Stray dogs are a risk to the entire community, themselves, people, other animals and their owners.
1. They may bite someone.
You may think your dog would never bite anyone, but you would be wrong. ANY animal with teeth has the potential to bite. In the wrong situation any animal will defend itself.
2. They may jump on someone, causing injury.
A dog playing may jump on a small child, knocking them to the ground, causing physical damage, and their claws are sharp and painful.
3. They may be hit by a car.
I have had to pick up a number of dogs that have been hit by cars. It is one of the hardest things about this job. To wrap a dog in a blanket, scoop them up and have them lay their head on your shoulder and look at you with eyes that say “Oh please, just help me!” breaks my heart. I have rushed dogs to the vet to have them call me and say “Sorry they didn’t make it”. It is such a senseless death.
4. Someone could pick them up.
Then you can always HOPE it was someone who will be good to them.
5. Unless they are spayed or neutered, they are eventually going to add to the unwanted
pet population.
6. Stray dogs carry diseases that could possibly be passed on to your pets. If an animal
with internal parasites eats out of your pet's food dish, they can pass these parasites on
to your pet.
There are also a host of skin diseases that can be passed from one animal to another.
7. They pass on Zoonotic Diseases. Zoonotic Diseases are diseases spread from animals
to people.
BELOW ARE A LIST OF ZOONOTIC DISEASES
Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
For more information on some of the zoonotic parasitic diseases,
please click on the links below.