Yeah, I think Sapo should look on the bright side and realize that in the Apocalypse he’ll starve later than most.
Huh !?-- You think there is going to be an apocalypse any time soon ? I still have shotgun shells from the 2000 bullshit that never happened.
That boyscout shit stays with you forever. You know . Be prepared.
Bruce?
Actually, my parents got a dog from their local animal shelter that had been imported from PR (my parents are in NJ). She was the sweetest dog - they think she was a mix of golden retriever and dachsund. She had lived a lot in her life - they think she had many litters.
Susan
Just get it out of your head ! My real name has man in it too so I’m not goin for that Robin shit. Fat ! Ugly ! and a cape ? They’ll be runnin’ away alright.
You’re in a tough spot. Just make sure that whatever you do, you never, ever leave open containers of anti-freeze around where they can lap it up. Like, say, where they eat or sleep. Or in your neighbor’s yard.
It would be tragic. Silent, painful tragedy.
I could beat Omegaman in a fight, as long as he wasn’t prepared.
Pets can be a great comfort in times of trouble. In times of famine, too.
People feeding feral animals seldom helps said animals’ situations.
You could always kill them all. It could be a fun project with the kids!
They already have that, it’s called Save a Sato.
My family lives in a neighborhood that doesn’t have a high stray population, and those that hang around are quickly adopted.
People in other places don’t really understand how many stray dogs are on the island… Other than Old San Juan/touristy places, we don’t have that many stray cats, we have more stray dogs. A lot more.
I remember having to do a project years ago about animal control and animal abuse laws in Puerto Rico. And I had to read some animal-related laws for Baton Rouge, too, recently.
Perhaps the municipalities or the island should have a civil ordinance/law dealing with those that feed strays. That is, if you feed a stray, it is yours. If it bites someone else, it is your responsability and you pay the medical costs and you deal with the disposal of the aggressive animal.
Telling people how much they have to take care of the animals is one thing, but telling them to make sure their animals don’t hurt other humans is important for public health reasons.
Sapo, I’m sure many of those animals currently have diseases and look yucky, the sad part is that many of those things that make them look crappy can be fixed relatively cheap! The people that feed them and don’t spend some time taming them and giving them some basic veterinary care are not doing much for them.
Of course, if the animal ends up looking to crummy, then perhaps (a big one) they take it to the veterinarian to put the animal out, something that doesn’t make me very happy.
If it gets too painful, I could also leave some Ibuprofen around.
But that would be a desperate last resort only to be used if I am barricaded in my house, surrounded by hundreds of hungry animals. Don’t see it happening.
KarlGrenze, I will give “Save a Sato” a shot, but their website is everything but confidence inspiring. Let us hope that it is so because they are too busy saving dogs to tend to their website.
At the end of the day, I am a “live and let live” kinda guy. I have lived surrounded by strays for almost 3 years now without feeling the urge to go on a murderous spree. It was the TV spot glamourizing people who feed them that really hit the nerve (and I didn’t even see it, just had it told to me!).
People who feed strays are doing NO good to the dogs, themselves or their neighbours. They are NOT kind souls. They are NOT to be praised.
At least people who feed them on their houses are putting up with some of the risk themselves. The stupid lady who feeds them at the beach from the trunk of her car is a special kind of irresponsible idiot, though. Building a problem away from her home. Beautiful.
You have a heart of gold , my friend . Keep up the good fight.
You want me to rub some Ben -gay on your ass there , man ? 
You know I got some.
Yeah, they should stop feeding the dogs all together. And then the hungry stray dogs will do what all hungry stray dogs do: Form packs and start preying on the nearest source of protein. You can go from worried about barking dogs scaring your kids to worried about your kids being torn apart and eaten. At least they won’t be barking; dog packs are usually silent when they hunt.
Keep 'em hungry long enough and they’ll have no problem going after you.
Maybe THAT will get the authorities off their arses. Plus it would be a temporary problem, they would eventually diminish in numbers.
At any rate, I like the way you think. Maybe we should just ship all our gold to Iran and North Korea so they keep busy buying shoes and watching porn and then they won’t invade us. Put some shooting galleries in high crime areas so the muggers have something else to shoot, perhaps?
In Mexico, they have lots of strays. My heart breaks for them and the odd tourist feeds them. The problem is, exactly what is that dog supposed to do when the tourist leaves?
I’m with the OP - if you can’t bring them home and take care of them, don’t feed them. I know it’s difficult to see them like that but you are not helping.
My friends brought a dog back they found lying on the side of the road with a broken leg, took it to the local vets, had the leg amputated and flew it back to Canada with them.
It was costly but they, at least, took complete care of the dog.
Ship the dogs to Korea, then it will be “Pork, no?”.
Cheap and Painful, yes. Silent, no. Not with the pain and all. And not quick either. Crystal formation in the kidneys doesn’t kill quickly.
You’ve got those leftover shells from the Y2K scare. Put 'em down like Old Yeller. You’ll probably get half a dozen before the cops get you.
Seriously, though, all sympathies for your plight. See if you can create some noise with the Humane Society here on the mainland. Also, Animal control probably doesn’t want to tell you what they do with the dogs because they likely euthanize them
It’s no secret that Animal Control in the island euthanizes the animals they get. Unless the animals go to a rescue organization like Save a Sato, there’s no “no-kill shelter” in the island. Wait, there may be ONE, IIRC, in one municipality, but again, it’s a small shelter that doesn’t accept each and every animal.
It’s not as if we don’t have a humane society in the island (and my feelings towards the “national” humane society are not very positive).
BTW, don’t poison the animals, as much as you may joke about it, k?
I liked the suggestion above of sending a letter to the news outlet that made a piece about that man with all the dogs.