By Paola Guaitoli, Tuesday, the 08 December 2016 I DEMAND THE CREATION OF A LAW TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF THE DOGS BY REMOVING FROM URBAN CENTERS (OUTSIDE BARS, SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS) AS WELL AS ALONG THE MAIN STREETS OF SOME CITIES) CONTAINERS OF WATER AND/OR BOWLS WITH THE PURPOSE TO WATER DOGS DURING THE WARM PERIODS OF THE YEAR. 1. I state that my petition concerns the urban and populated areas but not the countryside or isolated centres where many associations do their best to water stray, abandoned and lonely cats or dogs. 2. I state I will fight until every dog owner goes out of home having the necessary equipment and being able to water his own dog taking on all the responsability (bowls of handbag, small barrels, etc., today the pets sector offers so many solutions for it). 3. SINCE DOG OWNERS OFTEN GO OUT OF HOME FOR A WALK OR GO ON A TRIP LEAVING AT HOME THE BOWL OF THEIR DOG, THE FOLLOWING HAPPENS IN THE WHOLE WORLD: 4. There are cities where containers and bowls of water for dogs are placed along the city streets in the warm periods of the year. There are bars, restaurants and shops that place outside them bowls of water. There are privates who place bowls of water outside their own houses in order to water stray dogs and cats. Lately they are also placed along the corridors of commercial centers. 5. Some people use for dogs the classic bowls recognizable by form and material (plastic or steel), others use containers which are often used for humans (plastic boxes, plastic cups, etc.). 6. I KNOW THAT ALL THIS IS BASED ON A GOOD INTENTION TO PROVIDE A BENEVOLENT AND GENEROUS SERVICE TO THE THIRSTY ANIMALS BUT...NOW I WILL EXPLAIN YOU WHY THE REALITY IS DIVERSE AND MUCH MORE DANGEROUS: 7. Let us go step by step...beginning with those who place containers with water in their gardens or in front of their houses. You pass by and want to water your dog. Do you think there is somebody to guard the bowl during 24 hours of 24? Are you sure there is only water inside the bowl? Have you thought about that someone could pour some odorless and tasteless substance in it to hurt the animals (dogs, cats, pigeons...mouses)? The bowl is unguarded. Would you let the dog drink? Me not. 8. You are right, don't let the dog drink... Let us walk, there is a bar every twenty meters, fortunately you are in a city center. Here is a big bowl of water... Neither the bar owner nor the waiters have the task to oversee the bowl, they are not there for it... And what do you know about the health of the dog that drank from the bowl before your dog? Yes, before your dog came to the bowl another one had licked and slobbered because also this poor one was thirsty and neither his owner was able to water him. 9. What I will tell you now common people or clients of the places where they eat and drink (bars, restaurants) usually do not know. The so called GLASSWASHERS never exceed the temperature of 70 degrees during the washing. Therefore the use of chlorine derivatives and agressive detergents is the only way to ensure the hygiene of what should be "washed"(cups, plates, salad bowls, etc.). Because the temperature does not reach 100 degrees centigrade and the content does not remain inside for an appropriate time...the health authority rightly IRRECOMMEND to put inside the washer objects which can create contamination, among them is the USED BOWl FOR WATERING THE DOG of their client. Some of them answer saying they wash the bowl in the bathroom but none of them uses a special sponge for washing, non of them washes it any time after a dog drinks water from it (if they wash it once a day in the morning that's too much....but between one dog and the other? No, nobody washes the bowl between one dog and the other, none of them has hands capable of withstanding high temperatures of water necessary for washing. If you think about it you will understand that the same is at your home, while you wash your dishes what temperatures can resist your hands? 10. Therefore the only way to avoid contamination and inappropriate operations is NOT TO WASH THEM. 11. Hope you will agree with me that if they are not washed... THEY ARE DIRTY! When we talk about health such words as "a little dirty" or "the less clean" do not mean anything. There is also what we call sterilized but this is another theme and the day is not quite right to tell you about it. 12. We talked about the dirty bowl... Do you think a barman would like to take up washing it for your dogs at three o'clock in the morning? I do not think so. Therefore? ... he leaves it outside the bar no matter if there is water left inside it, he will think about it tomorrow when the bar reopens (may be). 13. Night, silence...that is nice! Here is the bowl you are going to use tomorrow to water your dog....and there.... the bowl became a swimming pool for various thirsty insects, anxious pigeons use it as a toilet (a pigeon just after drinking water, with paws clutching the edges of the bowl, immediately poops there!) .... then comes the creature that I find one of the cleanest on the planet: the MOUSE. As soon as it finds clean water it jumps inside the bowl to drink and to wash itself... but what a surprise, the mouse pees there before getting out of the bowl (have you ever heard of leptospirosi?) ... even if the latter cases are to be referred to HEDGEHOGS, nice and thirsty, so useful to man because they eat insects. The barman arrives in the morning, I do not know if he waits for you with your thirsty dog and do not know if he does it as soon as the bar opens (I do not think so), in any case he throws away the water of the evening, pours fresh water in the bowl (without washing it) and then your dog drinks from it.... Oh, yes... excellent service! But remember he comes to the bar not for this! 14. A girl once told me: "if there are dogs drinking even from puddles!" Lady, thanks for having exposed your consideration... I will answer you now. 15. I suppose that you being the owner of your dog can DECIDE FOR HIM choosing the place where the dog can drink water and you need to take on all the responsability of consequences (diarrhea, stomach problems or another worse) ... but ... If I go to a bar or wherever and ask for water for my dog I cannot stand it when they bring me a dirty bowl with a suspitious substance!! 16. It is your fault if you leave at home the personal bowl of your dog and other people need to resolve your problem. Many people do not think about it and are not yet equipped. 17. SUMMING UP... DO NOT LET YOUR DOGS DRINK FROM UNATTENDED BOWLS PLACED IN CITIES, WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW IF OTHER ANIMALS DRINK FROM THEM BEFORE YOUR PETS DO IT, AND IF YOU ARE NOT SURE OF THE CONTENT OF THE BOWL. 18..... at least until new laws and regulations are adopted to protect the health of the dogs and THE HYGIENE IN PUBLIC PLACES it is important to avoid any actions that could create problems of hygiene and contamination putting at risk the health of the humans. 19. The bowls are on the ground...there is SALMONELLA in it... therefore everything should be held off the ground at least 15 cm... (I will tell you about this another time)... yet that barman touches the bowl to bring it to you and to take it away and then he prepares a sandwich... (I will postpone the sermon of washing hands to another time) or from the ground they put them on the table or on the tray while cleaning the tables. How many times in your life have you seen anyone to clean tables between one client and another? How many times have you seen anyone to wash the tray after they put on it used cups, spoons, napkins, crumpled paper napkins, etc.? They are in a hurry, why to do them responsible also for what is not contemplated in their public place? 20. Waiting for regulations to protect the health of the animals and the hygiene in public places I could advise all their managers to use disposable containers possibly not for human use (otherwise they could be replaced and reused by mistake for humans), a new container for each dog. 21. The ADVANTAGES of DISPOSABLE containers: the HANDS (clean) take the disposable container which is still new (and is assumed clean), open the tap or a bottle to pour water in it, pass it to the owner of the local place quietly putting the container on the tray and then on the table (it will be the duty of the dog owner to bend down in order to put on the ground the disposable container with water for his own dog). The container should be thrown in a special trash can after being used (plastic if it is recycable or undifferentiated if it is disposable). Any other container if it is not disposable may be dangerous for the health of the dogs. 21. Thanks to you all who read and spread what I wrote here. SIGN THE PETITION: