Chile Forum

Hi Everyone,
This is my first post, but I am a long time lover of just about "all things Chilean" (I lived in Valparaiso for a year or so between undergrad and graduate studies---taught a class on Business Management at the university there). I just recently returned to California after a three week vacation in Chile and was amazed by how much had changed since I was last there (about 12 years ago---wow---THAT dates me!). Of course the use of cell phones is pervasive, and internet access can be found just about anywhere, even on the comparatively remote Easter Island. As an economist by trade, I think that the socio-economic gains are impressive, and can only hope that they are at least somewhat broad based socio-economically speaking. Having said that, in my humble opinion one of the true tennants of a more developed society can be seen in how the citizenry treats animals, and I found the situation with the stray and homeless dogs and cats in Chile to be truly alarming. Even on Easter Island, which by nature of its status as an island is well-positioned to lead the way in getting it's animal population under control, the situation was frightening. I am an unapologetic lover and defender of animal rights and am greatly concerned about the welfare of my four legged friends in Chile. So my question is this: to anyone's knowledge, does any organization exist that has as it's charter the mission of encouraging greater responsability for "pet" ownership (entre comillas because I DO realize that the overwhelming majority of stray animals are not considered by anyone to be their "mascotas")? Is there an effective and respected Chilean equivalent of the ASPCA or Humane Society in Chile that could take on a campaign to spay and neuter animals free of charge? Is anything being done in terms of educational efforts to inform the next generation of Chileans about how to respect and extend compassion towards animals? Any information that you could provide would be greatly appreciated---I would even volunteer to assist with any logistics and/or modest financial support if needed, albeit difficult perhaps from my home in Northern California. Many thanks, and I will look forward to participating in any future discussions about life in general in Chile---it is indeed a captivating place! Saludos, La Gringita

xxx

Hola la gringita!

That is my main gripe about living in Valpo. The stray dogs and the dog shit everywhere. I asked a Chilean friend about this and he told me that a city program to get rid of strays met with a lot of resistance from the people here.
I surmise that people here think strays are living some wonderful idylic existence and to remove them is somehow bad? I see skinny dogs with mange everyday, it's not idylic to be hungry and disease ridden but I wonder if people here understand that? I think not.
I can appreciate their love of animals but that actually is not loving them. It's prolonging their suffering and creating health hazards by the dogs shitting everywhere. Children play on the streets and sidewalks where the dogs crap. The dogs get into the trash looking for food and make big messes.

It's quality of life issue but do they even see it that way?

I did see a handbill on a wall on Pedro Montt? with something about this but if anyone is doing something I bet it's not well known at all.

I'm afraid I pissed off a Chilean guy I met, he was going on about the 'culture' in Valpo. I blurted out, 'mierda de perro no es cultura.' I felt bad about it later. An ugly American moment for me.

No, I'm not so naive to expect everyplace in the world to be like 'back home' (like the US is something to emulate ) but it's a basic hygiene issue. Some apathy needs to be overcome and some education imparted. I think TV commercials, PSA's need to be run to target kids. I would almost write off the adults and go for educating kids on the issue. It's a long term thing anyway to change a city or cultures perceptions about an issue or to even make them aware it is an issue.

I'm sorry to sound like some smug know-it-all American but this bugs me.

xxx

The idea of "pet" in Latino America is a little diferent to those in richer countries, this is one of the many cultural diferences.

Well, usually stray dogs are not starving, they develop social skills and people in neigborhood use to feed them, every hood or beach has its "own" stray dogs who live in a similar way than ramblers, begging for their food.

On your question, yes, in almost any city of Chile there are a branch of "sociedad protectora de animales" who take care of stray dogs and animal abuse in circus or such.

Public healt authorities uses to feed stray dogs with meat/poison mix in their campaigns for "erradicacion", this causes a very cruel aghony and people really hates those people and boycot their campaigns. They are very unpopular.

welcome to the fourm.

I known there are some international groups that do fund these sorts of animal projects in Latin America.

I think controling the street dogs in Chile is a very serious issue, for more than just the gifts they leave on the street. I love dogs, I love street dogs, I just don't love beeing chased by a pack of street dogs in the middle of the night. I have seen a lot of these packs of street dogs get killed because the dogs will circle a car at a stop light, and then the drivers will just gun it through. It is a big problem in Temuco.

Hi Tks!

I think that is the natural consequence of existence of poverty, just like beggers. In richer countries wealthy is enough to take good care of stray dogs , but we are still in development process in the capitalist way! so there still have poverty, unemployment, etc.

It is not realistic to expect welfare for dogs having still problems with poor people. I supose that in 40s in America there was stray dogs same as here, we have not enough money to solve this (yet).

Meantime, Sociedad Protectora de Animales and such make a great job volunterring with few money but good will

Hi, there is an organisation in Chile (in many different cities) which tries to help street animals. They have a good website : clubmascotas.cl . Of course judging by amount of homeless animals in Chile we would think that all Chileans simply do not care, but actually there are many people who help street animals by donating some money or giving their time to help some pet organisations. In Vina sometimes you can find few people giving brochures, talking to people about responsibilities and giving neutered doggies to good families. Anyway, check this website. And yes, please help these poor creatures. It is really painful to see them suffering like that. One more thing. It is true, Chile is still a developing country but it is not as poor as many other countries I have visited without having this problem on such a scale.

Outside the larger cities of Chile I have seen some of the fattest street dogs I have ever encountered. Even in Temuco, those street dogs that chased me one night were not under weight. A pack of skinny starving dogs is no where near as intimidating as a pack of well fed 60+ pound, 'I'm not hungry, I just have nothing better to do' type dogs.

No place in Chile have I seen street dogs like you find in Mexico or Guatemala. You very rarely see their ribs showing in Chile. They are simply faro dogs that are not afraid of humans.

I have also seen neighborhoods in Santiago where all the people owned dogs, and they all took care of the street dogs in the local Park. They would invite the street dogs home for lunch and take them to the vet when they had problems. If you looked close, you noticed all the street dogs from the local area had flea collars on them. That was to control the flea population when the domestic dogs would play with the street dogs. These dogs where just part of the neighborhood, and lived in the bushes. Other than that they were like any of the other dog. They even had names.

It is not a problem of poverty. Poverty does not capture the problem. It is a political problem in that the local governments are not taking care of the public health issues of controlling street dogs.

The real problem is more a systemic political problem in the federal->regional->city financial structure of Chile, in that one town to the next the spending of public money can take on very different results.

There is a serious problem across Chile with people in offices in Santiago deciding how local governments must spend the money allocated to them. We have gotten this same complaint from mayors offices across southern Chile. Street dogs are not on any high priority list when the real political battles are over how streets will be paved and who will pave them.

Your opinion is basically rigth but make me realize how diferent are gringo and latino view in some issues.

For most of us (chileans) -I guess- stray dogs are not a problem at all, they have a good life living in freedom, maybe better than some pets confined in small spaces as many chileans use to keep them.

Maybe Chile is not a poor country but many of us think that goverment money has many priorities other than take care for stray dogs, paved roads is a good example!

I think that would be very odd an attak from a stray dogs, they learn to be friendly just for surviving purposes. I also think that catch a disease from fleas or anything related with stray dogs is very odd also. Well, you know, we chileans have less aseptic woories as you, coming from 1st world countries.

Anyway, I am talking on which I think is the "mainstream" opinion, there are also animal activist and pet lovers as anywere, but this may explain why goverment is not too worried about stray dogs.

Temuco is the only town I have seen in Chile with this problem. I managed to get lucky and find a big branch when they cornered me, but they chased me across three lanes of busy traffic before I got lucky.

This is not a one time event. I live near the intersection where it happened. At night I can hear the packs at the local intersection barking at cars and people yelling at them, followed by an occasional dull thud of some driver punching the gas through the packs or a person crying out. As I am a dog lover, my heart sinks every time I hear one get hit by a car. I actually prefer street dogs as pets over your average pure bread (Nature is better at picking genetics), and they tend to be smarter and better socialized than your average AKC.

As a victim of those same street dogs, I blame the lack of control on the City. The problem makes it as far as the local papers every so often when someone gets bit. The local community is pissed too. My concern is that the problem has moved beyond a few dogs on the streets, to where when some politician finally decides to take action it will be something on the drastic side.

Guatemala was infamous for poisoning the street dogs. The population would reach a certain level in a town, and suddenly it would be cut to about 10% of what it was.

In some areas, near rural It is not uncommon the cruelty with dogs which produces this agressive animals rambling by the streets, I agree with you that is a serious problem and authorities must take care of that. It is a public healt problem, It is not joke be attaked by an agressive dog.

Also some pet owners confines them into small spaces or even keep them tied with a rope fron thir neck, It is very common to see neurotic pets barking with anger from inside the houses.