wild thing

This mage was taken outside one of the villa esperanza homes. Though

the dog does appear to have a feral quality, hence the title, he's not really

wild per se. Rather a statistic of a rampant

phenomena in most third world countries : street dog over-population. He

is one of many roaming the streets of any given community, searching for

food scraps wherever they can find them, (primarily open garbage dumps),

seeming to belong to everybody and nobody. They all seem near starvation

and sleep wherever they drop. They are evident all over downtown Granada

also, not just in the barrios. If one stops at a street- table of any restaurant or

cafe, within moments there are 2 or 3 settling at your feet or under the table

hoping for a morsel. Because of their numbers they can seem scary but their

aggression is usually territorially directed toward other dogs. Most mosey away,

tail between the legs, if you banish them, which one does fearing transmission

of the mange, fleas, internal parasites and other diseases they can carry. Mass

killing as a method of control was unsuccessful. The breeding rate is extremely

high. 2 street dogs can multiply to 300 in 3 years. Many devoping countries, includ-

ing Nicaragua, now have mass sterilization clinics starting up, often conducted

by non-government organizations, in collaboration with local municipalities.

 

The great Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, in studio, recording "Wild Thing" *~*

 

 

Done