Tackling the stray dog problem

[Mike J]

Here in Moalboal a small group of volunteers have created the non-profit " Dogs of Moalboal Spay & Neuter" with a "‘Pay1 Fix1, Paw it forward program’ Low Cost Spay and Neuter Clinic.".  By partnering with a local vet they offer low cost spay/neuter for dogs.  Even with a low cost the fee charged is sufficient to also cover the spay/neuter for a stray dog or for Philippine citizens who simply cannot afford to spay/neuter their dogs.  To date they have been able to facilitate the spay/neuter for over 200 dogs.   All dogs are also given anti-rabie vaccine.   All this in just over a years time.  Making a difference in our community one dog at a time.  Well done! 

 

[Old55]

Besides reducing the dog population slightly it also teaches responsibility to dog owners.

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Old55

[Peaceful John]

What a great idea and effort.  We need that so badly here in Northern Mindanao.  I would gladly help start one here, or donate to those who are making the effort.  Thanks for the info Mike! 

[Mike J]

3 hours ago, Peaceful John said:

What a great idea and effort.  We need that so badly here in Northern Mindanao.  I would gladly help start one here, or donate to those who are making the effort.  Thanks for the info Mike! 

If you are serious about starting one in your area, send me a PM and I wlll provide some contact info with one of the founders.  I am sure she could give you some helpful info in what is involved to set up the non-profit.

 

[Guy F.]

Since we can't spay and neuter people, I suppose dogs are a good beginning.

[OnMyWay]

Strangely, I had read your post and then an Olongapo City FB post on the same topic popped up on my phone, but I can't find it on my laptop.  I think I posted pictures of of the spay/neuter event a few years ago.  I think they have it every quarter or 6 months.  People bring the dogs to a central site for the fixing, so they have dozens of dogs lying around on the floor and tables, knocked out.

Sorry, I am going to be the naysayer on these programs, because they are mainly for show.  I suspect that Olongapo is doing more than Mike mentioned, 200, but let's use 200.

How many of the dogs are actually strays?  Probably none.  So to say the program helps with strays is probably wrong.  Do you think the little girl in the picture with the dog's head in her lap would do that with a mangy, dirty, diseased stray?  Nope.

Is there a program to capture a lot of dirty, mangy and diseased strays and bring them in for treatment?  Probably not.  Olongapo does have a "dog catcher", in theory, but I have never seen it, and you see the dirty mangy strays all over.

So, who owns those 200 dogs?  I suspect mostly middle class, looking for a free or low cost spay/neuter.  That is fine, but according to the breeds of dogs I saw in the Olongapo pictures, they could probably well afford to have it done elsewhere.  Some poor people may also take advantage of the programs, but most of the truly poor really don't care about dogs.  They just want a barker tied up next to the house.  When it breeds, they sell the pups for 50 pesos.  When it dies, it is easily replaced.

During the timeframe of the treatment of 200 dogs, how many hundreds / thousands of puppies were born to stray dogs or loose pets?  Do the math.  Fixing some pets does nothing for the stray dog problem.

We have a program here in Subic Bay Freeport that was instigated by the residents, mostly residents who don't want strays killed.  A vet agreed to run a program where they catch them (dogs and cats), fix them, and then let them loose again!  To pay for it, there is a recycling program to benefit the vet.  The PETA people think that the program will fix the stray problem.

It is worthless.  Stray dogs and cats all over in our area.  They come up from Olongapo.  We have been complaining for all of the 10 years I have been here, to no avail.

I have always said, the only way to fix the stray problem is to have fulltime professional dog catchers like we do in the West, and then a huge holding area, and in the end, a euthanasia program.  No way clean up all those mangy strays and then get them adopted.

I love dogs and hate to see them mistreated, but I don't think these programs do anything for strays.  Life in the Philippines.

[Mike J]

10 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

How many of the dogs are actually strays?  Probably none.  So to say the program helps with strays is probably wrong.  Do you think the little girl in the picture with the dog's head in her lap would do that with a mangy, dirty, diseased stray?  Nope.

Actually some are stray dogs.  They have volunteers who will bring them in, care and feed them during recovery, and then release them.  The "free spay/neuter" is only available for Aspin breeds.  I agree that dogs infested with mange, etc. are unlikely to ever be brought in.  And I also agree that this is only a small step in a huge problem.  But every journey starts with a small step.    Those 200 dogs (most female @ 2 litters per year) will probably prevent 300 or more litters of unwanted puppies every year for years to come.  And that does make a difference, especially in a small community like Moalboal.  We took advantage of the program last year to have our Aspin spayed.  It could have been free but we donated enough to have two other dogs fixed in addition to our own.  We recently adopted an abandoned Aspin female puppy and will do the same when she is old enough to be spayed.  

[Joey G]

Back in the day...  a stray dog didn't have a chance of making it to the end of the week... not many stray chickens running  around back then either. 

[Mike J]

1 hour ago, Joey G said:

Back in the day...  a stray dog didn't have a chance of making it to the end of the week... not many stray chickens running  around back then either. 

Not too many folks here eat dog but there are some, my bro-in-law prefers pork but . . . . 

[Onemore52]

Back at the main house, I have been told that there are 8 askals, when I left 2 years ago there was none, but the strays know where the food is.

I really don’t know how they survive because when I was there I could not for the life of me educate the people there to keep the water bowls full for the house dogs.

Bloody cats, they were everywhere and of course multiplying, every time I turned around there were more kittens.

I think their attitude towards animals is much the same as their attitude to the road rules when they are driving.