The ongoing coverage given to the plight of a dog rescued from a rubbish container in Gran Canaria in mid-July has sparked an interesting media debate.
As reported here, the old dog – called Patuco – was dumped by its owner in an interred refuse bin in Gáldar and survived certain death only after a local girl took it on herself to climb into the bin and pull it from underneath the large bags of rubbish.
Patuco, who is partially blind and has several other ailments, was taken to a vet for treatment for his injuries and has since been placed with a foster family. Updates on his progress, along with pictures and videos of him adapting to his new setting, have appeared again today in one widely-read regional newspaper.
However, while many continue to express their happiness at the outcome and call for the now-identified owner to feel the full force of the law for the cruel dumping, others criticise the coverage and challenge the media to devote similar interest to cases involving humans rather than animals.
One reader of the Canarias 7 paper urged it to show as much dedication to the plight of patients in Gran Canaria’s hospitals, who suffer the consequences of an inadequate national health service. Others challenge the paper to provide similarly detailed updates on the teenage girl who had to be airlifted to a burns unit in Seville after allegedly being dowsed in inflammable liquid and set on fire by a Moroccan migrant in Las Palmas a few days after the Patuco rescue.
“While pleased to see Patuco is doing well, it is important to remember it is just an animal and we should stop “humanising” animals with such extensive media coverage. It says a lot for our society today when a story like this is headlined ahead of more serious cases affecting real people” said one contributor to the readers’ comments section accompanying the latest article on Patuco.
