Dogs, Cats and Rams...oh my?

There is a wolf pack living on my street.
Ok, It’s more like four homeless dogs that live in the three half built houses that surround mine. In Tunisia the idea of pets is pretty strange, only the rich own a dog and having a cat for a pet is laughable. I personal have a entire family(who I’ve named) who lives underneath my window.
As for the idea of animal control, Tunisians don’t have anything like a pound. When I asked my host cousin what they did with the all the extra dogs the answer was one of the most darkly comic things I have ever heard.
In the summer months men driving a large van roam up and down the streets. When these men find a dog they jump out of they van and shoot it. They shoot the dog with a handgun in the street! They don’t take the dog into the van and then kill it, they shoot it in the street. Amira was telling me that they don’t always hit the dog the first time and will run after it on foot, shooting at the animal! I hope you understand what I mean by darkly comic.
Another common animal practice is ram fighting. Its just like cock fighting except with rams. It’s legal and very regulated with many different leagues. I walked past one of these rams training the other day and I wish I could have taken a picture because the rams are painted with patterns and bright colors. This one I saw had orange stripes all over him.
Us in America have such a different image of animals and their rights. In a country with great poverty the idea of spending government money on wild cats and dogs is out of place. I obviously disagree with this awful treatment of animals but when my host cousin heard that I knew many families that chose to have Dogs instead of children, she was disgusted. She said that it was the most selfish thing that she had ever heard. “If you are blessed enough to be in love and can afford to have children then it is a great disservice to God if you don’t have them.” While I don’t know if I agree with this either, I am fascinated by the difference in Tunisian and American values.

This picture is of the happiest puppy I have ever seen. He lived behind a restaurant near Douga and would wag his tail so hard that he would fall over <3!