The City is Their Home:
Stray Dogs of Chile
By: Talyah White
Photos: Hanna Curlette
(Audio Enhanced Page)
A few feet from the metro station at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, dogs roam the streets among the masses of people dashing from the streets to the metro platform. Some sit at crosswalks, waiting to walk when the signal indicates it is safe. Others nap in doorways and street corners as people pass, making the people step over them instead of moving. While metro stations, schools, art and restaurants are part of the landscape of Santiago, street dogs are part of the culture.
Experts estimate that more than 2.5 million dogs roam the streets of Chile day and night. Chile is a country of over 18 million people, 1.5 of which are Mapuche, one of the largest indigenous societies in South America. There are more stray dogs in Chile than there are people of Mapuche descent. Many of these dogs can be found in the country’s capital of Santiago. According to a study conducted by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Chile, in Santiago alone, more than one million dogs are found.
Some of these dogs have owners, but they are still street dwellers. In some cases, their owners do not do anything but feed them. These dogs are cast aside and line the sides of roads like squirrels do in the United States. Street dogs are a part of the Chilean culture –a popular tourist attraction. While most people would say they are harmless, the dogs themselves are in danger, Chilean animal advocates say.
Many of the dogs have either been abandoned by their owners or have never had owners, animal advocates say. Cynthia Pinilla says that in Chile, spaying and neutering animals is rare.
Pinilla, founder of Fundacion Rescate Canino Chile, says it is also part of the culture to abandon your dog when you abandon your home.
“When people move their families to a new home, they take everything with them and leave nothing behind except for their dogs,” Pinilla says. “They leave their dogs to fend for themselves.” Pinilla says people who have no prior experience with dogs believe that they can care and fend for themselves. This, however, is not the reality of the situation. Although dogs derived from wolves, they are pets that have lost their ability to survive on their own. They depend on humans, still millions of them are abandoned on the streets of Chile, Pinilla says.
There are accounts of family members abandoning dogs when the animals’ elderly owners pass away. The pets turn into street dogs, roaming the patios of outdoor restaurants and cafeterias, begging for food.
“When people move their families to a new home, they take everything with them and leave nothing behind except for their dogs."
It is common for the dogs to get spoiled by locals and tourists alike, who feed them food throughout the day. Some can even be seen turning down food they deem unacceptable, such as flavorless crackers and bread. While many of these dogs do not appear to be malnourished, often times they do have serious health concerns.
Pinilla says even though some of these dogs are seemingly healthy, distemper is a common — and potentially deadly — disease the dogs face. Canine distemper is a contagious disease that can affect a dog’s nervous, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. There is no cure for distemper, but symptoms can be alleviated with antibiotics. Fundacion Rescate Canino provides these antibiotics to dogs they find affected by the disease.
Pinilla’s foundation seeks to rescue animals, provide them with shots, and spay and neuter them. Ultimately, the goal is to find a home for them, she says, but she never abandons them. She says she currently has 30 dogs in her own home.
“Many people see animals that are sick and pregnant and suffering, and that is very difficult for people who love animals like me to see,” Pinilla says. “I will take them in and provide them with what they need. But my goal is to find families who will love them forever.”
She says the microchips people use to provide a permanent ID for their pets, which are common in other parts of the world, are not popular in Chile.
“I cannot understand why people do not want to keep up with their animals. They do not care if they lose them,” Pinilla says. “They have no respect for their lives.”
Fundacion Rescate Canino Chile organizes events such as adoption days in the Santiago area. At any given time, the number of volunteers who help Pinilla with her foundation fluctuate between five to 10 people. The foundation is funded by donations. Pinilla says the foundation uses the money to feed the dogs and pay the veterinary bills for their shots, spaying and neutering.
She says for people like her, who believe treating dogs with dignity and respect should be common sense, it is hard to live in such a place.
“I’ve been to the U.S. in New York, and they take much better care of their dogs,” she says. “It is unbelievable the way some treat them here in Chile. People act senselessly and have no conscience.”
“In America you care more about your dogs than you do your people,” Sanchez says. “Here we care more about our people.”
Santiago resident Matias Sanchez, who is a bank teller by day and bartender by night, says he has a different outlook on the stray dog situation.
“In America, you care more about your dogs than you do your people,” Sanchez says. “Here we care more about our people.”
Alexis Castillo is the president of the foundation EDRA, a group that educates residents on the proper care for dogs and cats, while defending and rescuing animals in Chile.
He says the “community dog” culture has been around for as long as he can remember.
“I could not even tell you when it began,” Castillo says. “It has everything to do with compassion. The government has never been seriously concerned with the subject, so many compassionate people help the dogs in any way they can. Mainly with food.”
EDRA builds houses for dogs living in the streets. Many of the houses were built in 2012 and remain in use. Castillo says they are in need of renovation, but they are still occupied by dogs.
In the future, Castillo says he plans to keep fighting for funding from the state, which EDRA has yet to receive. While the foundation receives money from partners and other organizations, along with donations from the general public, Castillo says a lot more can be done.
“If we had more money, we could build more houses to keep the dogs safe and shelter them in cases of bad weather,” Castillo says. “If you can’t give a dog a home, you can give a dog a house.”
The growth of the canine population is uncontrolled. Generally, the responsibility of controlling overpopulation, feeding, and healing the injured and sick has been assumed by individuals, such as Pinilla and Castillo without receiving state funding, desperately trying to save the lives of thousands of animals. Their foundations are necessary to provide medical care, feed, neuter and find permanent homes for these stray dogs roaming the streets of Chile.
Donations for both Fundacion Rescate Canino Chile and EDRA are accepted through their websites http://www.rescatecaninochile.cl and http://www.maltratoanimal.cl/