Abandoned Puppies

A couple of people are feeding these cuties on PR 453. The look better this week than they did last.

I believe in trap, neuter, and return, but these are babies. Perhaps a local rescuer will get them. 

Animal Control Puerto Rico

According to Bill 2950 the tourism industry is losing fifteen million a year because of the dog problem. The tourism industry must support vigorously endeavor to reduce the dog population by curtailing reproduction. To entertain a bill about animals in the middle of a financial crisis indicates that the time has come for change; animals will no longer be collected and killed.

This is so wonderful. Bravo to those who envisioned this bill!

How much money will be budgeted to support the enactment of the bill?

How much would it cost to sterilize all the dogs on the island?

According to the bill, if I read it correctly, there are 300,000 dogs on the island.

If sterilization or spay/neuter, if you prefer, will cost according to the bill $35- $50, let’s take the high end $50.

300,000 X $50 = $15,000,000

One year’s loss for tourism would neuter all; isn’t that interesting?!

How the World Lived With Dogs

Picture life on a Caribbean island two hundred years ago with no cars, no Iguanas, but dogs walked with the farmers to market or to the fields in search of yame (yams).

Dogs and cats roamed the woods around the house at night hunting rats or mice. People slept soundly at night certain the dogs would sound the alarm if anything stirred. They fed leftovers to the dogs without a sense of ownership. The dog that went to the market with the farmer might follow his neighbor to the river to fish.

The community dog concept is a large part of everyone’s heritage, if you go back far enough. North America is different because massive European migration interrupted the normal flow of life. Each settler brought a dog, which they valued for protection from predators.

In small human hamlets dogs wandered through the community, almost as freely as man. The humble life of the hamlet dog is part of our history.

Within the last two hundred years rabies finished the US tolerance for free ranging dogs. Americans can’t tolerate wolves in Yellowstone; dogs roaming in forest preserves, waiting to prey on children strikes fear.  It’s a national phobia.

Other parts of the world continue with the community dog concept or local variations.

Is the question how to bring the animal population into compliance?  

Is there a way to respect cultural heritage and do what’s best for health and safety without killing dogs?

Fur Family

If it weren’t for the dogs, I could just close the house and go for as long as I like, but there are five depending on me. I planned to be dog less so I could travel, but these dogs bark at strangers in the night. Many days I talk and they listen; these days they’re the only ones who do. We’re friends, so I provide for them when I travel.

About ten years ago, when Kirt and I bought the house in PuertoRico, we fed dogs that came and went; only Stormie, the border collie stayed. A couple of years later we returned to be greeted by Blondie, who was then a young adult of at least a year, probably a year and a half.

Every trip to Puerto Rico for a few years we were welcomed home by Blondie and Stormie, and then someone in a big SUV dumped Chi in front of the neighbor’s house. Every year other dogs migrated past our door. Kirt never didn’t have a problem with feeding the strays, but had philosophical discussions about what was our problem and what is the island’s problem; and he was as kind hearted a man as I’ve ever meet.

We left the world of pure bred champion dogs behind in Illinois, said farewell to cold weather and life with dogs as the epicenter, but now, we had two Puerto Rican street dogs going with us to New Orleans. Blondie and Chi loved the Big Easy; raccoons under a house were way better than squeaky toys, but for a new invention, the leash, they’d have a raccoon for doggie games.

In the last months of Kirt’s life Lucky and Robert Redford appeared in the same week. Kirt and I agreed we needed a couple of boys to balance the girl-boy ratio.  Along came Lola with marks of physical abuse still visible, her feet swollen giving her a sadly endearing gait.  Before he died, we had a family of five fur kids.

Here I am almost three years later with my family of five.    

Cowboy the Pit Puppy Finds a Home

Puppy Update

The red and white puppy found his way to my door all the way from Counselor’s Ridge, which is about a mile or so away. He stood at the bottom of my driveway with a couple of people who were gathering coconuts. I came out because my dogs were barking at the people.

The boney boy stood in the road with ears and tail down, so as to not attract attention. He watched the Sato Hill Crewe come down the driveway in full protection mode, as the man stood on the roof of my neighbor’s garage and his wife gathered the coconuts dropping in my driveway.  The dogs’ focused on the people; until the puppy recognized me. His eyes widened, head came up, ears went forward, and his tail burst into a full speed wag.

Lucky, Robert Redford, Blondie, and Chi-Ping turned as one from the people they had focused on, to the little guy doing the happy dance. They went into stalk position, which scared me, since they were already halfway down the drive. 

The woman in my driveway saw the dogs’ predatory posture, freaked out yelling, “Hay dios mio,” and ran around her car, while her husband tried waving the long rod he used on the coconuts at the dogs.

“NO,” I boomed at the man. “TRANQUILA, tranquila,” I soothed the woman.

“No,” I said again in my serious dog voice; the dogs actually looked at me, big sigh of relief. “GOOD GUYS!! COMEON, LET’S GO TO THE HOUSE!!”

Lucky and Robert Redford flew up the hill; what good babies! Blondie and Chi weren’t convinced to leave the people or the little competitor with the wagging tail, but minus the boys’ support the girls regrouped halfway up the driveway.

Boys in the house, Blondie and Chi, my old friends, came along.  I haven’t had them in the house much lately, so the hounds were happy, allowing me to find the puppy, who had headed up the hill in fright.

This is a pit bull puppy; he only retreated to the other side of my neighbor’s garage, where he greeted me with joy. About a week ago, the only time we met, I fed him on the way to feed the litter in the lane. A good ten dogs I’ve seen for quite some time have disappeared from that lane, which gives me more surprise to see him.

Down the lane where the big cows graze my little Cowboy came. 

Spaying Street Bitches

Rounding up stray bitches for sterilization is more difficult than I thought it would be.

Far out of my comfort zone is talking in Spanish to strangers. I can see it in their faces; they don't trust me, when they finally understand me.

One family, I offered to take the six puppies to a shelter my friend runs, the woman's granddaughter told her in Spanish, right in front of me, "The gringa is going to make money off las perritas." The puppies vanished, I don't know how or where. A year later the pregnant shaggy terrier mom disappeared from the yard, only a handsome young son remains; and that’s my neighbor.

Since I’ve lived here, any dog moving in gets vaccinations and neutering on me. Little puppies wandering in the street break my heart. I don’t make money; I donate time, energy and money to improve life for dogs. Our relationship with dogs began in the caves, they’ve served us since then; don’t we owe them?

Free roaming carnivores maintain a balance in rodent population, if the dogs hunt is another topic.  Too many dogs is the problem; I think of it as finding an ecological balance and believe that the barbaric practice of collecting and killing them should be replaced with trap, neuter and return. 

   

Returning a post operative dog to a vacant area doesn’t set well, so going with people at least somewhat interested in it appeals, comes with other perils.

 I'm going further away from home talking to people. I need to enlist help from local people. Catching dogs the night before spay day, even dogs I feed when I see them, is hit or miss, so where I see dogs hanging around, I know that a person cares enough to feed at least occasionally. These are the people I need to support to end the huge reproduction cycle.

Understanding the street dog problem in Puerto Rico has taken a long time. Finding a boots on the ground part of the solution I can believe in; halleluiah, I’m blessed.

Each week I’ll be bringing up to three females/hembras to the vet to be spayed. In my valley, over the years I’ve learned where dogs are fed; the dogs hang on the outside of the fence. I believe these are the people I need to say hello to, but people get weird looks on their faces when I speak; you have no idea.

Well, wish me luck!