The (stray) dogs of Tbilisi

I wasn't sure about posting this as many of you love dogs like I do. This may make you a little sad, as I've certainly shed a few tears.

But these beautiful babies deserve to be seen.

There is a massive stray dog issue in Georgia. I've never seen so many! They say there are as many as 500,000 stray dogs. I spent most of my time in the capital, Tbilisi. They just roam the streets the same as people.

I did not see any aggression. All the dogs I encountered were friendly and not scared of people. Stray dogs in many other countries I've visited have been terrified of people. These dogs aren't and are clearly not mistreated. They're well fed by the locals, and they're pretty much left to their own devices.

The dogs with the tags on their ears have been vaccinated and fixed. My understanding is that it's a never-ending battle as they can't fix all the dogs. Often, it's the females who miss out as the surgery is more complicated. And I believe the situation is better in the city as there are more vets, and potentially more money than in remote areas.

I love dogs so much. I found it very hard that these beautiful babies have no home or family to love them. This is the reality of travel - it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

At times, I was like the pied piper and had a number of dogs follow me around. You give them a pat, and they temporarily adopt you. I had to restrain myself a number of times as they'd follow me blindly and run on the roads. I thankfully didn't see any accidents, but I expect it's a regular occurrence.

At one stage, I saw a pack of about 10 dogs. They were all playing happily. I'm sure that's not always the case. Apparently, there are regular dog bite incidences and occasional cases of rabies. The dogs also have fleas. 😔

I hope Georgia can get this under control so more doggies can have a home and don't need to rely on the kindness of strangers.Lue lisää