Pets Poisoned In Cotacachi, Ecuador
Cotacachi is a beautiful little city nestled between 2 volcanos in the Andes which we have lovingly refer to as the “Mayberry of the Andes “. Recently, a darker side is showing its demon face. This began over the 2019 holidays when 2 dogs were being walked on their leash by their owner when they snapped poisoned bait laced with cyanide and died right before the owner’s eyes. Yes, folks poisoned with cyanide! So who has access to cyanide? Seems like it is available readily and no control measure. This was followed by 20 + other dogs being poisoned and dying and is continuing. If you have ever witnessed an animal being poisoned which I have it is a cruel painful death. A large number of deaths surrounded Amici Cannis Animal Foundation location (click on the link to learn about Amici Cannis) which is dedicated to Cotacachi and surrounding communities in a spay and neuter program. Thanks to Amici Cannis Animal Foundation their program has made tremendous strides in reducing the street dog population by eliminating the reproduction of unwanted puppies and kittens that end up on the streets.
When we first moved to Cotacachi 7 years ago we learned that the local city police would mark dogs with spray paint that were to be poisoned since this was their method to get rid of unwanted animals. Before the mass slaughter would begin the police would announce over loudspeakers the day before for owners to keep their pets locked up. This is not practiced today. Well, not that I approve of the barbaric method but remember in the United States we catch and warehouse dogs which are eventually put in a gas chamber to die. I was a volunteer at a local Animal Shelter in Arlington, Texas. We worked relentlessly to get pets adopted and even local Pets Mart partnered with us to host adoption days in their stores. There are now laws in Ecuador about cruelty to animals. But now I am seeing a non-human shift since it not only street dogs being poisoned but innocent household loved pets. The culture is indeed changing because there are many Ecuadorians that love their pets just as much as the Expats. Concerned locals both Educadorian and Expats have met with the local police in a town hall meeting so that they can address the problem and find out about what is being done and assure an active investigation is ongoing. So we wait and we wait and the dogs keep being poisoned.
A 1,000 reward is being offered from community donations to find the demon that is doing this but so far no one has come forward.
I have been told that the Ecuadorians will not “rat” on each other. But this may not be an Ecuadorian it very well could be an Expat. Folks are now afraid to walk their dogs in the beautiful city. So it has not become a nice place to live. There seems to be an abundance of Expats that have emotional problems that they brought with them in their luggage when they moved here. So it could easily be a pissed off Expat. We certainly could use Mr. Rogers!
In the past, if you asked me if I had it all to do over again about moving to Cotacachi I would have responded with a resounding “Yes”. But now it would be a reluctant “Maybe”.
The following song is dedicated to all our beloved pets waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge
Texas Annie Ecuador
