In countries like Ecuador, street animals are part of the landscape. Access to veterinary care has traditionally been scarce, and so animals have reproduced without control, resulting in more animals than the number of homes that can properly care for them. The consequence of unmanaged reproduction is that many animals are born in the streets or are sent out into the streets when old enough to fend for themselves.

Amici Cannis is committed to managing the population of street animals humanely and effectively through spay/neuter and preventive care. To measure our impact and determine whether our efforts are yielding the desired results, we survey the population of street dogs twice per year.

Our bi-annual survey results help us determine the welfare of the animals on the street. It’s a way to gather data like the density, physical welfare, and reproductive activity of street dogs. By improving the welfare of the animals, we also improve public perception and tolerance towards them. Shop owners and their customers are not afraid to greet a street dog that is vaccinated and dewormed, and dogs that are spayed/neutered aren’t a nuisance to businesses.

While visiting Cotacachi, people will have many interactions with street dogs and cats that have received preventive care thanks to Amici Cannis.

Because not all of these animals will find a forever home, they must be allowed to have a healthy and happy life while in the streets. The good news is that we are on track to fulfill our dream of decreasing the population of street dogs in Cotacachi. For our January survey, we witnessed an 11% decrease in the total number of dogs that were seen in the streets, from 216 to 192.

There were no surprises with the animals’ body condition score, with 77% still at 3/5, which is a healthy weight per veterinary standards. The population of puppies and lactating females in the street is still low and stable, with only 5 puppies counted and two female dogs nursing these dogs.

The population of intact male dogs (unneutered) has decreased by 25%. Our team will continue to target this population as well as the population of unaltered female dogs when patrolling the streets.

At Amici Cannis we invest time and resources to decrease the number of animals in the streets by spaying/neutering any new female or male dogs. We also improve their welfare by providing them with preventive care. We have witnessed an increase in the care of street dogs by business owners and a heightened level of tolerance from clients of those businesses when the animal appears healthy and has a good physical appearance (i.e. average condition score of 3 or higher and no visible signs of skin problems or other physical ailments).

As we continue to spend time and resources caring for street dogs and managing their population, our long-term goal is to decrease the number of animals without a home in Cotacachi, as well as its surrounding indigenous villages.