Holland has achieved a challenging feat. They have become the first country without homeless dogs.

Stray Dogs Are a Global Issue

Homeless dogs are a global issue. In the United States alone, 3.3 million stray dogs enter shelters every year. (1)

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Peter Zheutlin is the author of Rescued: What Second-Chance Dogs Teach Us About Living with Purpose, Loving with Abandon, and Finding Joy in the Little Things. “People are often very often surprised when I tell them that the picture … of dogs running on highways and so forth, this is not just a third world problem — that exists here in the United States,” he said in a 2017 interview with NPR. (2)

Beyond their own decreased quality of life, stray dogs create safety issues for people they come into contact with. They can spread diseases like rabies. And they can cause traffic accidents when crossing streets and highways, especially when roaming in packs. (2)

The Netherlands’ History with Dogs

Considering the number of stray dogs in the United States, we can learn a lot from The Netherlands. Their road to eradicating homelessness for dogs started about 200 years ago.

In the 1800s, dog ownership in The Netherlands was connected to socioeconomic status. Wealthy families kept dogs as pets or for sporting, while poorer people owned guard and working dogs. (3)

There weren’t regulations for keeping dogs at this point, so they often roamed freely. They would breed with other dogs, which lead to a spike in strays. To try to decrease the number of homeless dogs, the Dutch government created a dog tax. However, this turned out to be counterproductive, as many people couldn’t afford the tax. Instead, they made matters worse by abandoning their dogs. (3, 4)

But modern culture and family structures started to change the relationship between dogs and humans. As people started having fewer children and, therefore, smaller families, there was more time and energy to spend with pets. People went from seeing canines as slaves or employees, as they did in the 1800s, to viewing them as friends or children. (3)

Additionally, the first animal protection agency opened in 1864 in The Hague. The animal protection act passed in 1962, followed by the animal health and welfare law at the end of the 20th century making harm or neglect towards animals a crime. (2, 3)

How Holland Became the First Country with Zero Stray Dogs

To completely rid their country of homeless dogs, the Dutch have implemented specific strategies. They continue to follow these on an ongoing basis. (4)

They created a nationwide Collect-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (CNVR) program. This government-funded program sterilized dogs that were found on the street. It also brought them up to date on vaccinations before returning them to where they were found. (4)

Many of Holland’s municipalities increased taxes on dogs bought in stores. This encouraged people to adopt pets from shelters rather than purchasing them. (4)

To ensure animal welfare in The Netherlands, the country set up an animal police force. Their job is to rescue animals in danger and investigate the mistreatment of animals. Holland even has a political party based around animal rights, called the Party for the Animals. Its leader, Marianne Thieme, believes that human and animal welfare are interconnected. (4)

Through these strategies, this pet-loving country has eradicated the issue of stray dogs. It is estimated that one in five Dutch homes has a pet dog. (4)

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