An average of 50,000 dogs are estimated to be abandoned in Italy annually, bringing the number of strays in the country to between 500 and 700 thousand. Domesticated for their use, consumption, service and pleasure, man’s so-called best friend is sent back to the sender – in the best case a kennel, in the worst case the street – often due to lack of time, resources or opportunities, spaces, changing conditions, but also due to unfulfilled expectations of the animal, be it companion or service animal.
Stray dog management is a widespread and worrying problem, with most shelters overcrowded and relying on limited resources. Each dog costs the Italian public purse EUR 3.5 per day, for a national total of EUR 385,000, or EUR 126 million per year, calculated for 2018. Further aggravating factors in the financial difficulties are the lack of attention from local authorities and the lack of a culture of animal care and protection, partly compensated for by the dedication and commitment of the various voluntary associations.
Those who are not even allowed the luxury of a kennel are left to hope that they are not among those 8 out of 10 who do not survive the cold, hunger, disease and dangers of the streets. Among the most notorious hazards, a lesson from ancient hunters, are the poisoned morsels, scattered in parks, gardens or other public places, used to curb straying: lethal cocktails of commercially available ingredients mixed with meat, lard or other fragrant traps. However much the data or their interpretation may teach a lesson, it would still be pretentious to understand the phenomenon fully and as a whole. Instead, outside institutions or even outside the most organised associations, a different response to abandonment is discovered, unnoticed and perhaps misunderstood: an abandonment of the self or another less common form of love.
A family surrogate
This is the hidden story of a life of self-sacrifice and dedication of Salvatore, as we shall call him, a 70-year-old man who for 30 years has made stray dogs his de facto family, offering a service, hidden and without reference, to his small port town in northern Sardinia. For much of his life, his story mirrors that of many others: a wife, children, and a job as a warehouseman in a frozen food company in an old industrial area. But his cause, perhaps his destiny, went beyond human ties and duties. He began taking care of the stray dogs in the area, creating for them a space, a refuge, a surrogate family, until he became an unofficial alternative shelter to the street, a doormat of the consciences of those who, while getting rid of the dog, knew it was entrusted to someone else’s conscience.
His pack reached an almost inconceivable number, gathering over a hundred abandoned dogs until a life with a typical home and family was no longer compatible with his dedication.
His care and commitment were not enough to stem the locals’ concerns. Having to witness repeated poisonings, accidents and other atrocious endings, Salvatore was left with no choice but to take refuge with his herd, out of the gaze and responsibility of the townspeople. Since then, Salvatore and his unconventional family have inhabited the warehouses emptied by the failure of the great industrial dream, at least now serving a new purpose. More than 10 years have now passed since his move, as many as the years of the youngest of his dogs, with whom Salvatore has grown old, learning new trades and skills out of dedication and necessity, administering his pension as his primary and only source of funding, accompanied by occasional donations of food.
To the last breath
His daily work is incessant, punctuated by the collection and sorting of scraps from butcher shops and bakeries, the preparation of meals, the meticulous cleaning of spaces, the regular consultation with his trusted vets for the daily complete check-ups and specific therapies for each of the dogs, which he never fails to fulfil. She accompanies her companions to the end, whose stories and personalities she tells by calling each one by its name.
Dedication inherently brings sacrifice, the aspiration of many but the choice of few. Salvatore is one of those few who abandons his ego for the good of his pack, now numbering just under 30 dogs. This a choice he continues to make every day, and, like a captain of his ship, Salvatore says he will not fail in his mission until the last member of the family he has chosen for himself leaves him.
