Town Dog Adopted

“Village dog” is a term usually used to describe unowned but welcomed canines living around human communities in, for example, southeast Asia. Now from Oxford in Mississippi we have the new version of “town dog”. This is the story (here) of a stray dog that lived on the town’s streets for several years before finally getting adopted as a pet.

Two things seemed to surprise the dog’s new owner. One was that "Other than 10 ticks I pulled off of him, he's in better shape than most dogs his age”. The other was that once he posted pictures of the dog on his Facebook page he realised just how many people had interacted with the animal. He said, "It seems he was very popular around town".

Given the community care that he had clearly been receiving and his apparently quite healthy lifestyle, why are we so convinced that what this dog “needed was a good home”? In the north American context with cold winters and no “village dog” culture it is probably the right thing to happen but the description of this dog’s life pre-adoption seems to be one of people feeling unnecessarily sorry for him.

I’m certainly not criticising the adopter but, for me, a happier end to the story would have been if people had realised the value of having a shared “town dog”, allowed the dog to continue its unowned lifestyle and collectively organised the animal’s care if and when he needed it.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Bangkok Governor Candidates and Stray Dogs

With the Bangkok Governor election just a few weeks away, the candidates are all busy outlining their policies and making lots of promises. One key issue in the city is the stray dogs, which according to the chairman of the Foundation for Stray Dogs (FSD) have now reached over 700,000.

Several of the main candidates recently outlined how they would tackle the problem at a seminar organised by FSD. The report I saw (here) is very brief but all the prospective Governors talked about the need for more shelters with each of them adding their own twist, such as “the smart ones could be trained to work as guide dogs for blind people”.

According to the report only one candidate hinted at the root cause of the problem by saying that he “would encourage dog owners to take good care of their pets and not abandon them”. This abandonment of pets and unsold puppies is the major source of Bangkok’s street dogs rather than breeding on the streets, and it’s a little disappointing that it wasn’t given greater emphasis by the candidates (although perhaps not surprising as they wouldn’t want to appear critical of dog owners).

One candidate talked about “finding new homes for them, with the help of civil society” in order to save the state funds used in shelters. I’m not entirely sure what he has in mind but to me this is exactly what happens to most of the dogs anyway. There are thousands of people in the city who take it upon themselves to care for and feed the dogs in the traditional Thai manner, in return gaining companionship, gratitude and a communal security alert.

With such vague policies and apparent lack of clear understanding of the problem I suspect that whoever ends up as the next Governor of Bangkok the abandonment of dogs will continue and the stray dog population will carry on increasing. 

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

New Animal Protection Laws in Mexico

Mexico City has just passed a new animal-protection law whereby anybody abusing a domestic animal or wildlife in Mexico City will face a fine of up to $3,000 and, for the first time, a jail sentence of up to four years (see report here). It also specifies that abandoned dogs and other pets cannot be considered “pests” and mistreated as they have been in the past. Currently, the estimated 120,000 street dogs in the city suffer widespread abuse.

Unfortunately, the law does not appear to class abandonment as cruelty so the root cause of the street dogs and their suffering is likely to continue as before. There is also doubt as to how well the new law will be enforced considering the lax enforcement of other existing laws in the city.

However, this is clearly a positive move from the legislators particularly given the recent events of dogs living in a Mexico City park apparently mauling to death five people in three separate incidents (see my earlier post here). The temptation must have been to put this new law on hold but perhaps the strength of feeling to protect the dogs trapped after those human deaths showed the majority’s compassionate view.

I believe that this law is an important step forward not only for the dogs’ sake but also for the human residents. Cruel treatment from people produces aggressive street dogs, and this effect might have played a role in the recent tragic events, so if these laws could be well-enforced then there is a chance of reducing conflict between dogs and people and thereby improving life for both.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

What Would Dogs Choose?

Here is a blog post by Christine Hibbard reporting on a lecture given by the dog researcher Ray Coppinger who has studied unowned dogs around the world for many years. As the originator of the theory that wolves effectively domesticated themselves by becoming scavengers around human groups he has a lot of interesting things to say and this blog gives some good highlights.

I would just like to post one quote from it here:

“…if your dog could choose between remaining intact and living a life in the Mexico City dump consisting of foraging, procreating, playing and living an unrestricted life or living in the luxurious prisons we call our homes, they’d probably pick the dump.”

That, I’m sure, is quite insulting to the great many pet owners who provide their own pet with a wonderfully secure, loving and healthy life. Personally, I am sure that any dog that has grown up as a pet in such a household would choose to stay where it is if it could be asked.

However, I would like to encourage pet owners to honestly consider which lifestyle is actually better for a dog. Surely being well-fed and healthy only fulfills part of an animal’s innate needs. And are we not fooling ourselves if we think social interaction with people can replace social interaction with other dogs? How many of us would choose being a well-provided for prisoner rather than have a more-risky but stimulating life on the outside world? Many people enjoy work and many working dogs clearly enjoy the work they do, so is having to scavenge (=forage) for a living such a bad thing?

“Prisoner” is a strong and provocative word, and I certainly do not advocate the “release” of pet dogs in the sense of them getting abandoned to the streets which would be cruel and irresponsible. However, I do believe that most pet dog owners could improve their pet’s quality of life by seriously looking at what is lacking from the dog’s point of view, and that contemplating a dog’s life on the streets/around the village/at the dump can hold some very good clues.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Street Dog Population Control Case Study

For anybody interested in getting a better understanding of the street dog issue in developing countries I thoroughly recommend the following on-line document published by the British Veterinary Association Overseas Group:

‘Street Dog’ Population Control by Kathy Anzuino

It is an academic case study (focused on the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme in Jaipur, India) but easy to read. Here are some cherry-picked highlights from it:

“In Britain we tend to neatly categorize dogs as either 'pets' or 'stray' depending on their ownership status. This classification is oversimplified and inappropriate for many urban areas in 'developing' countries.”

“[pet ownership] is a relatively new but growing concept in Jaipur.”

“The most useful development of the [ABC] programme would probably come from greater community involvement...”

“…research suggests that domesticated dogs cause more and more serious bite injuries than feral dogs…”

“…there is a danger of following the western model of pet ownership, assuming this is the 'right way', that dogs should live only as pets and completely on human terms.”

“…elimination of street dogs ignores the role they may be playing as companions to the poorest members of the community who are unable to keep dogs as pets, providing them with protection, warmth and companionship.”

“The short to medium term aims of the [ABC] programme are to create a stable, friendlier, healthier street dog population. However, the city society is changing and there needs to be public debate about the longer term aims of the programme - whether the Western model of pet ownership should really be promoted or whether a different model, with dogs remaining a general society responsibility, is advocated.”

This is the first time I have seen Western involvement in a street dog ABC programme question their assumptions and ultimate aims. ABC programmes can and do improve street dog welfare but there are too many Western-run programmes based on the wrong assumption that all street dogs are stray.

And bear in mind that this case study is focused on the urban environment in developing countries and does not touch on the rural situation in those countries that can probably teach us a lot about why things can break down so badly in urban settings.

The one major omission from this study as far as I can see is the role of pet dog abandonment in the “overpopulation” of street dogs. My view is that the importance of solving this part of the problem is very under-rated.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

War Against Moscow’s Stray Dogs

Moscow’s vigilante “dog hunters” who have killed an estimated 1,500 stray dogs around the city’s parks in recent years have escalated their fight against the animals by openly organising a “massive culling” event (reported here, for example).

Typically, they use poisoned bait, which has also caused the deaths of several pet dogs, and use the internet to exchange stories and tactics plus post photographs of the dead dogs and links to news stories of their activities from around the world.

The boldness of this latest move is quite shocking with apparently no attempt to conceal the intention or meeting place, although, this does perhaps suggest that it is a publicity stunt rather than a real intention. Animal rights groups have organised counter protests whilst police say they will be present in order to “prevent cases of cruelty to animals”. 

As far as I understand, the “event” was due to take place last Friday (25th) but I have seen no reports yet as to what, if anything, actually happened.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Stray Dog Attacks Girl But The Devil’s In The Detail

The Hindu newspaper reports a nasty incident of a six-year-old girl being “suddenly attacked, without any provocation” by a stray dog. The dog bit her face leaving severe injuries including several broken teeth before being chased away by local residents who heard her cries. The Hindu then says no more about the incident beyond the hospital treatment she received leaving the reader with the impression that any street dog could be capable of launching such an attack at any time.

The Times of India newspaper similarly reports on this case confirming the injuries the girl suffered but then fortunately also includes some details that give clues as to why this particular dog attacked this particular girl.

Apparently the girl regularly gave biscuits and snacks to stray dogs in the streets around her home but this dog was new to the area and unknown to her. The attack happened after she gently patted its head. It would be unfair on the girl to say that this amounted to provocation but from the dog’s point of view this was exactly what it was given the details that follow. Locals explained that the dog had been chased out of a neighboring slum (for reasons unstated), was ravenous but had been attacked by other dogs when trying to scavenge food, and finally that local schoolchildren had attacked it with stones. Given this recent history it is no surprise that it aggressively defended itself when approached and touched by the girl.

Of course I do not blame the girl whose intentions were purely friendly but neither do I blame the dog. To me this story highlights three points: that children need to be educated to be wary of unknown dogs; that cruel treatment of dogs will produce an aggressive animal; and that lazy journalism does not serve society well.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Dump Dogs And Aggression In Pakistan

The Pakistan Observer has a brief report (here) about the ongoing problem of aggressive street dogs in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The residents complain that they feel frightened to walk the streets, particularly at night, adding that the situation is “due to lack of any action against the stray dogs by the civic authorities”.

In this story I can see the usual issues of poor waste management supporting an increasing number of dogs plus the normal attitude that the responsibility belongs to the authorities rather than the residents themselves and perhaps also aggression from people producing aggressive dogs.

However, one comment that particularly caught my eye was from a resident who said that the dogs “are usually seen around garbage heaps during the day”. Although living as scavengers around human communities is in the nature of dogs, it struck me that part of the problem in situations like this may be the separation between the animals and the human residents. These are not village or community dogs, these are dump dogs. They live close to people but probably do not have direct interaction with people on a daily basis. Their reliance on people is indirect and the relationship is impersonal unlike the traditional village situation where both dogs and people know each other as individuals and are bonded through a shared community.

Such understanding of why the human-dog relationship starts to break down cannot in itself offer any immediate relief to the residents of Islamabad or Rawalpindi but does help to create a better picture of the free-living dog’s role in the world. This particularly concerns me because of the danger that all free-living dogs are unfairly tainted by such cases as these aggressive dump dogs in Pakistan.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Dog Domestication And Diet

New research (reported here, for example) has highlighted genetic differences between wolves and domestic dogs that “may suggest that the development of agriculture catalysed the domestication of dogs”. The most interesting difference is the significant duplication in dogs of genes that enable starch digestion which gives them a great advantage over wolves in living on starch-rich rather than protein-rich diets. A change that to some extent paralleled our own genetic adaption to agriculture.

The researchers conclude that “a change of ecological niche could have been the driving force behind the domestication process, and that scavenging in waste dumps near the increasingly common human settlements during the dawn of the agricultural revolution may have constituted this new niche”.

This seemingly adds weight to the idea that humans did not deliberately create dogs from wolves as is commonly believed but that it was a natural process in response to changes in an available niche, which in turn, implies that unowned dogs scavenging food around the edge of human communities are doing exactly what they evolved to do.  

However, it seems to me that it is equally possible that these genetic changes occurred after the dog had already travelled well down the road to domestication. The changes in available food would be a driver for these genetic changes even if the animals were already fully domesticated. To be fair, the researchers are more tentative in their conclusions than the popular media have been!

With the improvement of DNA research techniques and a general lowering of their cost further similar studies will probably provide more evidence on the question of dog domestication before too long. But frustratingly for me, these studies always select dog breeds as the comparison with wolves rather than the free-living non-breeds such as the dingoes and pariahs of Asia, which are probably the closest living relatives to the earliest dogs. 

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Street Dog Role Models in Romania

A campaign has started in Romania using stray dogs as role models to try to reduce the number of pedestrian casualties from careless road crossings (reported here, for example). Many street dogs have apparently learned that the safest way to cross roads is to use pedestrian crossings or wait for red lights, so they are being used as examples to educate, and possibly embarrass, the general public.

This particularly interests me because one of the commonest complaints against street dogs is the risk of them causing traffic accidents but my feeling has always been that dogs who grew up on the street are actually quite traffic-savvy whilst abandoned pets and pets-on-the-loose are the far more serious culprits.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Kathmandu's Street Dogs

This video presented by Charlotte Uhlenbroek introduces the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre (KAT Centre) and the work they are planning to improve the street dog situation in Nepal’s capital.

I appreciate the fact that she introduces the concept of “community dogs” and states that “they fair pretty well” on the whole but feel that the overall message is a little misleading in implying is that this community approach is a fairly new reaction to an increasing population of street dogs rather than the long-standing human-dog relationship in the area. Neither does her description actually address why the population of street dogs has increased. Blaming “uncontrolled breeding” is an inadequate explanation. Mentioning that the dogs “scavenge what they can from piles of rubbish in the streets” suddenly creates a clearer picture of poor waste management in an expanding urban centre leading to an increasing street dog population which creates the ideal conditions for canine disease to flourish. In other words, waste management is the problem not the dogs themselves.

The desire to improve the overall health of the canine population is commendable but the KAT Centre’s project could ultimately end up with the loss of Kathmandu’s traditional community street dogs whilst also inadvertently producing a greater human health problem through more rotting waste or a higher rat population.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

ID Card for Stray Dog Carers

In an unprecedented move a Government agency in India (Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)) is to issue identity cards to people who voluntarily feed or care for street dogs (full report here). The aim is to reduce or even eliminate the harrassment that such people get from those who want rid of the dogs. The ID card will not give the holder any rights but will instead state that they have the legal right to care and feed these animals and that the AWBI supports this right.

I could imagine some suspicions about the need for such carers to register personal details in order to get a card but the linked report indicates that reaction so far has been very positive (at least from animal rights groups). There is also scope for misunderstandings such as that carers require such an ID card, which is not the case.

Part of the reasoning for this ID card being a good thing is summed up with the quote: “Most people don’t realise that sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs would be possible only through feeding and befriending dogs”. Organisers of any humanitarian stray dog management initiative will find that such local carers are absolutely invaluable.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Stray Dogs Kill Five in Mexico?

Mexico City has had a real stray dog horror story recently that has hit the major news channels as well as flooding the internet. The story broke with the discovery of a woman and her baby plus a teenage couple all apparently mauled to death and, at least in the one case, partially eaten by “wild” dogs in a large, hilly park within the city. An immediate round-up of loose dogs in the area was conducted and over 50 were successfully trapped.

A few days later it was realised that the case of another woman who had died in the park a week or two earlier but had not been fully investigated was actually the first dog-mauling victim bringing the total number of deaths to five.

The local reaction to these events has been interesting. There have been strong protests about the fate of the captured dogs, which included some puppies, with a general disbelief that these dogs could have done such a thing. The tests for human blood and stomach contents have subsequently all proved negative and rather than dispose of the animals as may have been the original intention they are now being put up for adoption whilst the chances of discovering the real culprits are diminishing fast.

The other side to the reaction has been suspicion that this was actually a human crime being blamed on the dogs. The serious crime rates in the city, particularly related to drug gangs, has produced a cynical reaction that perhaps the bodies were killed elsewhere then dumped in the area and the dogs framed, and that this may have been done with the complicity of the authorities. However, understandable as such a reaction may be given the nature of life in the city, two things seem to point to the dogs themselves being the culprits. The initial reports included forensic evidence that clearly identified multiply bites as having occurred both whilst the people were still alive and after death. This in itself doesn’t discount the conspiracy theory but the teenage girl who died also rang her sister during the attack and in crying for help stated that they were being attacked by a pack of dogs. Unfortunately, the sister thought she was joking, although, given the size of the park even if she had believed it there probably wasn’t anything that could have been done at that stage.

Basically, although some people will always have some doubts, I see no compelling evidence to suggest that these five people died any other way than getting mauled to death by dogs in the park.

As an aside, I find people’s disbelief that the miserable, forlorn-looking dogs trapped in cages could have done something so terrible to be a classic human reaction that dogs have evolved to evoke in us. They are masters at deflecting human aggression, a trait that probably naturally developed in the earliest dogs as a consequence of them choosing to live near people. Neither of the other choices of fight or flight would have been as successful.

Going back to the story in Mexico City, there is another snippet of information that I find interesting but has not been picked up elsewhere. Namely, that when the police first started rounding up dogs in the area there was a mad scramble amongst the residents to make sure their own pets were safely shut inside. Prior to this, allowing pets to wander freely was the norm in the area. The assumption, of course, is that only wild dogs could possibly do such a terrible thing and the thought of looking towards the free-roaming pets never occurred to anybody. I would like to suggest that possibly the reason that none of the rounded-up stray dogs had any evidence of human blood on them or human tissue in their stomachs was that all that evidence may have already have been safely shut away in peoples’ homes. I cannot say with any confidence that local pet dogs were involved but I can say that it is quite possible and should have been considered from the start. I, for one, would not be at all surprised.

Although I often argue in support of free-living dogs I am under no illusion about their capabilities. Dogs are designed to elicit sympathy in us but still retain the potential to cause harm and, particularly in packs, to kill. To me, the idea of stray or feral dogs or pets-on-the-loose killing people in this way is quite believable but is clearly unusual and probably requires a particular set of circumstances in order to happen but unfortunately the details from these deaths in Mexico are frustratingly insufficient to gain any real understanding of what exactly happened.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

On Meeting Stray Dogs

A mixture of good and bad advice in this posting on Hubpages about what to do when meeting a stray dog.

Good advice:

1. Don’t run.
2. Ignore it and it may just go away.
3. Don’t make direct eye contact.

Bad advice:

1. Lie face down on the ground with your knees under you and cover your head with your hands.
2. Offer your hand for the dog to sniff.

I guess the author is writing from a western situation. If I were to follow her advice I would spend half my life crouched on the ground with my hands over my head.

My advice when approached by a potentially aggressive stray dog is to stand still and look the other way. Let it sniff your leg (and keep your hands in your pocket).

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Thieving Stray Dog

According to a report on the BBC News website (here) a man in India has filed a report with police that a stray dog ran away with a bag containing 400,000 rupees (over $7,000) sent to him by his son working in the middle east. The bag was on his bed at the time and he had briefly gone outside to wash his face. When he returned he saw the dog running away with his money and gave chase but couldn’t catch it. Part of the money was later found in a nearby street but the rest is still missing.

The speculation is that the dog thought the bag contained food but no details are given as to why the dog may have thought so. I could imagine a leather bag being of interest to a dog but the Hindustan Times (here) adds the detail that it was actually a polythene bag. This bag may have previously contained food or even if it hadn’t so much edible waste that is dumped on the streets is actually in polythene bags that the dog may have simply learned to associate the smell of polythene with food. Perhaps the moral of the story in this case is that society needs to be more careful with waste disposal.

Stretching the imagination and being a little cynical, two other possibilities come to mind. Perhaps the dog was not stray but actually trained as a bag/money snatcher. I have never heard of this happening with a dog but believe it has been done with monkeys and the trainability of dogs would certainly make it possible.

However, part of me also questions whether any dog was involved at all. In this case the victim seems genuine with no motivation to lie and the fact that part of the money was recovered in the street by the police supports his story but it wouldn’t be the first time that a stray dog was framed for something it didn’t do.

Edit: A small but important detail to add from the Gulf News (here). The man went out to wash his hands because he had just been eating.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)