Stray Dogs

According to the Tandridge District Council stray dogs are considered to be unattended dogs in a public place and a public place means any place to which the public are entitled or permitted to have access. There has been a steady increase in the number of stray dogs over the years in Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. This has become a major issue not only to humans but also to the environment. According to Desiderious Erasmus a philosopher who quotes “Prevention is better than cure” in his book “The Royal Road to Health”. This quote, pertaining to stray dogs, can be interpreted as taking the necessary measures of solving the problem of stray dogs so it does not become prevalent rather than having to solve the problem they pose after something negative has happened. Solve the problem of the dogs before they become a threat to life as it is known! That is why stray dogs should therefore be put to sleep.
Stray dogs pose a physical and an environmental threat to people and their surroundings. They can become feral (violent, aggressive) when left alone on the streets without proper care or training. Some incidents have been reported by international media where stray dogs have attacked and actually killed persons. One such incident was reported in the “San Antonio News” dated Wednesday January 9th, 2008 that Mark Carrasco a two year old toddler was attacked outside his home by a stray dog and was hospitalized. The biggest environmental issue is that they are not vaccinated, so they therefore present a health risk to other cats and dogs as well as human and other life. If a stray dies on the street their remains could also present a health hazard and not to mention the foul stench. Their feces carry harmful infections the most widely known being Toxcariasis. The dog, however, poses another environmental threat because they have no idea on how to salvage food for themselves; they will resort to looking through available garbage bags and cans even going to greater