Veterinarians without support and shelters overflowing: the consequences of animal abandonment

Santo Domingo.- Animal abandonment in the Dominican Republic not only reflects a lack of public policies but also a social crisis that threatens public health and the dignity of thousands of living beings.

In the Dominican Republic, millions of dogs and cats live on the streets. Some are born in the dust and noise without ever knowing a caress. Others, one day, are abandoned by the same hands that promised to take care of them.

The number is alarming, but the most worrying thing is not only the quantity but the lack of a system to protect them. There is no budget. There is no protocol. And while the abandonment grows, the only structure that seems to be sustained is that of silence.

Law 248-12: neither complied with nor enforced

The law that should protect animals has existed since 2012, but without regulations, structure, and follow-up, it has remained an empty promise. This is confirmed not only by the overflowing shelters but also by those who, from veterinary medicine, face the effects of this abandonment every day.

Isa Medina, founder of the veterinary clinic Abejitas and professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, has been receiving animals with stories of suffering and abandonment for decades.

According to the newspaper HOY, the country is at “the red line” on the issue of rabies. There are neighborhoods full of sick animals and also residential areas where people unleash dogs without conscience. All this happens under the indifferent gaze of the State.

“There are people who buy a dog knowing that they are going to move, but when they already have the dog over the bun, what do they do? They throw it out on the street. If a dog that is accustomed to eating and drinking three times a day is abandoned on the street, that animal begins to diminish its quality of life.

If in a house it was going to last 12 or 15 years, probably in the street in two or three months it will lose its life due to an accident or poisoning”, he denounced.

When cheapness costs lives: the risk of going to fake veterinarians

Hundreds of sick or injured animals in the country end up in inexperienced hands due to an increasingly frequent phenomenon: a veterinary intrusion that arises in the absence of public care systems established by law.

Although many citizens recognize that certified professionals do not run specific centers, the low cost of their services remains a decisive factor. Procedures that should cost between 1,500 and 2,000 pesos are offered for as little as 500, and that is enough for many to take the risk.

However, what starts as an apparent economy ultimately proves to be more expensive. Animals treated by unqualified personnel usually return in worse conditions: with infections, poorly performed surgeries, or inadequate treatments that further complicate their state of health. In many cases, not only is the cost of trying to repair the damage doubled… the animal’s life is also lost.

Isa Medina revealed that in her clinic, she had treated dogs with tumors that were not adequately treated and vaccines applied without a cold chain.

“One man performed a cesarean section on a dog without anesthesia and with a gillette. When we received the dog, she was in immense pain and died,” he confessed.

This situation highlights the importance of implementing awareness campaigns and effective mechanisms to identify and expose illegal centers that operate without supervision or regard for animal welfare.

Shelters without resources, veterinarians without support

At the shelters, the story is no different. Ivette Garcia, president of Blank’s Foundation, has had to cut back on rescues and focus on education in exchange for donations because the root of the problem is not solved by compassion alone.

Her numbers are also a reflection of homelessness: more than 70 dogs in her care, of which 17 were recently in treatment. Ivette acknowledges that “more go in than come out,” and each one needs veterinary care and medicine.

“Dogs are rescued sick with anemia, ehrlichia, babesiosis, some come in pregnant and all need to be spayed or neutered to lower the population on the streets. Because unfortunately, these dogs do not have owners, but they had owners who threw them into the street one day”, he said.

In the educational talks, the focus is on training children as “pack leaders,” enabling them to recognize when a dog is sick and how to feed, walk, and train it. The logic is simple but powerful: a trained dog, conscientiously cared for, is unlikely to be abandoned. Teaching from an early age generates more responsible homes and stronger bonds between humans and animals.

Impunity is also felt in the prosecutors’ offices.

According to Ivette, for many rescuers, the reality translates into something devastating but straightforward: there is no one to turn to.

In 2023*, the Attorney General’s Office empowered all prosecutors’ offices nationwide to handle cases of animal neglect, cruelty or mistreatment, however, many feel that their complaints go unheard unless the case goes viral on social networks.

Day after day, hundreds of animals are beaten, poisoned, or live in uninhabitable environments without receiving food and veterinary care. The law exists. Now, it is necessary to enforce it.