Mexican Border Town Offers Tax Exemption for Euthanizing Dogs

There's a stray dog problem in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. The solution? If you bring in the dog for euthanization, you get a tax exemption...hooray!

Sarcasm there of course. Clearly, there's no spay/neuter program in this place. But there are animal rights activists in Mexico that will hopefully take notice and try to establish some kind of long-term and humane solution.

From Latino Fox News...

Mexican border town has a big dog problem, and it’s not sure what to do about it.

There are about 70,000 stray dogs roaming San Luis Rio Colorado in northern Mexico. That’s one dog for every two inhabitants, according to the BBC.

The town has become so overrun with dogs, that the government began offering a tax exemption of $17 per stray that was offered for euthanasia.

That move prompted an uproar in northern Mexico after animal rights groups argued the government was barking up the wrong tree, and they demanded the town stop what they called unnecessary “dog killings.” Activists said what the government was doing qualified as “animal torture,” and they called for legislative reform.

When Is a Dog Unadoptable?

I rejoined my local animal shelter's volunteer program a few months ago (long story as to why I quit in the first place). One day while I was volunteering I met a little pit bull puppy who was recovering from a spaying. Very sweet and gentle animal (I have a soft spot for pits....and pugs!)

The puppy seemed too thin to me so I asked about her story. Apparently, she, her mother and seven siblings had been confiscated from a crack house. Someone had called in an animal cruelty report. All eight of the puppies were in foster care. When I asked about the mom, I was told that she was put down because she was food aggressive and, therefore, "unadoptable." The tone of the answer implied that I'd better not argue it, so I didn't. But the answer just didn't sit well with me and I keep thinking about it.

I had a couple of dogs when I was a kid, but I mostly grew up with cats. I have a lot of patience with cats. I don't believe that any cat is unadoptable, even feral cats. I believe that a feral may never be a lap cat and they may never even let you pet them. But you can earn their friendship and companionship. To me, that means a lot. They deserve life, even if it's on their own terms. (There are also many "feral" and "food-aggressive" personality types in humans, but we don't put them down.)

But I'm no dog expert. I'd like to hear what others think. Is this a legitimate reason to put a dog down or is this just BS? Are food-aggressive dogs dangerous or is that just a convenient myth?

California Budget Woes May Lead to More Shelter Deaths

This sucks. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's new budget is calling for the euthanization of animals after only three days. Currently, it takes six days before they can be euthanized.

I understand that budgets are an issue, but, again, these are lives we are talking about. It's not the animals' fault that they have found themselves in this situation. It's the constant and conscious culture of killing animals in this society that I absolutely hate.

Thanks to LA Unleashed for the story.

575 Project Sends a Difficult Message

Best Friends co-founder and artist Cyrus Mejia learned that 5 million animals are put to death each year in US animal shelters. He calculated that this equaled about 575 animals per HOUR (thanks to Andrew at Good Honest Dollar for the catch!)

He helped organize the 575 Project in which artists honor the animals who have died. Each piece is a memorial to that nameless animal.

A book is now available.

Heartbreaking.