The 300 Pitbulls and the measure of our humanity

Almost a month ago police rescued about 300 pit bulls from an online dogfighting racket. The dogs were kept on a farm in San Pablo, Laguna, chained to rusty drums that served as their only shelter from the elements. (Imagine how hot it gets inside a steel drum in high summer. They didn’t have water, and their heavy chains wouldn’t let them.) Many of them were badly injured from being made to fight each other to the death for the entertainment of spectators watching in other countries. These were the survivors.

All the dogs were starving, dehydrated and scarred. They may have been rescued, but their survival remains in doubt. Days after the police operation, the 25 Pitbulls with the worst injuries were put down.

Euthanizing sick animals is a terrible business. We always think that if we could somehow take charge of them, we could nurse them back to health. All they need is love and care. (Cue visions of happy people and their healthy adopted dogs playing in fields of flowers.) It is true that in many cases the patience and tenacity of people have overcome the most hopeless diagnosis. But there were 300 Pitbulls in very bad shape, and it may have seemed more humane to put the worst cases to sleep. Prolonging their suffering in the hope of relief that will probably not come is also a form of cruelty.

A lot of people have already offered to adopt the dogs, but this is not a simple process. Generally they’re friendly to humans, but remember that they have been trained to attack other dogs. Before they can be placed in new homes they will have to undergo physical and mental rehabilitation. Also, as veterinarian Wilfred Amoro put it, “You have to make sure you are not handing them over to people who would sell them back to dog-fighting gangs.”

If you’re serious about adopting one or more of the rescued dogs, don’t wait until they’ve been certified healthy and safe. Start helping now. Two groups, the Cebu-based Island Rescue Organization (IRO) and Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA), have taken charge of the animals and are transferring them to a new site. They need cement, cyclone wire, old towels, dog food and money. For donations in kind, please contact Homer at 521-0865. For cash donations, go to www.caraphil.org.

During the long weekend why not grab some old towels and a couple of bags of dog food and visit the rescued dogs? The site is in Barangay San Gregorio, San Pablo, Laguna, near Bamboo Inn. As friends put it, “I-googels ninyo.”

My friend Alya is hoping to adopt one of the Pitbulls, whom she calls Momma as the dog has apparently given birth recently. I am one of the many people who will swear that Alya is a wonderful dog-mom. Please let her adopt Momma.

Why should we care about these rescued Pitbulls when there are so many poor, sick, disenfranchised people who need help? Well this isn’t a competition over which party is the worthier. We need to help people and we need to help abused animals.

Thousands of years ago humans made a pact with the gray wolves: instead of hunting and competing with each other, these two species would live and work together. These domesticated gray wolves were the ancestors of today’s dogs; adaptation and selective breeding have resulted in hundreds of breeds.

Yes, your Poodle with the pink hair and the designer outfit are related to the giant wolves who roam the steppes of Siberia, just as my cats who adore Will Ferrell in Elf are cousins of the lions of the Masai Mara. But you can’t just invite wolves and lions into your house; our dogs and cats are descended from the wild animal subspecies that our ancestors made a deal with.

We like to think that dogs were domesticated by humans, but recent studies have shown that their wolf-ancestors chose to live with people. They bred with other human-tolerant animals, thus propagating the traits that earned them the title “man’s best friend”. In other words dogs domesticated themselves. The resulting benefits to our species are incalculable.

And in befriending this brave and loyal animal, our ancestors moved closer to becoming the humans we hope we are today. Dogs (and cats!) helped to make us human.