The Strays

Graveyard Dog

One of the first things I noticed here that I found very sad was the number of stray animals wandering the streets. It’s heartbreaking. Most of the visible animals are dogs but every once in a while I see a cat slinking down a side street. Many of the dogs travel in packs and hang out in the “no man’s land” areas of overgrown grasses and banana trees between buildings or down by the riverbank. But there are lone dogs all over the city streets.

On His Own

These dogs are of many breeds but most seem to be a typical black dog that people just refer to as the "Taiwanese dog".  They’re about medium height with curious pointed ears and a curled tail. Occasionally you see one with a collar but most are on their own. Even the collared ones wander the late night streets making you wonder at the person who put the collar there and if they care where there pet is. Some of the other colored dogs look like mixes of German Shepherd or Spaniel. Some are grizzly looking in their fur and coloration and look more hyenas. There are so many and they are obviously breeding. 

That’s the truly sad part. The population keeps growing. Every once in a while the city rounds them up, holds them for a week in case there are any inquiries and, if unclaimed, they euthanize them. It must be a full time job. What seems like a better and more humane solution is to spay and neuter these animals so they stop reproducing. An educational campaign would be good to encourage people to sterilize and take better care of their pet.

Much of the attitude towards pets here seems very different from the United States where dogs are generally treated like part of the family. Many people here use dogs to guard the home or crops and if they wander off, they’ll get a new one. There are some people who truly do care about the plight of the homeless dogs and take them in. But if you start feeding one, others will arrive and then your neighbors get upset at the population of feral dogs you’ve attracted to the neighborhood.

This poor old guy lives right outside the school where I work. He had been hit by a car in the past so his hip is crooked and he's very skinny. But my employer says people in the neighborhood feed him. He is very gentle when you go to pat him. You see many of these strays lying on the road like this as all the scooters and cars zoom by.                                      It's amazing more aren't hit.

The dichotomy of this situation is that at the night markets, where they sell everything from food to shoes to electronics, you often see cute little puppies in a cage. People love to buy the cute purebred puppies. There are cutesy animals everywhere – on greeting cards, pencils, clothing, advertising, motorcycle helmets, and more. But there doesn’t seem to be enough heart given to real animals who are truly in need.

In my classes, the teaching material often includes stories or pictures of children with their pets. But when I ask students how many of them have dogs or cats, only a few raise their hand. And when I ask of those few if they walk or play with their pet, few seem committed to spending the time. Some say they used to have dogs but they wandered off. One said their uncle eats dogs.

So, this is a sad blog entry and I don’t have nearly enough pictures to demonstrate the scope of the stray animal problem here. I did find a couple organizations that are working to help the situation. They rescue the animals and treat their wounds and spay or neuter them and try to get them adopted. Since I cannot readily take in a pack of dogs, I donate money to these groups. You can click the logo below to go to the website of Animals Taiwan and learn about the great work they do to help homeless animals.