"The Greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." --Mahatma Gandhi

I found Eva on a damp and chilly Friday night. I had been playing poker in a local bar when I stepped outside for a quick break and some fresh air. Low and behold, There was this beautiful, sleek, jet black dog with the most gorgeous almost shaped eyes curled up on the steps by my feet. I bent down to pet her, and was instantly amazed by how well behaved and good natured she was. I swear to God you could have tugged on her tail and yanked her whiskers and she wouldn't have flinched. The dog knew Mandarin "sit", "come" and "don't do that" so it was pretty clear she'd been abandoned. The next day, I couldn't stop thinking about this lonely creature. I went back 24 hours later, just to see... and she was still there. She seemed so sad, and was suffering from a minor case of mange. Against my better judgement, I took her in. I think I knew it was a bad idea, even at the time. I'd already rescued 3 stray cats, and I'm not even a "dog person." But alas, the future for most strays in Taiwan is so dire, I couldn't help myself.

Some people know about Taiwan's stray animal problem... few realize just how bad it is. For a half crazy animal lover like me it can be kinda painful. And I live in what the local ex-pat crew fondly refer to as the "ghetto by the sea," so the problem is especially bad here.
(plz read: canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=e3336dd2-bdea...)
In the 1990s, Taiwan cities and counties would drown or starve dogs, animal rights groups say. Now they are sent to shelters and put down after a week unless adopted