And to that end, the Rotary Club of Nassau Sunrise has teamed up with the Bahamas Humane Society to tackle New Providence’s stray dog problem.
Their jointly-launched ‘Who Let the Dogs out?’ campaign is an ambitious attempt to eradicate the island’s stray dog problem through owner education and an aggressive spaying programme.
Following a speech by Inspector Percy Grant of BHS, the idea for a service project began to take shape. Eventually the Rotarians joined forces with BHS and the Department of Agriculture’s Canine Control Unit to develop a ‘plan of attack.’
During the month of May the programme will focus on the Montell Heights area. “With the ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ programme the Humane Society and Bahamas Sunrise Rotary have been going into different areas sponsored by Rotary, spaying and neutering dogs for people in particular areas,” Inspector Grant said.
House calls
Representatives of BHS plan on performing door-to-door education for dog owners to sensitize the public on the importance of spaying and neutering their dogs.
There will also be an effort to inform the public about responsible animal ownership, the importance of licensing dogs, keeping the animals within a contained yard, as well as the costs associated with proper care of a dog. The Society will then spay and neuter all dogs free of charge.
Complaints-driven
Neighbourhoods are chosen for the initiative based on the number of complaints which originate in the area. BHS will take care of the dogs with owners and discourage the pet owners from allowing the animals to roam. Humane Society workers will also take note of the number of strays and unwanted dogs in the area and the Department of Agriculture’s Canine Control Unit is summoned in to remove them.
The Rotary Club of Nassau Sunrise finances the programme through a series of fundraising events including T-shirt days and corporate donations. The club received permission from Bahamen to use the title of their Grammy-winning song, ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ as their campaign slogan.
Previous locales
The programme has been carried out in the McCullough Corner area, Kemp Road, Fox Hill, Bain Town, with the Montell Heights community the current area of focus in a continuing effort to reduce the number of free-roaming (owned but allowed to roam around the neighbourhood) and strays (unowned potcakes) on the island.
The thrust of the programme is to sensitize and raise awaremess among pet owners about proper pet care. Roaming pets were taken by BHS, assisted by participating private practice veterinarians, to be spayed or neutered at no cost to the owners, given heartworm shots, rabies vaccinations and collars before they were returned to their owners.
The ‘Who Let the Dogs Out? programme has been in effect for just over two years. The programme, which is an ongoing effort, hopes to quell and ultimately eliminate the stray dog problem faced in the Bahamas. Both Mr. Moss and Inspector Grant have noted a measurable decrease in the amount of stray dogs in the areas where the programme has focused on, as regular return visits are scheduled monthly for all previous target locations.
The plan has received attention and donations from a variety of corporate citizens as well as the American Women’s Club. Representatives from both the Bahamas Humane Society and The Rotary Club of Nassau Sunrise concur that awareness and education among the public at large as well as dog owners will be a crucial component in the success of the ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ initiative
Brigette Dean, The Nassau Guardian
