By Shoushan Ohanyan

Dogs roaming the streets of Yerevan, whether individually or in packs, are a common sight.

The accompanying photo shows the fate of one of a number of dogs in the southern Armenian town of Goris after having been shot.

I had learnt from facebook that shots had rung out in the center of Goris yesterday and that some dogs were the target. Today, when I went to investigate I saw one of the victims on the ground in the vicinity of the church.

An old man walked up and told me that the dog had been lying there for two days.

You don’t need to be a specialist to understand the health risks involved from such unsanitary conditions. Nor do you have to be a psychologist to grasp what impact such a sight might have on small children walking by.

As I said before, dogs roaming the streets of Armenia’s towns, large and small, is a topic of constant conversation. So is the issue of what must be done.

Some say sterilization is the way to go. Others point to how some European countries are dealing with the problem with rounding up the stray dogs, isolating them in large pens and caring for them.

I’m sure no one looks forward to meeting up with a pack of wild stray dogs on a dark street somewhere. Now they say that a dog is man’s best friend; and I believe them. I too had a dog and based on my experience I can say that this animal is truly a loyal and well-mannered pet.

But not all dogs have been lucky enough to have caring and loving owners. If I were to ever be surrounded by a pack of snarling dogs, I believe it would be useless for me to put on a happy face and in a pleasant voice say, “Hey guys, you’re supposed to be man’s best friend. So please don’t bite me.”

So how is the problem of stray dogs being tackled in Armenia? Oftentimes, the most direct method is employed – putting the animals down by shooting – rather than sterilization or euthanasia.

Experts say that large-scale shooting of dogs only makes the animals more aggressive and leads to a growth in remaining numbers.

I approach the issue from a moral and safety viewpoint. What I saw today I do not accept as moral but I can understand the safety concerns.

Animal rights organizations suggest the following solutions:

1)      Better monitoring of garbage removal and how trash is stored.

2)      Sterilization

3)      Adoption

4)      Installation of chips in domestic animals

5)      Taxation for keeping animals

After what I saw today, it would be difficult for me to contemplate the true danger factor that dogs pose.

The history of the relationship between dogs and humans is an ancient one; let’s see what the future holds for it in Armenia.