I've been trying to avoid using this picture, for reasons that I will state at the end of the post, however this seems like a good time to talk about it. This is because at the moment rabies is spreading around Taiwan. As talked about before, Taipei has a very large stray dog population, so this is becoming a big concern. For the most part stray dogs are left alone, with even the dog catchers not coming to catch a dog after it bites somebody. But now with the spread of rabbies, perhaps they will start rounding up more and more dogs.
The picture above is about one of the many animal charities in Taiwan. There are quite a few which help stray/abused/injured animals. A friend actually started one over thirty years ago which takes in abused or injured dogs. She herself has over 20 dogs all with various levels of injuries. Quite a remarkable person.
Perhaps the biggest volunteer group for dogs is also the strangest one. They basically go around catching stray dogs, spay/neuter them, and then release them back into the streets. I guess their heart is in the right place, but it seems like they are not doing enough or perhaps even doing more harm than good. Most stray dogs run in packs that have a very clear social order, and I wonder if being spayed/neutered then affects their social standing when they return to the group.
Regardless, the picture above is a usual occurrence on weekends. The charities will take some dogs to popular areas and let people come meet the animals, and encourage people to donate money. This group is using the power of puppies, but one of the more popular group uses very well trained adult dogs which you can actually "rent" for a few hours if you want to take them someplace to play. I can't tell if this is genius, or a bit soul crushing for the humans and dogs involved, but at least the money benefits the charity.
The reason I didn't want to bring this topic up, is because I makes me feel very conflicted. Yes it's great that there are so many organizations for helping animals in Taiwan, but the frustrating thing is that there are actually not many which help humans. There are a lot of people in Taiwan who need help, that they never receive. A lot of this is because people automatically assume that the government takes care of this, which unfortunately they do not.
I have a lot to say on this topic, a lot stemming from personal experience trying to change some things and provide some assistance here in Taiwan. But at the moment it's nothing I really want to discuss on a public blog. Perhaps in the future, especially if there is more good news to be shared.
