We were saddened to read Lynn Lau’s chronicle of the life of Charlie, the pig confined to a small shed in Glen Abbey. This dismay was due entirely to Ms. Lau’s distorted reporting. While she spoke to neighbours and fawned over the pig owner’s story, she completely neglected to capture one voice in her article: Charlie’s.
Charlie is a 300-pound farm animal, twice the size of a human being, who lives outside in a 25 square foot shed, which is less than a third of the size of a standard prison cell. He has endured the cold winter outdoors in this wooden shack without companionship and, until recently, in his own filth.
Somehow, in her efforts to tell the strange story of a woman in need of a pig as an emotional support animal, Ms. Lau neglected to tell Charlie’s story. This neglect is as tragic as the neglect Charlie suffers each and every day.
Yet Town of Oakville officials and councillors continue to ignore his plight, arguing that Charlie is receiving the “minimum” standard of care and that he is providing emotional support needed for his owner’s wellbeing. But what about Charlie’s wellbeing?
We need our town government to do what’s right, not just for the neighbourhood but for Charlie. He needs to be free to spend his days with other animals on a farm. There are refuges for creatures like him, yet no one cares enough to consider this intelligent creature’s wellbeing.
The real measure of a person’s character is how they treat those who cannot defend themselves. Charlie’s owner and the Town of Oakville have, through their neglect of Charlie, revealed their true character.
Submitted by: Iwona Bajor and Joey Bolic
