I know that saying certain things in these times can be unpopular, but I believe that the fear of unpopularity leads us to irrationality.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, in their first meeting after the investiture of Alfonso Rueda (of the Popular Party)<\/strong> as president of the Galician government last week, the Xunta approved public aid of 150 euros to adopt a dog (125 in the case of a cat)<\/a>, to cover the first veterinary and identification involved in having a pet.<\/p>\n The news has left me stunned. I live in Vigo, the largest city in Galicia.<\/strong> A few days ago it was known that in Vigo there are already 42,000 registered dogs and only 15,000 children under ten years of age<\/a>. Thus, we talk about three times as many pets as children<\/strong>, if we include dogs that are not registered, cats and other animals.<\/p>\n Maybe you don't get an idea of what it's like to live in a city with this population of animals and with many dog owners who stand out for their incivility. Last weekend, walking through the city center, I came across a street full of traces of dog urine<\/strong> (on the traffic lights, the streetlights, the trash cans... the whole street was has become a peeing ground for pets). Since it hasn't rained for days and the city council hasn't watered the streets<\/strong> (at least no cleaning was evident on the street in question), the smell was unpleasant, but even worse was the plague of flies associated with that dirt<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
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