CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Carlos Parra used to love
waking up to see his pet albino boxer, Nina. Now,
seeing her skeletal body on the floor next to his bed
has become a daily reminder of the economic crisis
engulfing Venezuela.
His other dog's thick fur barely hides her ribcage as
Parra struggles to feed his pets after losing his job at
a shoe store.
"It's terrible to sit and eat, see them watching me
with hunger, and not be able to do anything," said
the 30-year-old.
As Venezuela's economic crunch worsens, food
shortages and rising poverty are forcing once
middle-class Venezuelans to do the unthinkable: let
their pets starve or abandon them in the streets.
No figures are available, but activists and
veterinarians say they are seeing a growing number
of dogs and cats abandoned at parks, shelters, and
private clinics.
In Caracas it has become common to see purebred
dogs rummaging in the trash or lying outdoors, filthy
and gaunt, in posh neighborhoods.
The animal protection and control center in the
capital's Baruta neighborhood saw as many as 10
animals abandoned each day this summer, head
veterinarian Russer Rios said. Up to about a year ago
there were almost none.
"Now people just leave them here because they can't
take care of them," Rios said.
Shelters are running classes teaching pet owners to
look for food substitutes in the hopes of helping
them maintain their pets through the crisis. At one
private shelter in the working-class Caracas
neighborhood of El Junquito, a popular alternative
for dogs that would never have been considered in
better times is chickenfeed.
"We have to give it to them because there's nothing
else," Katty Quintas, a part owner of the Funasissi
shelter, said as three skinny cats looked on hungrily
from the top of a refrigerator. The shelter is now
home to more than 200 cats and dogs.
One of the country's largest animal shelters is run by
Mission Nevado, a government program set up by
socialist President Nicolas Maduro and named in
honor of independence hero Simon Bolivar's four-
legged sidekick, dubbed "Nevado" for its white,
snow-like fur. Program veterinarian Angel Mancilla
said the shelter, which currently houses about 100
cats and dogs, has collapsed under the influx.
"We're crying every day. You leave each day feeling
traumatized," Mancilla said.
Pet owners say the price of dog food has more than
doubled in recent months to $2 a pound, more than
a day's pay for those earning the minimum wage.
In August, as Parra and his parents in the central city
of Barquisimeto struggled to get by on his father's
$23 monthly pension, he turned in desperation to a
Facebook group that donates dog food to families
that cannot afford it. But he received just one bag of
food, enough to last a few weeks. He said he feels
like he's choosing each day between feeding himself
and his parents, or his beloved pets.
"Sometimes we go to bed with empty stomachs," he
said. "It's really hard."
The problem is also affecting zoos and racetracks.
Zoo workers in Caracas say they do not have enough
food for large mammals like tigers and tapirs.
This spring 72 horses died from starvation or
malnutrition at the Santa Rita racetrack in the
western city of Maracaibo, which was closed due to
problems with criminal gangs.
The National Institute of Racetracks said the horses
died because owners and trainers were not feeding
them.
Some pet owners who can't bear to watch their
animals waste away are looking for others to take
them in.
Caracas homemaker Maria Galindo is offering
Princess, her 5-year-old golden retriever, for
adoption. So far the dog has survived on scraps the
neighbors give her.
"We're very sad to have to give her up, but the crisis
is not giving us another option," Galindo said,
looking at Princess' bones sticking out from her
yellow fur. "You're thinking, 'If I give the dog
something to eat, what will I feed the children?'"
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http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8e2077d03f45470ca748d30ad5ccb4db/venezuela-pets-go-hungry-economic-crisis-deepens?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP

chai!

afonjas brought this plague/curse(buhari) on us

if dis is true den i tank God 4 our situation at home

This should be taken to front page so that those wailing zombies would know how lucky they are.

APCsupporter:
This should be taken to front page so that those wailing zombies would know how lucky they are.

Shut up. Venezuela has been under American economic sanctions long before the collapse of oil prices. Their economic situation today is indeed unique.
Is Nigeria under any economic sanctions?

CSTR2:
Shut up. Venezuela has been under American economic sanctions long before the collapse of oil prices. Their economic situation today is indeed unique.
Is Nigeria under any economic sanctions?

And Saudi Arabia?