The subway system in Mexico City is one of the biggest in the world. It boasts 12 lines, 195 stations, and more than 1.6 billion passengers a year. It’s also home to quite a few lost and stray dogs. More than 250 lost dogs have been found in the tunnels since 2013. They used to be sent to other animal shelters, but now they have their own space to either be found by their owners or become prepared to live with new families.
The Canine Transfer Center launched 6 months ago and was officially inaugurated last week. The Transfer Center is funded mostly by private donations and is staffed by a veterinarian and some other specialists. They’ve already rescued about 20 dogs from the subway tracks. The center aims to reunite lost dogs with their owners when possible and already have at least one success story. Sira the Beagle spent 10 days on the tracks before being rescued and reunited with her family.
Dogs found wandering Mexico City’s metro are given a new chance at a happy home, thanks to recently inaugurated Canine Transfer Center pic.twitter.com/XozUootQa4
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 26, 2017
The center has already found homes for several dogs and plans to launch an advertising campaign to help reunite lost dogs with their owners. Luis Ortiz, the center’s veterinarian, has two theories about how dogs become lost in the subway system. One is that “the dog follows its owner out of the house without the owner realizing it, and ends up in the subway,” where it “smells thousands of different smells, hears noises, voices and steps,” and panics. The other is that stray dogs are drawn to the warmth and shelter of the stations but end up on the tracks, risking serious injury or worse.
(H/T: North Coast Courier)
