WHAT WE LEARNED

THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE FOUND OUT ABOUT STRAY DOGS

India has the greatest number of stray dogs in the world, counting up to 30 million. Everyday it's increasing by probably 5 dogs a day. Indian locals tell tourists to stay away from the stray dogs since they are “evil” or “vermin”. Instead, the dogs just want food, water, or to be comforted. Some dogs at the age of 4 or 5 weeks old trot around the streets at night by themselves and are being fed food scraps, cardboard and plastic bags. A person saw dogs who were blind, wounded, or even had missing limbs. Many dogs were left to rot at the side of roads.

Most of the time, stray animals in China face hunger, severe danger and exposure. Last year there was a food blogger who filmed themselves abusing a stray cat for 3 days. The food blogger starved the cat, cut it with a knife and even lit it on fire! When the internet saw it, they sparked with rage. This incident showed that China needed stronger animal cruelty laws and this also amplified the voices of countless people who have a passion to help stray animals. The issue of stray animals extended when a Rottweiler without a leash decided to attack a 2 year old girl. The incident showed the risks of uncontrolled animals. 

There was a nine year old boy who heard a story about a stray cat needing surgery, so he decided to raise funds to help the cat. He found out about the cat when he was browsing on the internet with his mom and there was an ad about a cat named Hazel. The ad said that they found Hazel at a transfer station scavenging for food and later they found out that Hazel’s hip was injured and the head of the femur was fractured and necrosis had set in. That's why Hazel needed surgery and physiotherapy in order for her to get well. The mother and the son knew that they could raise money by selling cakes, so they baked 180 cinnamon buns and earned $850. So the boy and his mom dropped off the money to the shelter to pay for Hazel's surgery.