Our Navajo County Animal Care & Control Officers are seeing an increase in residents picking up stray dogs in our county. Picking up stray dogs means putting yourself at risk.
What Is A Stray Dog?
Stray dogs are homeless canines. They are often unconfined, and generally found within the cities and towns. They spend most of their days wandering through the streets and looking for food. Scientifically, they are known as free-ranging animals. Because of the hustle and bustle of cities, stray dogs need intelligence and adaptability to survive. The street is an upgrade of the wilderness for the dogs where they face extreme weather conditions, lack of food, and zero veterinarian care.
Are Stray Dogs Dangerous?
Stray dogs tend to be more wild than domestic, making them a higher danger risk to residents. When they roam through the streets and enter human neighborhoods, it becomes dangerous for the human population and the pets who live there.
Because of their mild wildness, they will often bite and attack pets, livestock and humans. The likelihood of getting bitten by a stray dog is higher than that of a pet dog. The most significant risk of dog bites is contracting rabies – a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease.
The U.S. recorded 5 rabies deaths in 2021: the highest number in a decade.
Apart from rabies, stray dogs can invite an infection known as toxocariasis. This infection comes about when feces of dogs are left uncleaned. The disease can invite the following troubles to humans: nausea, dizziness, blindness, asthma, and seizures.
There are more than 200 million stray dogs worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals estimates about 3.3 million dogs enter U.S. animal shelters every year.
In Navajo County stray dogs wander either alone or in packs and attack adults, children and livestock. In various cases dog packs will kill livestock and seriously injure people, requiring urgent medical attention, hospitalization or even death. If you observe a stray dog: best practice is to leave the dog alone and call Navajo County Animal Control to deal with the dog professionally. Many times, stray dogs can be dangerous and volatile toward people and may have unknown parasites, diseases or, most importantly, rabies. Navajo County Animal Control Officers deal with various animal reports and respond accordingly to each report, assessing urgency. To report a dog or animal problem call Navajo County Animal Control via Navajo County Sheriff’s dispatch. For non-urgent reporting call 928-524-4050 for urgent reporting call 911.
Original source can be found here.
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