All about Dominican stray dogs.

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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This post will corroborate Golo?s (TW) account on the stray dogs activities in DR. I had spent a few days monitoring the ?vira lata? (stray dogs) activities in an up-close fashion. Funny, I had never noticed that we had a big gang of stray dogs in my area. TW is right, these dogs exist in every neighborhoods and especially in the better ones because people from the good neighborhoods don?t kick or throw stones at them; plus they find plenty of food in the garbage bins to eat.
Ok, so here is the story of the stray dogs gang in my area (mind you I live in a decent area).
They consist of about 11 plus members. Originally I had only counted about 8 but last night, I guess they had their annual meeting or something; I had counted more than 12 of them. They come in all sizes and in all colors. The biggest dog is usually the leader in most cases as in mine. They fully cooperate with each other and share their street or streets with their own members. They walk in groups and never make contact with people. If you try to call them in a loving manner, they will just run away from you. They watch and monitor their streets 24 hrs a day. Its usually at night when they all meet and look for food in a gang like style. If a dog comes in from another area, they furiously attack him. I have watched them beat up and even chew up any size dogs who don?t belong in the area. For ex: once a big dog came in, just to cross the street. The small local dog came out and began to walk along with the outsider, pretending to be harmless; but at the right moment (when the new dog was not paying attention) he attacked the big dog?s rear leg. At this moment the big new dog attacked back and tried to bite the smaller local dog. Right then, a bunch of local dogs came out from the hiding and attacked the new bigger dog from all angles with full vengeance. Right then I figured out that it was all a sneaky ambush plan to get the new dog off guard.
Needless to say, the new dog got bitten up pretty bad. The way you surrender to the local gang is tuck your tail in between your legs and make chau chau noise and run away from their territory. Surprisingly, not a single dog attacked him after he surrendered in his dogly fashion. He was allowed to leave the area in peace.
In addition to knocking off the garbage cans and scavenging foods these dogs even stick their noses in baby diapers full of feces etc. one of their favorite pass time (in-addition to peeing all over the neighborhood trees) is smelling other dogs asses.
Ummm, that gives me an idea. I will market dog food with flavor (well you guessed it): ?other dogs asses?. Yeah, that?s it. All the dogs will go wild on this new flavor.
Back to the subject:
These dogs not only mate among each other (night orgies on the streets) but they also interact with the domestic pets of law abiding citizens. Yes, your poodle also interacts with these street gangsters. I have seen the vira latas (stray dogs) lick the neighbors? pets on their mouths and even have sex with them through the iron fence / gates. So you want to kiss your dog on the mouth? Think again!
It seems that the pet dogs are also part of the gang but they cannot seem to get outside of the metal fences or gates. They all talk to each other at night by barking thus, warning of new intruders. Their territory is strictly marked with their pee line and by night petrol. They all work in sequences and in unity. They are everywhere.
 

tiger

Endangered Species!
Jan 26, 2002
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Dogs

Rrrrrrr'e'r'r'r'r'r're'r'r'r'r'r..TIGER..likes your dog story. So I guess there appears to be a problem out of hand there..
 

Kuda

*** Sock-puppet ***
Jan 1, 2002
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Thank you AZB

I needed an inane, yet meaty post to put a complete twist on my day. Honestly, this is one of the most entertaining/informative posts I've read here in a long time about "true" daily life. Thank you. (and Jan too, keep it coming)
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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Get Some Sleep AZB!

No cable TV in Santiago?I,ll give you $50 US if you can post a picture of the dogs having sex thru the iron fence...........and $500 US if "TW" is the "Dog"inside the fence! That! I have yet to see!Maybe you could rent a "Dog Suit",get a video camera,and make an "undercover" documentary about "Street Dogs in Santiago"! Just be sure to keep your "Tail" between your legs!"Wuff,Wuff,Wuff"!!!Criss Colon
 

Pavan

Member
Jan 18, 2002
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My only incident with a Dominican dog

Back in 1993 when DR was still much wilder than now. Your best pizza came from Pala Pizza and there was only one foreign fast food chain...Wendy's at the airport in Las Americas. presidente was 7 pesos for a peqena and 10 for a grande.

I was driving down Las Carreras towards Circunvalacion and a dog decided it was time to cross just as I went by.

Couldn't do much. I hit him and to my pleasent surprise after the big thud and bang he came out from the left side of the car and rolled a couple of times then ran away!
 

x_man

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
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another doggy story

From my last trip to SOSUA in November I like to report the
following true doggy story. Here it goes:

One night I could not sleep and around 2:30 AM I went down to the
hotel lobby to talk to my friend the watchyman and smoke a good cigar.

I light my cigar and in come two stray dogs one sniffing behind the other
and it didn't take long before the did what doggys like to do. Normaly the
watchyman would have thrown the doggys out but heck it was almost 3
in the morning and we settled down in our sillas and watched the floor show.

A while later just as the doggys finished the show in comes this Canadien guy with his dicotheca bride. But now the funny part starts:

The doggys are stuck!!! while one wants to leave, the other doesn't and they move around awkwardly like siamese twins not getting anywhere.

Watchyman, myself, the Canadien and the chicka we are
all thinking the same thing and are all grinning kind of embarrassed until
it hits the Canadien that his fate for the rest of the night is on our minds
and he isn't grinning anymore.

Anyway I finished my cigar and went to sleep at about 4AM
X.
 

armin

New member
Jan 8, 2002
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AZB i think you had a dream

i want to ask you a simple question,
how come you have seen all this stuff and the rest of us havent???
maybee you alsoo are a stray dog but at the mornings you transfer to a human?? think about it maybe it was you that were the leader of the gang, you better give mr. snoop doggy dog a call, he would have found this interesting.
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
12,290
519
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Hey, you maybe right, is this why I always raise my leg when I pee? I was always wondering, why I am so emotionally attached to the hydrants in NYC?

Or could it be that some of us live a more fulfilled life than the others? I mean, when was the last time you actually lived a life living in major cities of USA (or in any developed country). Its always work work work, eat, watch TV and sleep to get back to work again. Live to work.
Unlike you, I was in cabarete yesterday, the whole day. We went through the touristy road towards the north coast from Santiago. Enjoying the scenery while stopping for a quick coconut juice at a local fruit vender's shack. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool over looking the beautiful beach. I was in a hammock with my sweet girlfriend, sipping on a beer and talking and laughing with my other buddies. I watched the relaxed tall palms and concentrated on the farthest mountains in the horizons. I actually counted the number of coconuts on each tree and noticed the color change on them while they ripe. I noticed the little kids playing in the sand and actually counted 2 dogs relaxing in nearby shades. I even counted the number of times a foreign vacationing woman smiled...zero times in an hour.

Tell me this; do you have time to observe all this? When was the last time you spent a relaxed time like this to enjoy the life?
Fortunately, in DR, we work to live and not the other way around.
Have a nice day.
 

Theresa

Vettehead from Buckhead
Jan 16, 2002
491
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my 2 pesos

Growing up where there are stray dogs everywhere that are not cared for must give a person a view that all dogs are horrible, ferocious creatures. But that is a narrow-minded point a view. Maybe this is why most of the dominicans I have met dislike dogs and some even hate them. That is just like any other sterotype one would assume. Sure there are ferious and aggressive dogs but there are also ones that will give you love and be your compainion... sounds like a man...haha. Just my thoughts..
 

Honey

New member
Jan 26, 2002
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Pedro Perra

Not *all* Dominicans are animal haters / abusers....In Sosua, there is someone who goes by the name of Pedro Perra who rides around on a horse and, I think, speaks to animals...

He once revived my friend's dog (whose name was Running) after being hit by a motoconcho. There Running was, lying in the gutter, and along came Pedro Perra, who scooped him up, gave him a good shake and voila! Running sprang to life and was as good as new. We couldn't believe it...

I think Running ran away though about 1 week later...
 

lilsam

Santo Domingo Sammy
Jan 2, 2002
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Grrrrreat Dog Story AzB

I myself have watched gangs of dogs walking thry thr barrios at nite. Its like watching wolf packs......
 

Golo100

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Jan 5, 2002
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My Dog stories of the day

1) I saw something that I should related to our women on the board. At a boutique called Shanella at Plaza Central this woman and her husband walked in. I noticed immediately the woman spit something into a plastic cup. Innocently enough I thought she was just getting rid of chewing gum. But a few seconds later I actually saw her again spitting on the cup! Then I said, what the heck!! Well, it seemed she was following me all over the tiny store, because I was trying to get away from this gross scene. She already had 1/2 cup filled with saliva. She almost stumbled into me and spilled the gooie stuff on me. By the time I left the shop I was in shock. Can any of the ladies tell me what "doggie" act was this woman trying to pull. Even her husband, embarrassed, tried sheepishly to stay behind. A girl in my company suggested this was a pregnant woman. Well if she was, she should stay out of public places.

2)I got three stray dogs in my block. They live off the garbage cans and goodwillers in the area. They are doing very well and once in a while they run into a neighbor walking their dog and they trade barks and dirty looks with the aristocrat snob-dogs, who are even dressed up to a tee with Ralph Lauren outfits and nails done by Piantini's best and their hair groomed with Pantene jelly. The dirty ones fear me. They stay away from my turf. They know I can throw a rock with the best and I have an angry look with my eyes and they know I mean business. Not that I discriminate in favor of the snob-ones. I dislike them just as much, specially my neighbor's dalmatian, who is so clumsy he fell running the other day and I couldn't stop laughing. His owner just looked at me, but I just couldn't help it. I had to take a deep breath to catch some air from cracking up. Sorry JAN!! I believe I also have a real WOLF in my neighborhood. Could it be a wolfman?

3)There is a dog-tail chaser in my neighborhood who does 10 perfect circles. Anybody can beat this one?

TW
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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When I was in Sosua, I saw the sadest dog eyes I have ever seen in my life. I was resting on a bench outsude one of the shops, when a bigger than average Dominican dog walked by me and he looked at me with these sad eyes. He came and sat at my feet and looked up at me. He was very old, and I said to him " your not treated very well are you? I kept talking to him and he kept looking at me with those eyes that I can never forget. Life is about Karma, be careful what you do with it. You have have to come back and pay it off.
 

Papito

New member
Jan 23, 2002
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Lets Have Lunch...

Man, I remember Dog packs in the DR since I was a kid....

It's only a matter of time before someone figures out that those dogs make a good meal!! Nice fried meat over by the bridge and on the Malecon. Shoot I wouldn't be surprised if it is not already t happening.....

AZB: How many dogs did you count last?
And about how heavy would you say the biggest dog is?
I've got a great business idea.... :)

Maybe we can meet, so you can show me around the hood, I've got some friends that have had shops in asia... They've recommended we get these dogs to the vet for a check up, and then to a cook out once they pass.

Other wise lets get an ASPCA type agency to put theys guys to sleep soon!!


Papito
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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THREE TRUE DOG STORIES

While there is a very real problem with strays here, and in every city except Dajabon, Montecristi and Perderales, here are some Dog Facts, as the PIB would say:

1) In the Garden of Eden, before the Great Sin, all the dogs of the world were gathered in a really nice club where there was plenty to eat and drink. The music was celestially hot and, like true "perfect"beings, they had to park their tails in the coatroom before entering.

At the height of the festivities, there came a cry from above:
ADAM AND EVE HAVE SINNED!! EVERYBODY, OUT, OUT, OUT< !! NOW!!!

The poor dogs raced out, taking what they could find from the coatroom.

And that, my friends, is why every time a dog meets another dog, they have to smell the rear end, to see if it is theirs!!

2) Since the f*** up by Adam and Eve, the dog's life was a lot more dangerous, but they were still kinda nice.

One day, this pair of dogs, a male and a female, were squatting to take a pee. Just then, this huge tree started to fall on them. BUT, the male dog,a true Gentleman, lifted his leg in a flash and held up the tree for the female to escape. Although he died, GOD has made all males pee with the lifted leg to commemorate that first dog hero.

3) The better the mix, the better the dog.
It seems that in the DR there are a lot of real "Dog Lovers". These are the people that keep real and phoney breeders in new jeepetas and food.

They go out and buy, like my neighbor, every really famous dog breed, just to have it in the house. Of course they won't spend the money to feed it right or groom it or even pet it a lot.

It has been my experience that the better the breed the less survival quotient is in that dog's head. Collies, poodles, boxers, weimerieners, you name it. In they come, spend a few months, maybe even a year, and then they get outside in the 'real' world and WHAMMO! Dead!

ME? I got the World's Ugliest DOG, a really old mongrel that makes Tramp look like George Clooney or Julia Roberts of the Dog World. Umteen years ago I had her spayed, for which she has been eternally grateful to me. She wanders the streets, a true vira lata, and always knocks on the door to get back in from her trips.

Then there is Ringo, a Dominican Heinz 57, with a white collar. He got 'cut' a long time ago, and he wanders all over when not protecting the Hovel.

Oh yeah. There are three Rottys and a Dalmation bitch. NEVER let them out. Ever!.....

HB
 
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Pepe

New member
Jan 1, 2002
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Dog life.

Dominicans don't hate dogs, as far as I know. They just view them in a differenet way. They view them as..... dogs.
Growing up in the DR back in the fifties, there were stray dogs everywhere. Even I had a puppy at one time. The problem is, when they grow up, they stop been so pretty and poverty dictates that as soon as they can fend for thenselves, outside they go.

The end of the road for most of those dogs was very sad. We had no SPCA or anything of that sort, so the Department of Sanitation periodically would send its workers in full force to poison all the dogs.
After a short while the entire capital city would be covered with dead dogs. Sanitation had the mission of picking up all the carcasses but they were always overwhelmed, and with the tropical heat the stench would spread everywhere. That's when the neighbors would get together, buy a few gallons of gasoline or kerosene, and start setting carcasses on fire. I never saw one carcass burn completely. The mess was left there till Sanitation arrived.

Dogs are cute, friendly, and loyal, and when kept indoors you would never know they are capable of eating feces, and rolling themseves on putrid carcasses of other animals. So we'll always look at dogs in a different way.
 

Jane J.

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Jan 3, 2002
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You're right that Dominicans regard dogs in a different way than do Americans, but I think it's safe to say as a general rule that Dominicans are not overly fond of dogs...Hence the saying, "el perro es perro..." However, many people would find themselves in jail in the States for the abuse they practice. Animal poisoning, physical abuse, neglect, etc.

I think they're also pretty scared of dogs, because with mistreatment these animals can become angry and fierce.

So rather than as pets or companionship, these animals are viewed as unhygienic burdens, threats to safety & health, and basically an unwanted extra mouth to feed...Not a whole lotta love going on there...
 
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