Keep dogs leashed, inside premises, says city vet

By Rachelle M. Nessia

DUMAGUETE CITY, March 15 (PIA) -- The city veterinarian here is appealing to dog owners to keep their pets leashed or inside their house’s premises as stray dogs continue to be a problem in the city.

Stray dogs have been known to cause road mishaps and are one of the major causes of bite cases here.

City Veterinarian Dr. Lourdes Socorro said part of responsible pet ownership is making sure that dogs are not free to roam the streets unguarded.

“Owners can either leash their dogs, or keep them inside cages or within the perimeter of their homes,” Socorro told the Philippine Information Agency in an interview.

She said that only 20% of dog owners in Dumaguete are voluntarily putting their dogs on leash. “Usually, these dogs are pure bred ones, and are expensive,” she said.

Most owners of native dogs locally known as “askals” do not bother to leash or keep their dogs confined in their homes. “This is our problem because these are the dogs that we find out on the streets and they can cause road accidents or bite a passersby,” said Socorro.

She said her office receives cases of provoked and unprovoked biting everyday. “Not a day goes by that we don’t have a bite case reported in our office. But not all are associated with rabies,” Socorro added.

The veterinarian is also strongly urging animal lovers not to raise pets if they cannot afford it.

“If you don’t want to spend for their food or vitamins and keeping them healthy, don’t keep a pet because this will increase the risk of rabies cases and rabies is a public health hazard, ” she said.

Even if the dog involved in a bite case has been vaccinated or tested negative for rabies, human vaccination for the bite victim is still necessary.

Last year, CVO vaccinated 13,600 dogs, of which around 250 came from Dumaguete’s neighboring towns of Sibulan, Valencia and Bacong. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)