PORTRAITS OF PET OWNERS IN RURAL ECUADOR
In 2022 I traveled to Ecuador to photograph spay and neuter clinics organized by Soul Dog Rescue. The clinics took place in Guamote, a small town, and Pull Chico, a rural hamlet. Both communities are 95% indigenous.
It is easy for people to admonish underserved communities, accusing them of being irresponsible pet owners. But the reality is, when given the opportunities and resources, these communities not only show up for their pets, but they rally and move mountains to do right by them.
In Ecuador, people walked long distances, hours sometimes, often under the beating rain, to show up at their appointment. They had to trap their pets, bringing them in using ropes, fabrics, cardboard boxes, rice bags, because they rarely own a collar or a leash, let alone a pet carrier. People waited hours for their pet to go through surgery and emerge from anesthesia. They encouraged their friends, families, and neighbors to book an appointment too. Very few people owned a car, and it took a lot of commitment, trust, and dedication from these families, for hundreds of pets to be sterilized.
At the clinics, I set up a photo studio and offered to take portraits of the families with their pets. I also asked them a few questions about their animal, their relationship, challenges, and why they thought sterilizing their pet was important.
I hope to continue this project in various parts of the world. My goal is to not only portray these communities as responsible, caring pet guardians, but also explore how a simpler relationship between dogs and their people might look like. In these villages, dogs never walk on a leash. Most are free roaming, and still choose to stay with their families. I am also fascinated by how our gender dynamics permeate the relationship between dogs and humans.
Maria and her dog Nena. Nena was a gift to Maria from her son, who has “many dogs”. “If you are nice to him, he will be nice. He eats scraps and leftovers. The reason why we are neutering him today, is because he is the only male dog in the family, and we have 3 other female dogs”.
Luz and one of her cats. ”After my son died, I was very ill, I would faint and I didn't feel good until I got closer to God. Then I understood a lot of things and it gave me the faith to live. I am very alone and my pets are my only companions. God is the Creator and Owner of everything. We are only here to manage whatever we get from him in life. Sterilizing our animals is getting in the way of His will. But I know it is the right thing to do to avoid suffering for everyone. I think God will understand and forgive me.”
Nelly, Edwin, and their dogs Luna and puppies. “We have three generations of dogs at home, the grandmother, Luna the mother, and these two puppies. We are getting them all sterilized.
Mario and Eveline, two cousins, brought their dogs Sholy and Kiari to a free spay/neuter clinic. Kiari was a gift from their aunt, who didn’t have time for the dog anymore. Sholy was a gift from a friend at school. Sholy is very loud, he barks a lot, but Eveline thinks he isn’t hard to manage. She likes how Sholy plays with her. She throws the ball for him. He sleeps in a doghouse in her bedroom. They are best friends. Eveline’s favorite thing about Sholy is that he greets her when she comes home. They brought the doggies in for sterilization that day because they don’t want to have puppies.
Maria Aida, Dumancela Ariel and their cats. “We have 15 dogs. I buy them rice and oats. They are sterilized. I tried my cats last year, but there wasn’t enough slots available. I heard about the clinic through a neighbor. He was on a motorcycle and gave me a ride. Last year I had to rent a car and tie the pets with ropes to bring them. It made me happy to know there was a campaign of sterilization, because animals here suffer a lot on the streets. They cry on the street. Also, now my female dogs do not go in heat and are calmer.”
Ana and her dog Max. “I bought Max in a pet shop when he was very little. He lives at home but sometimes he stays outside. He is 1 year old. He is a bit violent, with other people or dogs. With his family he behaves well. (That’s why neutering is important). I do not want him to fight anymore. Max is like a friend, a son. He follows me everywhere. I hope after the neuter surgery, he will calm down and not go after female dogs as much. I like this campaign. It will help reduce the number of dogs who don’t have a home and roam the streets. We have to bury a lot of dogs who die because of this. This campaign should take place in a lot of communities. Tomorrow I am bringing 2 more dogs. A lot of people have dogs in my community because there are a lot of robberies and pets keep the house safe. A lot of people poison the dogs and kill them to be able to get in the house and rob. There are also pets in the streets that get poisoned, and people just throw them in the garbage. However, it’s not as common nowadays because you can go to jail over something like that. I only kiss my dogs when they are puppies, because later you can get rabies from them. My grandkids told me about this clinic. They live with me because their mom lives in another country, and their dad drinks heavily.”
Maria, Ruth and their dogs Negra and Flor.
Maria and her dog Samba.
Luz and Pelusa. “I found Pelusa on the street one Thursday. Someone who has a lot of dogs threw her out, so I took her home. I have her there. She is playful and likes being loves. She is my first dog. She is very special, like a daughter. I come her, she hugs me, she barks at me, and she loves me very much. I have a little girl and they play with the ball together. She is my adoration, this little dog. I love her so much. I brought her to be sterilized because it’s important. So they can’t abandon dogs like they did her. I love her a lot.”
Luis, Mario, their dog Sasha and her puppies. “She’s had three litters. We were trying to take care of her and be careful, but she left and came back with a belly. She went in the street the first times, but we didn’t want her to have more puppies so we put her on the rooftop as a form of punishment but there was another dog. (The boy interjects: For just one day!). No matter how careful we were, she had puppies. That’s why we brought her to sterilize her. Her previous puppies still live. My dad, my neighbors took them. They live nearby. It’s good to have a friend and to have them take care of the house and everything. It’s important to have a dog in the house. They provide security. They make noises and bark and when someone comes to the house, they alert you. That’s why we have the dog. But we don’t want more dogs. We have this one and another small puppy like this one, and that’s it. We don’t want more because sometimes people don’t want to take the puppies and then it’s a lot. And there is the food. It’s very expensive.”
Carla, Sebastian and their dogs Kira and Chispa. “Our dogs were gifted to us as puppies. They are two years old and very playful. This one has had puppies twice before. But she didn’t raise them. They died. The other one never had puppies. We want them sterilized because we have a male dog at home and sometimes, we put them together. We love dogs. They are affectionate, they are our friends. We keep them inside the house with us. We have a little house on the rooftop, and they only sleep there at night. They are mostly with us. We wanted dogs, for the company. Not for security, just for the affection. They play with my son a lot and give us kisses.”
Maria and her dog Khali.
“I want her sterilized so we don’t get too many dogs. Because suddenly, they are in heat and there are other dogs, let’s say street dogs. They get caught and they can have puppies. And sometimes people don’t want them. For example, if the males aren’t the same breed as the female dog, the puppies don’t come out the same. When we want to gift them or adopt them, people don’t want them, because they say they are female dogs, or things like that. Sometimes people get scared because of her breed. Khali is my brother’s dog and she is like his girlfriend. He’s had her since she was 2 or 3 months old. He loves her more than his own life. She is very nice. Sometimes if other dogs cause fights, she will go, but she lives in a big space with other animals and she doesn’t do them any harm.”
Luz, Yasmin and their dogs Pelusa and Chispa.
Julia, Luz, Yasmin and their dogs Pelusa, Lupita and Chispa.
“She had 6 puppies. Two of them I am going to give as gifts, and the smallest ones are going to stay with me. In total I have 10 dogs. They guard animals.”
Ligia, Mateo and their dogs Cookie, Ojitos and Blanca. “Their mom died last weekend when she was run over by a car. These are her puppies. But we are going to take better care of them. This one is Ojitos because he has one bad eye. The other one is called Blanca. Their mom’s name was Pelusa. We want to sterilize them because as females when they get in heat they bleed and stain our furniture and sheets. They told us that by fixing them they will no longer bleed. Also, when their mom was in heat, she left home and that’s when she got pregnant. And we didn’t want puppies. We don’t want this to happen to them. They don’t live inside the house. They have a doghouse in another part of the house. We don’t let her in when she is bleeding. But she has a blanket outside to keep her warm. (Crying) I am so sad that our dog died. I never want to go through this again. We are going to be much more careful. Thank you for organizing this clinic.”
Maria Cecilia and her dogs Samantha and Preciosa.
“Every time she gave birth, she would have 3 or 4 puppies, sometimes 5. But that’s all. Not too many. I want her sterilized so she doesn’t have more puppies, so they don’t suffer anymore. They would suffer, the puppies. They would go through the streets looking for food and they would just leave the house. That’s why I came here to you, to ask a favor of you. So she wouldn’t have more puppies. With my dogs, I live more clearly. They are my company. My friends. They are like people.”
Dennys and his dog Rocky. Read the photo essay I wrote about them here.
Anahi, Edwin, Mayerli and their dogs Negro and Pepa. “Our dogs are our friends. They live in the house with us. They are 5 years old. No. 3 years old. They take care of the house. When I go somewhere, they take care of me. If someone comes close or near me. They roam around the plaza.”
Anderson and his dog Toni.
Elsa, Anderson, Genesis and their dog Toni.
Angel, Flor and their dog Pelusa. “Pelusa is our friend. We play ball with her. She lives in the house with us, and her sisters. We have 5 dogs.”
Jose and his dog Tarzan. “It’s important to sterilize Tarzan so he can be strong. He can be strong to hunt the wolf. He plays, plays, plays. He is a companion. It’s not necessary to hold him on a leash. He follows you. He is smart. He walks like he is a person, by my side. A dog is important for a family. It’s important for a dog to take care of the house. It’s the most important thing.”