Panama Forum

drdata
Joined 2018
Posts: 66

5 years ago

Dogs, free ranging or not

5 years ago

Hi,

While visiting Panama for a few weeks, I thought the danger might come from snakes or scorpions, possibly some mosquitoes. Actually, I found the major animal nuisance was the dogs. I was attacked twice by dogs, once bitten on one arm and one leg by a free-ranging dog, another time by two owned (but unattended) dogs that caught one of my legs but did not bite. (I did not run, was quiet and was not threatening in any case.) There were many dogs in the streets, and many aggressive, barking dogs behind property fences. Sometimes, you can read "perro peligroso" (dangerous dog) on a property gate, but that gate is wide open. Wonderful. As a consequence, it is hard to feel safe while walking the streets of small cities or in the country side.

Another nuisance I noticed in Volcan, and a bit elsewhere as well, is the dogs barking all the time, and especially at night, which can be pretty annoying. I do not know what they are arguing about, but it seems to be more engaging than any heated political dispute. I guess no one is winning the argument since it goes on and on for hours. At 3 a.m., the only thing you are thinking about is to go out and shoot at these animals. :-)

Why are there so many dogs ? Why are they barking that much ? People need to defend themselves against thieves ? Also, why are there so many free-ranging dogs ? Where they abandoned by people that left their home ? And how risky are these dogs overall ? I saw that many of them were quiet, but you know, a bad day, some unlucky move or whatever, and it can be pretty dramatic with these powerful animals---the dogs I have seen are not tiny poodles...

Thanks!

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