Chile Forum

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News item:

26,000 cases of medically significant dog-bite reported for 2011 (only those reported in the country, where medical assistance was required).

Cost: over 319,000,000 pesos for 52,000 vaccinations (does not include lost time and other costs).

Slight reduction over 2010 at a national level but the regions of Arica y Parinacota, Tarapacá, Antofagasta, and Valparaíso showed increases in reported dog bites.

Over 11,000 reported cases of significant dog bite in the metro area.

Arica reported a 77 percent increase in dog bites requiring medical intervention.

Is this like the Chinese calendar? Is next year the year of the cat scratch or monkey pee?

patagoniax wrote:.
News item:

26,000 cases of medically significant dog-bite reported for 2011 (only those reported in the country, where medical assistance was required).

Cost: over 319,000,000 pesos for 52,000 vaccinations (does not include lost time and other costs).

Slight reduction over 2010 at a national level but the regions of Arica y Parinacota, Tarapacá, Antofagasta, and Valparaíso showed increases in reported dog bites.

Over 11,000 reported cases of significant dog bite in the metro area.

Arica reported a 77 percent increase in dog bites requiring medical intervention.

most interesting statistics p~x - thanx for sharing...
but it (always) begs the question = ¿qué hacer?
i.e. personally and/or societally?

in an past experiential sense - in many situations, in many countries...
both walking and riding bicycles (aka dog magnets)...
one MUST let the dogs know - in no uncertain terms...
that you are "badder" than they are!

this is a learned skill - arguably not all might acquire it?
however, if one has an innate fear of dogs...
they can (and do) sense it - and respond accordingly...
(to the usual detriment of said fearful person)

now the societal problem of aggressive (homeless) dogs will undoubtedly continue...
because of a lack of societal will - to freak'n do anything about it!
however, if it is an aggressive dog WITH a home...
legal action can (and should) be taken against the owner.

regardless - pets, or homeless - as the saying goes "(some) dogs will hunt"
at this point, we will not deign to list any number of (personal) "coping skills"...
but, perhaps as this thread evolves, we will all share some useful strategies?
...re appropriate responses in the "heat of the moment"

suerte...

What the hell are they doing to the dogs in Arica?

There was a campaign in the 10th region to fix 10,000 street dogs this year involving the government and one of the university vet schools. I have seen some running around with what looks like a special yellow tag.

admin wrote:What the hell are they doing to the dogs in Arica?

here is an arican perrito - one of the "good ones"
this one might shake a paw and lick your hand...
but it would never, never bite you!

House pets running out gates are probably more likely to bite you than a full time street dog. Irresponsible ownership is probably to blame for a lot of bites. Street dogs understand the 'bending down to pick up a stone' gesture, even if there is no stone. But some places now have packs of roaming dogs and those are dangerous. Dogs, like people, behave worse in a pack. Unfortunately, despite there being a lot of private groups who neuter street dogs, the numbers keep growing. Cajón del Maipo and Pirque are full of them, abandoned pets taken out there and dumped. The only real option is putting down a large number of dogs, but there is no popular will for that. Every attempt has met with outrage. When the strays disappeared from the plazas around the Moneda just before Bachelet was sworn in, there was a huge outcry.

just a stray thought here...
g~j once lived for about a year in the galapagos islands
invasive species were~are always a problem there...
when on isla isabella, we asked why there were so few dogs around (other than pets)
seems a (canine-specific) virus exists that decimates the feral dog population every couple years
the only dogs that survive are those which are inoculated against said virus.

hmmmm...
as jonathan swift might say - "a modest proposal"?
perhaps authorities should surreptitiously design~spread said canine virus in any given city...
voila - all street dogs will henceforth be disappeared!

ok, ok - innoculated dogs will screw and make more puppies again (such is dogdom)
some will be abandoned and take up streetdom again...
but then the virus will reappear again - as populations increase...
thus - a natural~cyclical control mechanism...
resulting in much fewer dog bites, much less dog shit...
ok, ok - the municipalities will have to pick up dead dog bodies periodically
again - merely a "swiftian proposal" - fwiw

chernandez wrote:Is this like the Chinese calendar? Is next year the year of the cat scratch or monkey pee?

You may be on to something. We could name years for other features. We could have "Year That Nothing Was Done About National Park Fire Protection," "Year of the Continuing Failure to Effectively Address Chilean Alcoholism," "Year That PSU Scores Fell," "Year of the Urban Anarchist," "Mapuche Arson Terrorism Year," "Year of the Clueless Chilean Bicyclists Riding 3-Abreast In The Middle of Ruta 9," "Year of the Allchile.net Spelling Bee," and so on. Think of the possibilities. I have 517 candidate topics so far today, and I'm not yet finished with breakfast.

Solution: make everyone register and require everyone to spay/neuter their dogs.

Provide free neutering/mass neutering but do "ear-clipping" on the dogs so that 1) you know which stray dogs have already been spayed/neutered and 2) give dog owners incentive to PAY for their neutering because the "vanity" of having unclipped ears

If the dog isn't registered/no proof of neutering = $$FINE$$ for the owner
If the dog is out on the street without identification = its okay for it to be neutered in a mass-neutering campaign

People tend to respond well to social pressure (OMG your dog has clipped ears, you must be too poor to afford to neuter it) and fines... but then again, Chileans don't seem to like the idea of cutting off their dogs' balls...

The question is how much this would actually cost to run... Seems like within 5 years you could get a significant amount of dogs neutered and with 10 you would see a drastic change in the amount of stray dogs... I'm no vet, but I also imagine it's a lot cheaper/easier to do neutering than spaying...

Less people getting bit and less poop on the streets... >:(

**significant amount of dogs neutered for 319,000,000 pesos/year

Solution: make everyone register and require everyone to spay/neuter their dogs.

In theory it sounds good, but there is a reason many of us fled the evil empire, much of it having to do with petty and not so petty laws, and the petty tyrants who enforce them. We really need to shed the brainwashing of giving the gov't more authority, and ability to compile lists (registration) and impose fines/taxes thereby. Gov't authority can - and often does - accelerate and broaden, even under a seemingly good intentioned law. I'm sure Chile has enough petty laws on the books without expats bringing ours along.

Ideally, if an owner loves/cares about their animal, they will keep in on their property and not permit it on the streets. If the animal happens to break boundary, the owner should ensure it is collared with a phone number. Otherwise, the old "dog catcher" and "dog pound" option is a tried and true one for the welfare of both people and animals. If the animal is not claimed or adopted in xx amount of time, it would be euthanized.

Regardless of all our suggestions, a campaign to de-anthropomorphize people is critical if this issue is to be successfully addressed, recognizing that conversion is often a slow process.

(please forgive me if I sound cold - just practical - and concerned about the welfare of the innocent .. we are big time animal rescue people with zoological background, and have provided or found homes for dozens and dozens of animals over the years)

oh and g-j, that dog pic is a heart warmer.
Looks like husky eyes.