It turned out that a complaint from the apartment’s management on Monday did not reach the owner of the dog as it was sent to the wrong address, The Star reported.
This was revealed by officers from the department of veterinary services (DVS) who went to the apartment building located in Taman OUG yesterday morning.
The DVS eventually found the right unit and saw that the dog, a five-year-old male mongrel appeared to be healthy and normal.
“The owner was sleeping when we arrived and seemed puzzled. When we told him the case had gone viral, he was even more surprised,” Mohd Subhy Mohd Basaruddin was quoted as saying by the daily.
He added that the owner was warned against putting his dog out on the balcony in the future.
Yesterday, it was reported that a person staying in a building facing the man’s apartment had complained to the Selangor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) with a photo of the dog standing precariously on the narrow ledge.
The SPCA then said it would file a complaint with the DVS on the matter.
In the meantime, the photo of the dog on the ledge went viral on social media.
Acting on the complaint from the SPCA, four DVS officers visited the apartment and found that the owner of the apartment was a 52-year-old taxi driver who was in the midst of moving house.
He told the DVS officers that the dog was placed in the main balcony, which has railings and that he was not aware that the dog had squeezed through the railings onto the narrow ledge.
“The owner said he did not notice the dog had slipped through the metal railings and gone out on the ledge several times,” DVS officer Masdin Ubin was quoted as saying by The Star.
Meanwhile, SPCA inspector Kelvin Cheah told The Star that pet owners living in high-rise buildings should use the necessary safeguards.
“For example, when putting a dog on the balcony, secure the railings with chicken wire so that it can’t escape through the gaps.
“Irresponsible pet owners make it harder for responsible pet owners to keep their pets,” he was quoted as saying.
Under Section 44 of the Animal Act, those charged with animal abuse can be fined RM50,000, jailed for a year or both upon conviction.