[FONT=arial, sans-serif]I am in Sochi. The local animal lovers are hugely outnumbered. One of the foreign journalists saw eight large dogs lying dead in a bunch. He took a picture. I was at the IOC press conference where Mark Adams said the IOC had no updates on the dog issue and that the Russian authorities had told them a sterilisation program was being done.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif]The sterilisation should have been done when the Olympics were awarded. But these people do not seem to know much about how the sterilisation program works.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif]Now, it is a losing battle. I am seeing scared dogs running and avoiding humans in the complex where I am staying. Earlier, dogs came up to me, wagging their tails, at the bus stop. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif]Olympic Park and its periphery have been cleared. No dogs visible there now so I think the pest control company has done its job thoroughly. Reports here said they were using traps and poison. Dog-haters also leave meat laced with poison in the open.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif]The number of dogs is low, not like in India. The real trigger was on the 2nd of Feb, during the dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony. A dog ran into the stadium. But that shows that the perimeter is not properly guarded, like the 2011 Indian F1 GP. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, sans-serif]The foreign journalists here who are dog lovers are trying their best to use the social media. But there is little time because there is so much work. Please do what you can at your end. That's all we can do. I will have some free time after the Olympics end and will go to the shelter and give a donation. That is the pitifully little I can do.
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