About Stray Dogs

There are no clear records about how many dogs the shelter will receive each year. But the shelter’s current number of dogs being kept is approximately 145, and the maximum capacity is 347; actually that is not a huge amount of residents. Even so, the living space for the dogs is still very small and congestion, this is because the shelter accommodates many dogs, which makes them feel oppressed, and they might attack each other to compete for resources and the living space.

Therefore, most shelters neuter obedient dogs with better behavior and release them so that they will not become pregnant again, which increases the space in the shelter. Reported dogs will be caught and brought back. If a neutered dog is caught again, it will be released. Later, they changed the policy and released the dogs to a unfamiliar places, such as the mountains, so that they would not cause trouble everywhere. Although this method reduces some problems, new problems have emerged. The dogs have started to bite and kill other endangered and protected species, which causes differing opinions among people and environmentalists. This creates a vicious cycle and an unjust situation for all involved, and this potential problem is currently under debate. Many citizens recognize this problem and contribute their time and effort to help improve the situation. They call themselves “Animals’ dad” and “Animals’ mom”, and they are an independent organization. They take dogs they see on sidewalks or in places with stray dogs to their parks to take care of them. If there is no microchip on the dog, it is legal adopt it; if there is a microchip, it will be considered encroachment of property.

Most stray dogs live together and move in groups, but sometimes there are exceptions. If you see one dog alone, it is either sick, ostracized, or has a specific person feeding it, so it will live there for a long time. Basically, this can cause problems, such as citizens being annoyed, or the dogs becoming overly reliant on humans. It also causes negative incidents, such as dogs chasing cars, making noise, biting people, attacking humans, and creating slums. However, they can also bring some positive effects, such as fewer rats on the streets or children having playmates.

Even so, sometimes we still need to be careful when children are playing with stray dogs because it may cause big problems. You may get rabies if you have been bitten by a dog that has rabies too. Rabies comes from the dog’s saliva, bites, or scratch wounds during play. If a stray dog bites you, wash the wounds or bite with soapy water for 15 minutes first, then go to the doctor right away and get the vaccine. After you finish those steps, rest, stay calm and observe your body’s reactions like fever, headache, or a strange feeling at the spot that has been bite. If there is any secretion, go to the hospital and let the doctor make a decision with you.

A few ways to recognize the dogs that have rabies are to see if they often drool or afraid of water. Their personality will change, from tameness to anxiety; they may become aggressive, bite things randomly, bark nervously, show photophobia, walk unstably, etc. In the late stage, they will plunge into paralysis and experience jerking because their cranial nerves have been damaged. Finally, their breathing will stop, leading to death in a coma.

Pedigree and beautiful dogs are less likely to be abandoned, most of those abandoned dogs are mixed breeds, old, or sick. Most of the reasons for stray dogs are that the dogs are not neutered and keep reproducing, or that breeding farms operate on the edge of the law to breed dogs that can be sold for money. When those dogs get old, they are cast out, causing the stray dog problem. One of the ways decrease the number of stray dogs is for owners to have a proper and careful attitude, such as using a leash when taking pets for a walk, keep doors closed, etc.must be proper and not careless and keeping doors closed.