Abstract
In this article, we gathered information from postgraduate theses and scientific articles published in several databases using inclusion criteria that had been made in Latin America, in countries with similar economic conditions, and also in the USA to present a point of comparison. The objective of this review is to broaden the readers’ understanding of the causes of the increasing numbers of stray dogs and the reasons why people abandon pets in the streets, specifically in Latin America. It also discusses adoption and responsible ownership, identifies what failed in promoting positive human-dog interaction, and suggests strategies to address this problem. It concludes that adoption alone is not an effective solution but that it is necessary to offer education and awareness programs for owners, organize sterilization campaigns, and develop and apply – with the corresponding authorities – measures to ensure animal welfare that will provide benefits for society and improve animal quality of life. The role of veterinarians is fundamental in education and in disseminating the necessary information to orient people before they acquire a pet and prevent animal abandonment to resolve this problem.
Highlights
Stray dogs are those that do not have a home but live on the streets [1]
The abandonment of dogs in the streets is a common situation in countries, such as Latin America
The causes of abandonment include the lack of education on responsible pet ownership; inadequacy or non-existence of measures of animal protection that impede the reproduction of dogs, while encouraging mandatory sterilization as a requirement for acquiring a pet; the lack of permanent sterilization campaigns; and extreme poverty in some communities and neighborhoods that keep both owners and their pets malnourished, among others
Summary
Stray dogs are those that do not have a home but live on the streets [1]. Free-roaming dogs (Figure-1) are not under the direct control of a human. They may have owners but are allowed free access to the streets for certain periods of time or throughout the day. In other words, they have no defined physical barriers [3]. They have no defined physical barriers [3] Another type is the so-called community dog, one that may have various owners. Of the 500,000,000 dogs in the world, 75% are stray dogs or offspring from uncontrolled breeding and human negligence [4]
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