Saturday 29th November 2008

I have been further developing the policies of the Pet Dogs Democratic Party, as I move my election campaign into full swing. I’ve been thinking about disabled dogs and how they are best cared for. Obviously we prefer to see them looked after in their own homes and able to lead as normal a life as possible. There should be provision made for all their support needs. I’m thinking that dogs could have a lot of fun with motorised transport and that ‘dog cart’ racing could take on a whole new meaning if the carts had motors and we got to do the driving. Maybe it shouldn’t just be disabled dogs that benefit from these improvements. I quite fancy a little motorised cart of my own. I think we should probably draw the line at them falling into the paws of blind dogs, unless they are accompanied by a seeing companion that knows his left from his right!

Dog pensions should be provided by the state at the age of eight and a half human years. As bigger dogs have a much shorter life expectancy but by contrast need to eat more, the pension should be graded by size of dog. Now don’t get me wrong, this should not mean that dogs that let themselves go and have a lifetime of overeating will then benefit from a higher pension. The grades should be based on the ideal weight for the breed, so a St Bernard would receive decidedly more than a Yorkshire Terrier, but probably for a much shorter time. I’m not actually sure how this is all going to be paid for, but there must be a way to do it. If humans can do it, then the more intelligent dog world must be able to put an adequate system in place.