Helping the satos

I agree with you but they need to be neutered, or as you know the population will grow further. I understand that some agencies do neuter the animals for free, but 4,000 or more is a lot.

You know what gets me are poor satos in the wild and at some people's home that are constantly bleeding due to a nasty "sarna" or skin disease that causes the animal to constantly scratch with claws and teeth due to the itch, they basically loose most of their hair and are in constant pain and itch. It makes me angry that these animals go thru so much.

People tell me that they just don't have money to treat their dogs and cats, never mind getting them also neutered. It is not just the free roaming satos, a lot of people don't take care of their animals at home either

Here in Argentina we also have a lot of stray dogs. But most of them seem happy, healthy and harmless. People put water out for them, feed them and pet them. They are certainly a problem but they aren't neglected nearly as much as in other places with the same problem. I was working at a school in the Buenos Aires province and there was a homeless dog that hung around the school. The school embraced it. In fact I was there when one of the teachers found some sort of infection on the dog's side. Within 15 minutes a vet and a parent of one of the students was there administering some antibiotic.

This is coming from the perspective of a Yankee though. Perhaps the locals might having a different take.

Agree completely with Rey.  Hopefully things improve with time.  I know there are many individuals and organizations here on the island working tirelessly to help.

During High Mass at Christmas in the cathedral in Ponce they leave the front doors open. I watched as a Sato dog walked up the aisle and decided to lay down. I went home to get my camera to record him and he was still there when I returned. During collection everyone walked around the dog and later the dog went up to the altar and later left. No one chased him out. people here do feed the dogs and give them water.

We now have two Satos and they are the most wonderful dogs. Our friends from NC adopted another and then donated $500 to a Satos organization.

If anyone is interested, there is an informative documentary called 100,000. You can easily find it by searching for it on youtube. The stray dogs in PR are an overwhelming problem and many people don't seem to respect dogs and many people don't believe in neutering and spaying, which is totally bogus IMO. And of course the government doesn't do anything to help. Here in the states any stray dog is immediately picked up and taken to animal control and treated for medical problems or euthanized if someone doesn't claim them. In PR it's all the local rescue groups trying to handle the problem and there just aren't enough people and enough resources to help all of the dogs, sadly. The more we can spread awareness about the problem, the better.