After much observation and a few experiments, I believe I'm finally figuring out the dog scene here in the Philippines. Stats: Of the few hundreds of dogs I've come across, about 60% run free in public yet seem to belong to someone or at least some family. Of those 60%, I only notice about 15% having collars on. Many of those look like they have think plastic fishing line around their necks attached to a tag. Since I've arrived I've probably seen 6-8 dogs on a leash and most of those had a non-Filipino person on the other end. Who dogs get their food from, if they get food at all, seems to be their mental leash and the reason they hang around a store, house, or neighborhood.
Some dogs, around 15%, seem to be living their lives inside gated yards, a fence that surrounds many people's houses and property. These are the locals with a little bit of money. These dogs are usually the best looking as far as the conditions of their coats and if they have weight on their bones. I've seen very few well fed dogs outside of fenced property. Most of the dogs I see on the street are usually sleeping. At first I thought that was because of the heat and malnutrition until we were walking home from a movie at Jufer's, Alana's Tech instructor, last Saturday evening around 11pm and the air was cool and crisp and the streets were alive with dog activity. They seem to be a bit nocturnal because of this hot environment.
An overwhelming majority of the dogs I see are skinny, have skin and coat conditions, and are injured in some way. They are also small. I haven't seen many dogs over about 30 pounds. Must be a tough living for bigger dogs on Filipino street, not even enough to eat for small dogs. Business seems to be painfully slow for veterinarians in the Philippines. Our neighbors told Leah, a fellow Peace Corps Trainee, that they had a dog once that got a bone stuck in his throat and would make this horrible coughing sound. When Leah asked what happened to him they matter of factly said, "He died." I seriously hesitate to pet over 95% of the dogs I see for fear of lice or catching some other condition I don't even know about.
Yet Filipino dogs seem to live happily with their lacking conditions . . . just like their owners . . . or Filipino overseers.
Dog food companies are also not making a living out here. Dogs seem to be the last ones to eat after humans, chickens, and pigs. The cattle and goats have more than enough grass to eat in this hot & humid climate and the cats are forced into their hunting jobs to keep their areas rodent free if they want to eat. So I see dogs that are skin and bones, eating out of trash piles, begging for food, even saw one eating a frog that had been run over in the road . . . luod (gross)! Filipino dogs have no toys, no comfy beds, no chew sticks, no doggie doors, and no dog bowls to eat out of (I haven't seen a dog bowl yet). There are no dog parks (ha!) nor have I seen hide nor hair of a dog sitter service, pet store, or dog grooming salon. The ones that are surviving are tough and independent.
One interesting difference I notice between Filipino and American dogs is that Filipino dogs pay little attention to humans. Of the hundreds of dogs I've encountered loose on the streets, most collarless, I haven't had any dog bark at me and only 2 have even sniffed me in interest. Now, about 30% of the dogs behind the gated fences will bark at me . . . fatties! Most dogs just ignore me and as I mentioned before many of them are laying down resting or asleep. I saw a nice looking black lab puppy laying in the main street road today about 2 feet from where tons of traffic was with not a care in the world, just enjoying the shade and the cool cement.
The night Alana and I returned from our 5-day Bocolod Peace Corps Supervisor's Conference we treated ourselves to a nice 320 peso ($6.40) meal at a nice restaurant on the Boulevard downtown. We were eating outside when Alana got up to go to the comfort room. I started watching this small pack of dogs (4-5) as they were plaing next to the busy street and then decided to cross it. This is what I had been waiting for. I wanted to see how these dogs crossed busy streets, especially at night.
Mind you, I've seen plenty of dogs here with injuries, limping, even open and closed wounds not being attended to by anyone, so I was prepared to see an accident. Anyway, when it became obvious that they were going to cross this semi-busy street, one of the dogs took the lead in hesitating, looking, and waiting for an opening in traffic and seemed to consciously chose when it was safest to cross. The rest were on her heels with no hesitation and they didn't dilly dally around or stop to sniff the frog . . . they scooted.
On the other end, the traffic, reacting just like with any other vehicle pulling out into the road or pedestrian crossing the street, yielded to let the dogs cross. No one was going more than 20mph anyway and no one ever seems to be in a frantic rush. There was no horn beeping or yelling or speeding up to "teach those dogs a lesson." Just a normal pause in traffic that drivers experience thousands of times each day as they maneuver through a city with no signs or lights.
There is a dog, let's call him Ralph, that seems to live on a fairly busy corner of National and Rivera. I walk around this corner about 15-20 times a week and he is there 95% of the time. He is not just there, he is laying on the shaded sidewalk right in front of the corner store door. It's a tight corner and probably hundreds of people step over or around him each day, I know I do, and he never budges. A couple of days ago I looked for him and he was sleeping under a scooter leaning against the wall of the store.
He is a fairly long dog and weighs maybe 50 pounds and has a decent looking coat so I can only imagine he belongs to the store owners, although he wears no collar nor have I seen him interact with anyone who works at the store. Although the 14 year old boy who works in the store came out one day and Ralph was immediately up from sleeping and on the boys heels. Ralph followed the boy up to the street, looked like he might cross the street with him, then sat on the edge of the sidewalk, ignoring all of the people stepping around him, and kept his eye on the boy until the boy disappeared from his sight.
Another time I turned the corner and he was sitting military style at attention next to a young woman buying something at the bakery next door. I thought it odd that he wasn't sleeping in front of the store. When the young woman stepped away from the outdoor counter he was excitedly jumping up at every step. Of the many customers the bakery had each day, I thought it was very rude and extremely unusual for Ralph to be harassing this one. Then I turned around just in time to see her asking him to sit and then rewarding him with the single 2 peso (4 cents) roll she had bought. It was apparently a ritual as Ralph waited patiently and respectfully for his pet on the head, gingerly took the roll offered, then they departed friends until tomorrow.
There is another dog, let's call him Billy, who lives at the house where I have Tech class. Billy has a little dog house in his yard under the shade of a big tree and has always been chained to that tree when I see him. During the day there are 15-20 different people that come through the gate and into his yard for classes and such. I rarely hear him bark yet every now and then when I'm in class he hits the end of his chain and barks profusely.
Last Sunday I went with Alana to the house to retrieve a book I had left behind and noticed he paid us no mind. Billy rarely sleeps and usually just watches as people enter the gate and proceed to the house. A few minutes later a stranger came through the gate and Billy went nuts on him. Since then I've noticed that he knows exactly who belongs and who is a questionable suspect. How he knows I have no clue, he had never seen Alana before. He must think it's his job or something . . . what else is there for him to do?
My last dog story is about puppies. With lots of dogs running loose and no vets fixing any of them there are plenty of puppies around. Some children on our street got a cute one, let's call him Timmy, with a red ribbon around his neck. I was hoping he would be one of those "behind the fence" dogs yet the very next day he was out playing with the children next to the road. I saw him run out into the road in order to get to the children and didn't even flinch as a humungous truck came screaming by at about 45mph. This truck could have easily flattened this dog and no one around even held their breath or for that matter noticed that the dog might be in danger. Life just went on.
We have a fairly busy road as it leads to another town. I asked Alana about this and someone told her that puppies look to their mothers or older dogs to learn how to survive. It's what they need to do to survive because Filipino people are not overprotective (or even protective) nor interested in keeping them out of harms way. Brilliant!!! It is amazing how things work and the dog culture learns how to preserve itself. You know though, I haven't seen that puppy in quite a few days . . . let's not name him Timmy.
Please don't send dog food.
w/Gratitude, InHarmony, Lve&Pce, - Jaco | 
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