My Friendly Pets

What are feral dogs? Because dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, dogs become feral when they revert to a wild state from domestication. Why does this happen? There are a lot of reasons. The efforts to get a handle of out-of- control animal reproduction have failed. Dogs have been bred to be more and more aggressive due to the increase in dog fighting activities. Some of these feral animals are abandoned pets while others were born on the streets. They don’t only exist in the cities, but in rural environments as well. Remember, dogs are pack animals and feral dogs will form packs to survive by either attacking livestock or going through garbage, but they will do it together. The danger lies in the fact that there is strength in numbers and these dogs in their packs can be very dangerous. It is estimated that $37,000,000 worth of cattle, sheep and goats were killed by feral dogs during the 1990’s. We can only imagine that the number has increased from there, as we in the U.S. are in the midst of a feral dog crisis.

Unfortunately, some of the poorest areas of the country are the worst affected, as there is relatively little veterinarian care and ineffective animal control. In North Dakota, on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation, there are about 23,000 people. There are an estimated 4000 feral dogs that roam this area, some so hungry, they canabalize other dogs. One of the main pediatric complaints is from dog bites. Because the situation had gotten so drastic on the reservation, people from the International Fund of Animal Welfare along with other animal welfare groups held a 5 day clinic on the reservation where 980 cats and dogs were spayed or neutered. The policy that had existed prior to this humane effort was a shoot-and-kill policy.

Dogs from these environments can be trained and domesticated and turned into loving family pets. Some even go on to become therapy dogs. It would be wonderful if all of the feral dogs eventually had that opportunity to live a healthy and loving life, but for most, the story is quite different.

Ray Grim, founder of Stray Rescue in St. Louis goes out each day and feeds about 50 or so mutts. He says that if these animals don’t starve to death, diseases or violence from other dogs will kill them. He limits their life span to only 1-2 years. This is a national crisis. Make sure you spay or neuter your dog and encourage others to do the same. Even though you might not abandon dogs to live on their own, many others will and the better animal control that is taken, hopefully, fewer feral dogs will exist.

Check out who will be on Rachael Ray this week. (She is a very staunch dog lover and has had hers on the show!!!)