El Caribe newspaper reports there is growing concern in the capital about stray dogs and rabies. The National Rabies Center estimates that in Santo Domingo, there are some 150,000 street dogs who have no homes. Their reports also show 50 to 60 people are treated daily for animal attacks and bites, the majority of them involving stray dogs. Since 1996, there hasn’t been a reported case of a human dying from rabies in this country and the Rabies Center wants to keep it that way. The Center’s Doctor Nelson Cunillera says the lack of animal control laws in the DR is one reason for the large number of strays. He proposes the creation of a municipal pound. As well, he points out “Here, the poorer you are, the more dogs you have. There are families who don’t have enough to stay alive but they have five or ten dogs who walk the streets all day and come home at night.” And he adds that “the only thing we can do is appeal to people’s conscience to keep their dogs at home, tied up and vaccinated every year.”
