Observations of a dog owner in Italy.....

[kfscala]

Hello,

Today I want to share some thoughts with all of you about a situation that happens here in Italy in the summer, particularly in August.

Every summer, here in Italy, dogs are left abandoned by their owners. I am concentrating on writing about dogs here because I am a dog owner (in no way are cats left out of the picture). And, because I am a dog owner I become frustrated and sad when I see people abandoning their dog (s) as they leave for summer holidays. Animal abandonment can happen in any country. But in Italy, unlike in America, August is a time of year when most of the Italians embark on summer holidays. It is a sight and experience that Americans are not accustomed to seeing, as we who live in Italy do.
It is not just Italy either that makes a mass exodus for holidays during summer, also the other European countries. So, as an American living here, it is, for me, something extraordinary. And, in the midst of all this holiday-making, sadly animals are left to wander the streets and suffer, or even worse. I guess humans just want to be able to go on holidays unconstrained and not to feel burdened by their dependent animal companions.

The media here in Italy has, of course, publicized cases of dog abuse over the yearsr. But still we hear of cases or even see them happening in our own neighborhoods. What can we do? Even the veterinarians go on holiday here, so if there is an emergency, many times one is limited to what one can do to help a sick or injured animal.

There are of course reasons why people don’t take their dogs with them on holidays and here is a brief list (by no means conclusive):

-- Don’t want the dog to contract parasites, because certain parasites in the Mediterranean can’t ever be eradicated from your pet (our veterinarian told us this); I am not referring here to fleas and ticks.
-- Some people just don’t want to deal with the fleas and ticks commonly picked up, either.
-- Hotels and holiday rentals won’t allow dogs on the premises.
-- One’s family members may have allergies to dog dander.
-- One’s relatives don’t want you to bring the dog along (for various reasons).
-- No room in the car
-- One’s holiday schedule will be ‘too busy’ to accommodate a dog.

Why dogs get abandoned:

-- No money to put the dog in a pension for the duration of the holidays
-- The dog could get sick or contract parasites

Some improvements I have noticed in the last 2-3 years.:

Some hotels allow dogs, but they are still a minimum of them that do this in Italy, as compared to say Germany, where it is more dog-friendly. I travel to Germany frequently and have no problem in bringing my dog Leif along; I have to pay a small fee usually 3-5 Euros per night. Many hotel and guest house owners even give treats to the dog and make them feel at home. I wish that I saw more of this attitude here in Italy. There is one book that was published:
But, still I have found that many places do not take dogs despite advertising so. I simply do not understand.

Does anyone out there in the audience have anything they would like to say?

Ciao,

Karin

[jacqueline]

In joining you on this animal issue, I'd like to leave a few things here myself. I am a cat owner but watch out for alll animals--all the time-- especially along the roads where I know most of them are found in bad condition. Sometimes I go over it in my mind, wondering which is worse; the laws letting the animals legally galavant around or catching them (like in the USA) and giving them lethal injections. (Which is murder.)
I see them suffer all the time, missing legs or have been bitten on the face.. and I've even seen two dogs attach another and kill it right there before my eyes...things I will never be able to erase from my memories. I concluded upon the decision that any animal that was born into this world has the right to live their life, even people have accidents and suffer, killing them is just horrendis. Down at FORC in Rome, "friends of Rome for Cats" in Largo Torre Argentina where I do my once- in- a -while visits, I hear stories both good and bad. I look for my favorites regolars, and weep when they are not there anymore. Each time a cat is abandoned after living in a home, they rarely know how to manage it alone, and don't last much more than 3 years. So what can we do?
Take one home and be good to him!

[teresa_cutler]

I had no idea that so many dogs were abandoned by their owners in Italy! It's very sad to hear this... it's quite a mystery to me how anyone could leave a member of the family (though dogs have four legs, they're still family) behind for any reason. I have seen a few stray dogs but wasn't aware it was such a big issue.

One note of hope: I have visited Pompeii more than once and each time I was both shocked and oddly heartened to see the stray dogs there. They live in the ancient city where they are in no danger of being run over or hurt by cars or other machinery, they sleep in the doorways of the ruins, and tourists step over them to see the sights... and the dogs barely flick an eyelid or an ear.

It's the first time I've seen stray dogs that are utterly unafraid of people.

They are fed by tourists in the summer and in fact are so well fed that they don't even bother eating food they don't like. I gave a small female dog half a sandwich last year and she sniffed it... took it... dropped it on the ground... and looked at me with a look that said, as clearly as words, "don't you have anything better?" When I showed her my empty hands she walked away without touching the sandwich again. Made me wonder about the half I'd eaten...

I was worried what would happen in winter when tourists weren't as frequent. When I asked a tour guide he sheepishly told me that the guides watch over the dogs during the winter months - feeding and even taking care of them if they're sick.

Being a stray dog can't be good in most cases, and I may be gullible in believing the guide. But the indications - the fat bellies, the lack of fear of people, the dogs' ages - lead me to think that maybe Pompeii isn't so bad a place to live for those dogs lucky enough to stray there.

I will pay more attention to the dogs in other areas of Italy? Does anyone know of organizations like an Italian ASPCA or Humane Society?

[bubbles]

I have heard about this mass exodus of holidaymaking in Italy, but it never really occured to me that the pets were abandoned. Having a dog is like having a child, and I cannot imagine abandoning my dog.


Not that I have one yet. But I am hoping to adopt one soon from the SPCA. I moved into Singapore recently, and was earlier in no position to give a dog a life. (Yeah, I know about "a dog's life", but I think that phrase is outdated, or at least it should be.)The only thing that stops me from getting me one is that I travel often and want to make sure there are facilities where the dog would be comfortable till I come back.

If Italians cannot take care of their dogs for one month in a year, why do they have dogs at all? In poorer countries, one understands stray dogs, but what excuse does a developed, cultured nation like Italy have for abusing dogs?


The darker shades of Italian existence are already beginning to come down on me. If there is one thing that describes me, it is that I am a dog-lover.

[paolo]

About cats and dogs in Italy: In my lifetime I had 2 dogs while living in Italy and 2 dogs while living in the US wher I now have a female yellow lab.
Karin is right by saying that American take in average better care of their pets, some go to the extent of name themselves like the pet mom or dad.
The difference is however not extreme, actually I think quite minor. I know good an bad story from both side of the Ocean and the SPCA in America is quite busy killing undesired animals probably even more than its Italian counterpart. Unfortunately animal treatment in developing countries is much more of a concern. My best friend who just crossed on a motorcycle several countries including India came back astonished. He claims that in India if an animal crosses the road a truck would not even slow down, the truck driver would just go over the animal and even if the animal by chance survived the next truck would take care....

[kfscala]

When I write about stray or abandoned dogs, I am, of course, aware that I have this typical First World attitude (European or American) towards our pets--caring, loving and feeding them, and to think in another way would be foreign to me, to you and to us. How could anyone, anywhere treat their cat or dog not as animal-person? People in other countries far away from our occidental world, whose culture is foreign to us and who hold views contrary to ours, is for some of us in America and Europe quite perplexing and frustrating to understand. Actually, though it is not so difficult to understand when you begin with 'their' view of the world. We cannot ever understand how they could feel: the people in their communities have to struggle daily for basic survival and the last thing they think about is caring for and feeding dogs or cats. We need to recognize that here, now, in Italy as in the U.S.A., our ethic is a First World ethic and not universally shared. That happens because we have a "different" standpoint in the life. We take it for granted here in Italy--in Europe--that we should care for our pets, watch over our neighbor's treatment of their pet(s), report animal abuse, care for the stray ones, or rush a sick little cat or dog to the Veterinarian when there is an emergency. But in less affluent parts of the world these things don't even matter, they are trivial because even humans may not matter, let alone an animal. (Even in Italy as recent as 50 years ago, the culture of the Basilicata region in the south of Italy was considered inhumane, and only in recent years has it vastly improved) What matters in such societies is something we, in the prosperous occidental world, cannot even relate to because we and our pets have such a spoiled life here in Europe and America, and not only that, but we and the animals here have "rights", so that we lose sight of the reality that happens elsewhere and develope taken-for-granted assumptions about the life of domestic animals. Some Scandinavian countries, for example, make strong efforts to protect "rights" of animals, where in other countries or parts of the world such an extension of rights to non-human animals would be considered absurd--humans there may not even get treated with the barest of dignity--just consider the countries with caste systems! The capitalist society that we live in, whether in America or Europe, has changed our views and the way we 'culturally' practice the human life experience and the life of animals. We Europeans and Americans live a consumption-hungry society, who have nothing better to do at times than to worry about where to take our dog "Sputnik" for their bath and grooming, or which dog cookies to buy for "Sputnik" , or which pension to put "Sputnik" in when we go on summer holidays. And we cringe at the thought of animal abuses. Our First World ethics towards animals here in Europe, is, for the most part, just that, an ethics we have created for our Western society so that we don't feel guilty when we do something wrong or can justify our criticisms of others when someone abandons their dog, etc. As I said before, in other parts of the world such an ethic does not even enter into the minds of people, as some human beings are not even accorded some minimal dignity. The last thing they think about is a dog or cat starving on the street. But, of course, if we live in an affluent society here in Europe, as compared to other places, that means we should at least try to treat our animal friends with kindness and dignity, as there is no reason to mistreat them (just because that in other parts of the world non-human animals are treated inhumanely). It is sad, that here in Europe cats and dogs are treated as "animal-persons", whereas in other parts of the world many humans along with cats and dogs are looked upon and treated as non-persons, and even violated. But in the very end, and I assume most would agree, that it is always better to treat living creatures--whose eyes we look into--with dignity, especially if they only have one life to live, isn't it?

Karin Fester - Scala,
M.A., M.Phil/Ph.d (cand)

[teresa_cutler]

When I read the first post on this area of the Forum I was surprised at the portrayal of Italians as people who abandon their animals on a regular basis as they leave on vacation. I don't think it was meant to say that Italians in general think like this, so I don't want to characterize my response as arguing that "Italians aren't like that." More that I just wanted more information.

I had noticed stray cats in Rome, which are protected, fed and watered by many citizens, and have a park of their own (see italics below), but I saw no stray dogs. All the dogs I saw appeared healthy,well-loved and well taken care of by their owners, who take them for many walks. Neighbors and passersby on the streets say hello to not only the humans, but the dogs who are being walked as well.

I wrote a post about Pompeii and the stray dogs there, noting that they were fat and content, and taken care of by tour guides in the winter when tourists weren't feeding them.

But, since I didn't know anything for sure I did some on-line research. I found this site which lists quite a number of Animals Services offices, Animal Rights offices, Pet Services and etc in Italy: http://rome.angloinfo.com/information/17/animals.asp.

This indicates to me that animals are, rather than seen as expendable, actually valued in Italy, in general. On another site I found this paragraph, which talks about the park set up in Rome as a cat sanctuary.

... the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. It's in the center of the piazza on Torre Agentina, near the Pantheon. The sanctuary is a large pit of ruins that has been converted into a sanctuary for the many stray cats in Rome. These buildings used to be government offices in ancient Rome, but now they are home to nearly 100 cats. The stray cat problem is pervasive in Rome. In 1994, a group of women began caring for these cats and fundraising on their behalf. They created the cat sanctuary and work tirelessly to care for the animals there. On the weekends, the Sanctuary offers guided tours. Check their website for details. The Sanctuary is also actively trying to find homes for these cats if anyone is interested in adopting.

These and other websites shows me that, contrary to the idea that Italians don't care about their animals, they actually do care quite a bit.

Good people and bad people exist world-wide. And unfortunately there will always be those who don't consider the lives of four-legged creatures as valuable as the lives of humans... and there will be those who don't value human life as well.

I think the only thing we can do is take responsibility for our own animals, do what we can to help those we see that need help, educate when we can, and love with all our hearts those animals we consider our friends.

These are my dogs, and they are two of my best friends:
Sebastian and Emma:
http://www.inkwell-inc.biz/animals.html

[gummie]

I would be interested in contacting a veterinarian in the Pompeii area to discuss helping the dogs with flea/tick medication,as well neuter/spaying
and shots.I was apalled at their condition.

Ron
gummie@acsalaska.net

[paolo]

Hi Wolf man
You can try by searching for 'Veterinario' Pompei at this website
http://www.paginegialle.it/pg/cgi/pgsearch.cgi?ts=1&l=2
But If I where you I would try to call thePompei / Campania tourism office describing the problems and trying to tell them how bad it makes us look with tourist etc etc
Paolo

[teresa_cutler]

Ron,

I agree that the dogs of Pompeii would benefit from neutering and shots, and would be very interested in whether you find a vet who will help. I'd be interested in helping set up a fund, maybe, or something... ?

I can't say that my reaction was the same as yours about the dogs' condition, though. While they do need shots, and neutering them would mean less of them which is ideal, still they are quite well fed, sleep in the sun most of the day, look at people without fear, aren't mistreated, get attention from tourists and tour guides alike... compared to stray dogs in most other areas of the world, in almost any country or city, this is a huge difference.

Most stray dogs are emaciated, exhausted, kicked or beaten by people when they approach for food, chased, run over by cars, deliberately starved, and left to die where they fall.

Still... again... let me know if you find a way to help the Pompeii dogs. I would enjoy being involved in making their lives better.

Teresa