los perdidos

Los perdidos, the lost ones, perros callejeros.

I watched a dog get mowed over by a car today. Not just hit, completely run over. The front then the back tires on the right side of the car rolled overtop of the back half of the dog's body. I was walking to estación Recreo to cross Avenida España and grab a micro, when this dog appeared in the 60mph (95kph) traffic. I could do nothing. Remarkably, it was still alive and able to drag itself to the side of the road. It's back was flattened, and it's hind legs flipped backwards so that the paw pads were facing up. The legs were shattered and warped, but remained whole, without drastic blood loss. I could not get to the dog, the traffic was rather heavy and there is no crosswalk to the median, which is larger in order to harbor the metro platform. A lady who was for some reason in the center part ran towards the dog and held it. She tried to flag down a car, without success, then talked to another passerby briefly. She was crying, trying to get help, distraught after watching this happen, unable to get help; the dog was suffering. I considered calling the police, like I would at home if i hit a deer with a car for instance, but here it is not the same, it would not have helped. I had no idea who to call. There was no one to call actually. There is a deficit in the support system for wounded animals. Some groups exist to help animals in these situations, but I did not know who to contact, who knows if anyone would have come. I stood on the platform above the dying dog and the distraught lady, unable to get to them for the traffic, unable to do anything. I left. It was a bad feeling, like I abandoned someone I could have helped, but there was nothing more to be done. If someone picked up the dog, it was probably put down. If it was left, it would have died of injuries almost definitely, or starved. I can't get over the way the dog was mutilated, running, and two seconds later it's lower half crushed. It was a yellow lab, large, well-fed, healthy-looking.

Many of them limp. I expect a lot get hit by cars. Most can get still run on three legs, using the maimed one for balance. I saw another one today in Plaza Viña, with only it's front legs functioning. It drug itself across the plaza, following a man who was emptying the trash, just like the other dogs follow people around. I watch the dogs a lot, where they sleep, where they look for food, how they wait in the sidewalk with the crowd and cross the street just like everyone else.