Alicia Bugeja Said, Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Animal Welfare, revealed that the ministry is working on bringing about “better standards” for “breeders, trainers, groomers, and pet sitters”.

These standards, the Parliamentary Secretary said, will look to safeguard “the care and lives of animals”.

Calls for the implementation of legislation regulating the business of pet-sitting services came to a climax last October, following the untimely death of Louie – a healthy Golden Retriever who passed away under the care of a pet sitter.

Louie suffered “a painful and lonely death at a pet sitter (who is external to Louie’s day care service provider) due to perforation of his organs,” the MSPCA had written.

“[The dog] was left unattended in the presence of work materials including pieces of wood and metal, which he ingested. Louie was a cherished family member, who was in preparation to start training as a therapy dog,” the organisation continued.

The dog’s passing prompted MSPCA and may other animal activists to push for the introduction of regulation to regulate and supervise such services “alongside a standard protocol to follow, which will exclude chances of animal neglect or cruelty.”

Speaking to Lovin Malta, a spokesperson for Alicia Bugeja Said noted that the first of four legal notices set to be published will be regulating pet sitters.

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