Care About The Stray Dogs In The Yucatan

"Dog!" I exclaimed to my husband, who was driving our small rental car along a toll-free road that meanders slowly through the towns of the Yucatan, slowly meandering much like the many stray dogs along these roads. Sometimes the dogs would sleepily walk into the road and stop, find a warm spot and lay down in the sun. These dogs don't know about time; their previous moments determine their next and that is all. I rescued one of my two dogs a year ago from a street in Laredo. He casually trotted in front of a car that screeched to a halt to avoid hitting him while I closed my eyes and hoped for the best. When I peeked out to see that he'd made it back onto the sidewalk, I got out of the car and beckoned him over. He didn't have tags, a chip, "wanted" signs or any ads online. And so I took him home with me and he's been a part of my family ever since.

The last thing I wanted to do during my recent trip to the Yucatan was hit a dog, so I watched the roads vigilantly as my husband drove. We didn't hit any dogs while we drove around the peninsula, but we came close. Since there are so many stray dogs in the Yucatan, they don't get spayed or neutered and the stray dog population keeps growing. There isn't any sort of government-operated SPCA or Humane Society in the Yucatan. Private organizations try to combat the situation and a Planned Pethood in the Yucatan aims to aggressively implement spay/neuter programs throughout the region, but the problem is still widely apparent. For anyone who has traveled to areas of the world wherein programs like these aren't financed fixtures, stray dogs are usually just an unfortunate truth of travel.

Winding our way through the small towns between Cancun and Merida, the dogs came in all sizes and colors. We occasionally passed an identifiable breed – a Doberman here, a litter of newborn Rottweilers there – but most of the dogs we saw on these roads were that recognizable mix of everything. Usually tan with a medium build, these dogs were wherever people were. Begging for food or attention, they weaved their way through pedestrians and cars in the towns we passed. Some of them looked surprisingly healthy with shiny coats and smiling faces. Others were mangy and diseased. Some were dead.

The reality of the stray dog problem in places like the Yucatan cannot be negotiated without concerted effort. These dogs are part of the culture and landscape of this peninsula, for better or worse, and for all intents and purposes, they always have been. Ancient Maya communities included domesticated dogs. The Maya used the dogs for hunting, companionship, food and sacrifice. They fed the dogs corn and some Yucatec Maya today continue this tradition and give dogs tortillas. Spanish explorers in the 16th century visited Merida and documented the breeding, feeding and sale of dogs in the city.

Maya literature incorporated dogs, too. The Popol Vuh is the K'iche' Maya creation story. According to it, the gods failed horribly at their second attempt to make humans. The legend says that these humans were made out of wood. These humans were emotionless and would not feed the dogs, so the dogs retaliated in anger and destroyed them. The lesson in this story resonated with the Maya and they placed strong emphasis on respecting and feeding dogs. Associated with human life, renewal and death, dogs were of incredible symbolic importance to the ancient Maya. They held the job of leading people into the Underworld and protecting the home. Dog remains have been found buried alongside humans in Maya graves and royal homes. Presumably, the dogs were buried with their owners in order to guide them into the afterlife.

I clenched my teeth each time we passed these dogs, dead or alive. Dogs have long been an important component of human life. A dog was found buried with a human in Palestine in a 12,000-year-old grave. A dog and human were found together in a 14,000-year-old burial site in Germany. In my experience, most people who grasp the unique relationship between dogs and humans have a difficult time witnessing the kind of abundance of stray dogs I saw while navigating those small-town roads in the Yucatan.

As I was getting ready to leave the market in Merida one afternoon, two little girls walked past me, both cradling tiny, dirty puppies in their hands. I asked the girls how old the dogs were and if I could pet them. I crouched down in the plaza and held one of the one-week-old puppies. I didn't know whether or not they belonged to the girls or the street and in that moment, it didn't matter. Just like every other puppy from every time period and every part of the world, the little dog eagerly welcomed my affection.

Know About The Common Stray Dog Diseases

Stray dogs live in filthy, germ-ridden environments. They eat spoiled food from trash cans, sleep in dirty areas and are highly susceptible to a wide variety of fatal stray dog diseases. Many of these diseases are preventable by vaccines, which are unavailable to stray animals. Remember to have a stray dog checked by a veterinarian before taking him home, especially if you have other pets.

Fleas - If untreated, as with stray dogs, fleas will cause an array of irritating symptoms. A flea-bitten dog can have severe allergic reactions, infected skin sores and hair loss. Some flea-infested dogs will not eat or sleep due to constant scratching, and will eventually die.

Heartworms - Heartworm is caused by a roundworm that is transmitted by mosquitoes. The roundworm affects the heart and lungs, ending in death if not treated early. Many dogs do not show signs until the disease is in its advanced stages. Symptoms include lack of energy, laboured breathing, coughing and weight loss.

Parvo - Parvo is a very common and often fatal disease in stray dogs. This viral disease causes death within days from the onset of symptoms, which includes weakness, vomiting, large amounts of bloody diarrhoea and fever. Parvo is transmitted through bodily wastes and it is extremely difficult to rid an area of the disease once it has been in contact with an infected dog's feces.

Distemper - Distemper is a highly contagious viral disease that is present in a dog's bodily fluid excretions. This disease is fatal to 90 percent of infected dogs. Symptoms include fever, nose and eye discharge, nervous signs, paralysis, vomiting and skin sores. The few that survive this disease usually end up with a long-term nerve or skin ailment.

Ear Mites - The unsanitary living conditions that stray dogs are accustomed to make them vulnerable to an ear mite infestation. If gone untreated, this ear infection can become a maggot infestation, leading to the dog's slow and painful death.

Throat Worm - Throat worm is a disease spread by the dung beetle. Dogs who scavenge for food through garbage are the mostly susceptible to this disease. It is slow to develop following ingestion of the dung beetle. This beetle is parasitic during its migration through a dog's body. Throat worm disease, to begin with, causes the rupture of major blood vessels and large swellings in the throat. If the dog is treated at this point, there is a good chance for survival, but he is likely to develop further complications.

Mange - Mange is a microscopic mite infestation on or in the skin. Mange mites are controlled by a dog's immune system, but when their immune system is weakened, the mites multiply uncontrollably. A stray often has a weak immune system due to disease or poor diet. Mange causes skin flaking, hair loss, severe itching and infected lesions. The untreated stray likely will develop severe infections, blood loss and maggot infestation that leads to death.

Some Practical Steps To Help Stray Dogs Survive A Harsh Winter

Making sure stray dogs are warm in the winter is a bit harder than doing the same for feral cats, but we should do whatever we can to help them. Remember that for the most part, stray dogs have a harder time adjusting to cold weather than stray cats, and their options for finding warmth are bit more limited. Here are some practical steps you can take to help stray dogs survive a harsh winter:

1) If you know of a specific area where stray dogs sleep, consider leaving some warm blankets, etc. there for them to sleep on. Blankets used by dogs can become icy and cold during the winter months, so make sure you minimize the risk of this happening by placing the blankets in a covered area such as under a bridge, overpass, etc. Remember to also place some kind of protective layer under the blanket, so that it won't get wet from the ground. Thin layers of styrofoam, which you can buy at most bigger hardware stores, will usually do the trick.

2) Building a winter shelter for stray dogs is a bit more challenging than building one for feral cats. You can follow the basic principles of building a cat shelter (as outlined in my previous post), but you would have to make both the entrance and the whole thing a lot bigger. The matter is somewhat complicated by the fact that stray dogs often move around a lot. Still, if you feel that this is an option and you know of a particular dog that will benefit, please do this. Some people recommend straw instead of blankets as bedding in dog houses, because, as we mentioned above, blankets used by dogs in the winter can sometimes get wet and icy.

3) Remember the importance of donating blankets, old sweaters, and any other such items to your local animal shelter. In many of these types of shelters around the world, dogs are kept outside in the winter, and need blankets, etc. to keep warm. This is a very simple, yet very effective way to help these animals.

How Should We Treat A Stray Dog Correctly

For a stray dog. Nobody knows where he came from. Nobody knows what his breed is. Nobody knows whether he is sterilized or not. People in my street have given him an unusual name. But one thing that everybody knows is that he is a nuisance. He is a nuisance because he barks late at night and early in the morning. He is a nuisance because he sneaks inside the warm houses of people the moment he gets a chance. He is a nuisance because he steals food. He is a nuisance because he keeps strangers away from his street and snarls at new people. He is a nuisance because he wants to be loved.

This is not the story of just one dog. There are millions like this dog in every corner of our country. Our culture teaches us that every form of life is a part of God. Even animals are another form of God. But we forget this simple teaching when we beat these stray dogs black and blue and run them over by our cars. Sometimes we go to the extent of even poisoning them. We forget that they are also a form of life; they also need food and shelter to survive. They also need love.

Being a city dog is not an easy task. It starts in their infancy when they have to fight with their siblings for their mother's milk. That mother who herself was a street dog and never got proper food her entire life. After this, these pups have to survive the streets where everyday either they are crushed under vehicles or are shooed away by humans. Those few who survive all this are not that lucky as this is when their lifelong battle with the streets and people begins.

During this battle, these dogs have to endure a lot. They are beaten up by people, treated extremely badly, run over by vehicles, have to live in filth and never get proper food. Some people go to the extent of poisoning these dogs to get rid of them. Those who care for these dogs are shunned by their neighbours for causing the so-called menace of stray dogs in the locality. What people fail to understand here is that why these dogs create such trouble. The simple answer lies in them not getting proper food and shelter. People who want to keep pets go for expensive purebred dogs and forget the fact that there is another homeless, equally loyal dog down the street that has to search for food every single day of its existence.

The menace of stray dogs is not limited to India; it is very much there in other countries like United States of America and United Kingdom. In 2010, there was a proposal in Bucharest to kill sick and aggressive dogs and those in shelters who are not adopted after seven days. These kinds of policies are not new and have been seen in a number of countries. There are countries which even follow these policies.

But killing these stray dogs is not an effective measure to tackle the problem, adopting them and treating them as a life form is. Instead of considering these dogs a nuisance we should consider them as friends and treat them properly. They crave for proper food, shelter and a bit of love. If we provide them that, then they can peacefully coexist along with us.

A more effective solution can be to capture these dogs, sterilize them and then restore them back to where they came from. This kind of a policy ensures that they are not ruthlessly killed. This also keeps a check on their growing population. This measure has been undertaken in a number of countries and even in India. Also, proper NGO's can be set up to pick up these unwanted dogs and make them available for adoption. People should be encouraged to adopt these street dogs instead of buying expensive dogs.