My Life in Argentina and Beyond

Dear Editor, I have never been to Puerto Rico, but the dog/cat situation described in the article is similar to the one in Argentina. It is inhumane to treat animals in this fashion, as if they were garbage. As in most cases, the problem begins to be noticed when the community loses money, and tourists boycott the place.
If people took these animals and disposed of them like they did last year, they should be punished to the full extent of the law. Eugenia Renskoff

Sunday, January 6, 2008: What are the Tigre dogs doing this afternoon? How many more have been dumped since the last time I went to see them, a little over a month ago? I cannot believe it. I want to help all of them and I can't. No, I am not indispensible, but I know from experience that very few people care about them, about the vulnerable and helpless.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007: My last time in Tigre. I saw him digging into a black garbage bag. He was a big German Shepherd mix and his teeth looked very sharp. The meaning of the word despair hit me. Why should a dog have to go through this scanvenging for food routine? There are so many other dogs like him, all abandoned, most hardened to the street life.

Thursday, November 29, 2007: He looked at me with distrust. The dog was large, a German Shepherd mix. His home is the sidewalk in front of Tigre train station. Here, I told him, I just want to give you some food. He looked at me again, ate a little of the dog food and walked away.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007: I saw him by a tree in front of the Tigre train station. He was a large dog, with a spotted white coat. I put my hand inside my plastic bag and took out a handful of dog food. Here, I said. The dog looked at me and his tail wagged. Then he stretched his front paws for me to touch. I caressed his head. The dog got up and sat in a begging position. He wanted a home. He wanted to be taken home and I couldn´t do that for him.
If I was movie director, I would film these dogs. I would record how they follow people who look nice, how they look to see who gets out of colectivos, how they search for someone to make them not be homeless anymore. I know the world has a lot of problems to solve, and some people will ask: Why worry about dogs? What about hungry children?
I don´t know. All I can answer is this: These dogs touch me deeply and I want to help them. Some of them are old strays, some have just been put on the street, but they have one thing in common. They are living beings with feelings and needs and they don´t deserve to die out there.

Thursday, November 16, 2007: There seem to be more homeless dogs in Tigre. always more. Most of them are nice looking, well behaved dogs and it is hard to understand why their owners abandoned them. It is heartbreaking for me to see them eating out of garbage bags.
I saw a big, blond male dog yesterday here in the Vicente Lopez area. He had his body in a submissive attitude right in the middle of the sidewalk. I went up to him and told him that if he behaves himself, someone will help him. I hope it´s true.

Thursday, November 1, 2007: A large black dog last night. He came up to me when I walked by Trigre train station. The black dog looked up at me. I had a bag full of dog food and I offered him some. He ate it, but that wasn´t what interested him. The dog followed me to the colectivo stop. He looked up at me again. I can´t take you home, I told him. I live far away. He seemed nice and docile. Soon other dogs appeared--small dogs, large dogs, wet dogs. It rained hard most of yesterday.
When I see them I think of my dog Rubio. Rubio, who lost the home he wanted. Rubio, who would have given up his life for them.

Thursday, October 25, 2007: An old woman walked pushing a supermarket cart. The afternoon was sunny and very warm. She held a dog by a leash and 4 other dogs rode on top of some flattened cardborad boxes. The boxes were inside the cart. People stopped her and asked about the dogs (2 of them were cute young beagles). She asked the people for money.

Friday, October 19, 2007: The old dog must have been somebody´s guard dog. He is large, a German Shepherd mix. His age must be at least 10. When I go to Tigre, in the Northern section of Greater Buenos Aires, I often see him sitting by a tree right on the Tigre train station sidewalk. I give him food, but his eyes tell me that he mistrusts people. So he often goes to a garbage bag to see what´s in there. Sometimes he comes back to the tree and eats the food that I have put there for him. I ask myself: Will this poor dog die on the streets of Tigre? Will no one take him home to guard their great big house or mansion? What a shame! Nobody looks at him. He is a gentle dog.