Saturday, May 19, 2012

V is for Viralata

Continuing my A-Z of the Dominican Republic V is for Viralata. This is pronounced Beeralata or Veeralata depending on which part of the country you come from. Dominican Spanish is confusing as the letter V is often pronounced as a B but not always. When I was learning Spanish someone would say what sounded like "Dondé tu bas?"meaning "Where are you going?" but actually written vas not bas. Very confusing when I wanted to look words up in the dictionary. B is known as B larga and V as B corta. Even some Dominicans get confused!

This means we buy street dogs which are fierce or angry
Viralata is made up of two words. Vira comes from the verb virar meaning to turn and lata means a tin or a can. Viralata means to turn over or tip over a can or tin and refers to street dogs who get into the oil drums used as rubbish bins and tip them over to get at whatever is inside.


If the Dominican Republic were to have a national animal it would have to be the viralata. They are absolutely everywhere. It is estimated that in the capital, Santo Domingo, there are around 90,000 and even that could be a gross underestimate. These animals literally live on the street and look for food wherever they can find it. They are very intelligent and every food establishment and butcher will always have a group outside. It does not mean they all do not have homes, many do, but they are not allowed into the house and so spend their time lying on the road in front of the house. Often the so called owners cannot afford to feed them either. Most will have other viralata friends and they will play together and run around together and of course mate together, which increases the problem all of the time.


On the whole they are not aggressive, although I find it a little nerve wracking sometimes to have to walk through a big group of them, worried about being attacked or bitten as there is still rabies in the DR and of course viralatas are rarely vaccinated. Having said that I have never ever been attacked or even threatened by one. Some do have the nasty habit of chasing motor bikes and often get nasty kicks from drivers or passengers.  Some Dominicans, especially children, seem to take pleasure out of hitting them, or throwing rocks at them or abusing them in other ways.


As far as I can see, there is no  nationally coordinated programme of seeing the viralatas as a problem and of trying to do something about it. In some towns however, when they do seem to be getting out of control, the local authorities will put down poison. I will never forget going to work one day as a diving instructor and seeing the beach littered with corpses of street dogs. Appalling and heartbreaking.


However, there are some institutions in different parts of the country who work very hard to capture, neuter and then release the dogs. One of them is called the Asociacíon de Amigos Por Los Animales de Sosua or the Association of the Friends of Animals in Sosua, and they operate a spay and neuter programme and a rescue programme for street dogs. You can see their website here. Many of the dogs now get adopted by people living overseas and they get whisked off to Canada or the US. Easier for a dog to get a visa than most Dominicans!  And I had a comment on my last blog posting telling me about Animal Balance who also do fabulous work sterilising and vaccinating the street dogs. Their website is here.


Viralatas are a massive issue in the DR. It is heartbreaking to see dogs being badly treated and suffering. For some reason, and I do not know why, Dominicans do not treat dogs in the same way as people from my culture. Dogs are not usually seen as pets nor allowed in the house. Many will not even touch them. I have a rescued English Mastiff and my stepchildren will never touch him, he even gets washed at arms length with a broom - he still enjoys his bath though!


 In order to solve the problem there needs to be education and a nationally government sponsored programme of spaying and neutering, rather than relying on a few organisations, who, while they do amazing work at a local level are only solving a tiny part of this national problem.

16 comments:

  1. How sad that there seem to be so many abandoned dogs, that have to scavenge for food. Also sad that they are not seen as pets or man´s best friend in some parts of the world!
    A campaign to inform the people really is needed, so most dogs and cats could be neutered, and then there wouldn´t be as many out on the streets.
    Funny about the B and V - in northern Portugal people pronounce the V´s as B´s, but the words get written correctly (at least I hope so)!

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  2. I had no idea it was the same in northern Portugal! I can't see the viralata situation changing really unless there was a national RSPCA type of organisation which offered free neutering.

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  3. Or a lot of caring people willing to put themselves out there to help with the problem. People are always saying they did not know what to do? We are an educated world for the most part, we know what needs to be done, one small voice can make a difference. It is very sad when people use the excuse " I did not know what to do?' or that they were on vacation. I would not enjoy my vacation so much if I wasn't helping the Dominican dogs.Solve the problems don't create more.

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    1. You are right, but this is more than a problem for tourists. I do not understand the Dominican mentality towards dogs. I do not condemn it as I don't understand it. But the Dominican people and the Dominican government and authorities need to help to solve the problem by admitting it is a problem in the first place. Unfortunately there is still a lot to do to feed the people first and solving the viralata issue is not at the top of the list.

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    2. There are lots of street dogs in my country. Sometimes they are captured and killed for their meat. Even though it is illegal to sell dog meat, but some people still eat them. It is just so sad and disgusting.

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    3. How horrid to eat street dogs, but I suppose when people are hungry they eat anything.

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  4. We have a big problem with dogs. Kindly and well-meaning expats take in stray dogs, but they have no control over them - plus, they not only take in one dog they take in several. Living in a residential area this causes all sorts of problems. Dogs bark insesently, they still prowl the streets as they are not used to being confined. Many are vicious because they are territorial. They chase cars, causing them to swerve and bite the wheels of cyclists. In fact, I am now too frightened to walk alone in certain areas. Our closest friends are being forced to move away due to the dog situation as the constant noise is driving them mad.

    You cannot take a semi-wild animal and contain it. I ask people would you take in a deliquent teenager off the street, whom you know nothing about? No, of course not. People are well intentioned but...

    It is a shame there is not a program in DR to stop dogs breeding. IT's heartbreaking here to see a bitch who has just had puppies, come on heat and then all the males making her wretched life a misery. Something drastic needs to be done, but what who knows?

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    1. I had no idea Portugal had a street dog problem. On the whole the street dogs are not vicious here, they are actually sweet and good natured, but something does need to be done.

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  5. Education is the key. When I visit DR I bring donations for the dogs but also for the people. Friends of the Animals Outreach program teaches locals about how to take care of their dogs but with the donations for the children and parents it helps them form a bond. I have been told by T&T that it has helped immensely with their work.
    If each person picks one area to help, wherever in the world, they can see a difference. I chose DR or maybe it chose me? On vacation I called Judy and this started something. I have been able to go back and bring needed supplies and donations. I live in Ontario and have helped bring awareness here to this area and others of the help needed and what can be done. It kind of snowballed.
    I would love to meet you Lindsay next time I come down and pick your brain about DR living as this is my dream. Also will watch out for your book!

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    1. Thank you for what you are doing to help. You are right it needs a group in every area of the country with Dominicans working together with expats to try and solve the issue. Let me know when you are next here to set up a meet. Book still being edited but will write on here when it is ready!

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  6. Who knew there was a name for a pack of stray dogs!?! Well when I first started to to travel to the DR, there was a particular 'virlalata' that used to follow me around. Never in a bothersome way but sort of like a shadow. One particular trip I noticed that she was pregnant, next trip a posse followed me! Then suddenly she was not there and I really missed her. Thanks for bringing out that memory for me.

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  7. es increible lo interesante de su blog mi respetos :) nose como que se siente lindo que una persona cuente o oriente al estranjero sobre la forma de hablar del dominicano y sus ocurrencias jaja.

    porque de que hay que esplicar si ahi :P seguire su blog :)
    y saludos, cariño abrazo de otro dominicano mas que se a ganado

    ATT. Lenin ROSARIO

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  8. Hi, I a dominican and could not help but laugh with how close you came to say what I think of my own country. I did want to jump on this one and say there are many organizations trying to work with stray animals, many of them have pages in Facebook and do their best with private donations and non-goverment support at all. I invite you to check their pages, PADELA is one of them, Doggie House adoption and pet rescue agency and what I think is my local hero, Dr. Marilyn R. Lois Liranzo from FUPRADL (Fundacion Protectora de los Animales Dra. Lois). I think I missed a couple of them...all of them need donations and do the best they can and have recently started doing spay/neuter campaigns...I love your blog...

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    1. Thank you so much for this information Karolyn. The more I know about the more I can publicise them and I will visit their pages. I just wish the government would support them as well. Glad you enjoy the blog.

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