The City of Dogs

While the city of Oakdale is known for being 20 years behind the present century, Oakdale is also known for dogs. The number of stray dogs cannot be counted, and the local pound is overpopulated. Stray cats are scarce as dogs are known to hunt in packs at night. The safety of any cat relies on its owner to be an indoor feline.

The Fuller-Edwards Arboretum is a city-free space and walking park in Oakdale. Joggers and walkers experience random dogs running and walking alongside every bipedal step. Sometimes these random dogs are not strays but in fact, they may already had an owner or may have already exhibited human interaction in a timespan before. The roaming dogs that follow people around wagging their tails in hopes for food shows reliance of human interactions. Stray dogs in Oakdale have always been the issue and abandoned dogs do not cease the ongoing problem.

The city crosses most people's minds to abandon their dogs here. Dog abandonment is high in Oakdale considering the city is located in the middle of nowhere and hours away from any major city. The country-city makes it ideal to dump off an unwanted dog as a quick task. Many people in Oakdale have claimed to dump off a box of puppies, arising in casual conversations.

Roaming dogs tend to have an owner (or someone who feeds dogs but don't claim the idea of owning dogs), but their owner doesn't secure them into a designated area or property. The idea is to feed their dogs and then let their dogs wander and go as they please. This type of dog owner furthers the overpopulation of dogs especially when their roaming dogs aren't spayed or neutered. Responsible pet owners would have their dogs spayed or neutered to prevent the overpopulation of street dogs.

Stray dogs are common in Oakdale. Strays usually come from dogs that were abandoned as puppies or lived their lives away from human dependency, rummaging through garbage and trash as the main source of food. Moreover, strays are dogs that never seem to have a home or a favorable caretaker.

The continuing issue of Oakdale is the constant rise of the dog population. Oakdale suffers from packs of stray dogs hunting and going in heat at night. In addition, roaming dogs that are not secured on property--adjusting to natural instinct. The booming of the dog population is caused by the loosely-based decisions of dog owners.

A responsible dog owner prevents the overpopulation of unneeded and unwanted dogs. Getting a dog fixed is the primary source to prevent the high dog population. Dogs do not reproduce by choice but by insinct. A fixed dog will aid in regulating the dog population.

The issue is made noticed when raccoons are suggested and assumed to have ransacked the garbage cans and neighborhood gardens. And truly, the issue resides within the local animal shelter and humane society today as well. High number of dogs prevent the humane society from taking in stray dogs.

The animal shelter and humane society's primary goal is to re-home surrendered and stray dogs. However, with the overpopulation of dogs as the number one cause--shelters have no room to take in any more dogs. Giving no chance for other stray dogs for re-homing purposes. The options preside as leaving the loose and stray dogs unattended in escalation to the booming population of dogs.

Strays and roaming dogs are not meant to be fed half-heartedly and let roam the streets to further populate the city. They are meant to have a home and be fed as a pet and be kept out of ransacking the properties of others. They are to be well-kept of the owner's property. But when a dog has an owner and the dog is left outside to wander door-to-door in hopes of other pet owners feeding it, this speaks animal neglection. Oakdale's local animal control states that if a person cannot keep up with his or her own pet, this is considered a neglection of meeting the animal's needs as a pet owner. Therefore, surrendering or re-homing the dog is required.

The purpose of this article is to raise awareness in the local community of Oakdale.