The life of a stray dog is by no means a bed of roses, it is down to pure survival and normally only the strong ones survive.
A typical day for a stray dog would be waking up, catching up with some dog pals, looking for food, hoping for some long awaited attention from passer-bys and sleeping a bit more.
Although to some, this may sound perfect, it could not be further from the truth.
From my experience of spending time with various stray dogs and puppies I noticed how friendly and affectionate they were.
I would say that any of stray dogs I met would make more than a great dog for adoption, which is clearly proven as I myself adopted two, a few of them need more time and work than others, for you to build up their trust. (but this is to be expected with what some of them go through and is easily achieved with patience)
Sadly some people chose to never address or see this gentle side of them but instead chose to approach a dog in a hostile and threatening manner shouting and waving a stick, as I have seen so many times before, this only creates unnecessary fear and makes a nervous dog.
What frustrates me is how some people go out of their way to scare or harm a stray dog just because the thought of the stray dog peacefully laying there on the grass sleeping, absolutely repels and annoys the hell out of this so called 'human being' and they just have to get it to move it on because they think that they rule this earth, this is done in a variety of ways such as making assorted alien noises that sound something like these 'uschk!' or 'schtt!', throwing a stone, spraying water, waving their arms and shouting or waving whatever object they are holding in their hands.
Its just so upsetting to watch this innocent creature, half asleep, minding his or her business jump up and with the tail firmly lodged between the legs, scurrying off, while looking back sadly, as if to say 'What did I do wrong?'
The answer is simple my furry friend, you did absolutely nothing wrong.
Unfortunately some people chose to take things that step further and murder the stray dogs, by poisoning them. I myself have witnessed a harmless stray dog dying in front of my eyes, due to poisoning and although we was quick to respond the dog died before the vet arrived.
The thought went through my mind of this dog, hours earlier, being that happy docile friendly stray dog running around harmlessness in the nearby fields as 'Happy as Larry' unaware his life would end very cruelly, that day. This is not just one story, this is one of many sad endings.
We, as humans caused the over population of dogs either by not having our dogs neutered and spayed or by tossing our dogs out onto the street for a life of homelessness, after the novelty of owning one wore off.
For this reason I feel that stray dogs should be left to live their life in peace, without the constant threat from humans, that exists everyday of their lives.
Hasn't our human population done enough damage without carrying out more abuse on innocent creatures?
I feel so ashamed to be labelled under the category 'human', as these people simply put us to shame, by abusing voiceless creatures who can't stand up for themselves.
And if we see this happening we must speak up for the stray dogs, as they can't speak up for themselves.
One thing is for sure we can't just stand back and let this cruelty happen, I quote:
'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter' by Martin Luther King, Jr
The food supply can be ideal for the stray dogs in the tourist months, but can drastically change when the summer ends.
These animals do not deserve to starve, we should help them in their time of need and learn to live alongside them, not against them. So as you are passing by, if you don't quite fancy that last bite of your sandwich why not give it to the stray dog that is lying next to you on the grass?
Every time I finished a meal at home and went to clear the plates, I would think, this is not much to me, but to the stray dogs.......this is everything and ultimately I would save them whatever leftovers I could.
They are sometimes described by people, to be wild dogs, which could not be more wrong. The thing that makes me laugh is these people haven't even spent time with these dogs to understand them and see what they are really like, they are just simply being, narrow minded.
The stray dogs are domesticated dogs that love a cuddle and affection just like any other owned dog, in fact from my experience I have never felt such soft, delicate mouths, when taking the food fed gently from my hand.
Many a time I would have a stray dog rolling around on its back while I tickled its tummy and to see the sight of some of the passer bys stopping and staring, would make me continue all the more. I would try to educate people, when I could, that stray dogs are just like any lovable owned dog except they have to fend for themselves, which is through no fault of their own and we should make their already hard life a little easier.
Not everyone has to like dogs, but if you don't, just leave the stray dogs well alone to live their lives. If you ignore them, they will ignore you. There really is no need for violence and hatred. From Mahatma Ghandhi, I quote:
'The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated'
However if you do like dogs, spend a bit of time getting to know stray dogs, as they still continue to amaze us with their individual personalities, loyalty and affection and they are the most wonderful dogs we have ever come across, I quote:
' I would look at a dog and when our eyes met, I realised that the dog and all creatures are my family. They're like you and me' From Ziggy Marley.
We are the proud owners of two rescue dogs, that were previously stray dogs. I can happily agree with this quote:
'Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened' From Anatole France.
We can and would definitely recommend adopting a dog from the street, they are beautiful dogs for free and rescue dogs make such wonderful and rewarding pets to own.
