the puppies were huddled, police said.

“She took it like a puppy and rescued it,” Salcedo said. “The doctors told us if she hadn’t done this, he would have died. The dog is a hero to us.”

This dog should be a hero to everyone.  I hope that in return for this act of heroism she and the puppies  will receive the home they deserve.