Argentina: Stray Dog Adopters Pay Less Taxes

If on top of gaining all the love that stray dogs have to give you, your taxes would be reduced for adopting them, would you accept the offer?

If you answered “yes” to the above qestion, you should seriously consider moving to the beautiful city of Alta Gracia, in the landlocked province of Córdoba, Argentina. Here, you can pay less taxes when you adopt a stray dog.

From a fine to a tax reduction

Here’s the story. The authorities of this municipality showed their concern — for several reasons— regarding the situation of the number of dogs in the street. They counted 22 just in the downtown area of ​​the city.

To counteract this situation, a councilor of the ruling provincial party had no better idea than to propose fining anyone who fed street dogs.

In this way, he sought to discourage dogs from being abandoned and, above all, from wandering constantly through the most commercial and tourist places of that mountain town. This is the place that had hosted Ernesto “Che” Guevara as a child, who arrived with his family in search of pure and dry air to improve his asthma.

He also argued that this would prevent fights between animals for food. As he explained, these could cause risks to pedestrians or vehicles.

Learn about the benefits of adopting stray dogs in Alta Gracia

As you can imagine, reactions against this initiative were not far behind. Not only did different animal rights defense organizations express their dissatisfaction. Also, the neighbors showed their outrage through social networks.

Facing the reaction of the inhabitants of Alta Gracia, animal lovers convened to look for an alternative solution to the issue of stray dogs.

So it was agreed that for 12 months, those who adopted a dog:

• Enjoy a reduction in their municipal tax equivalent to 50% of the rate corresponding to the annual minimum.
• Receive a bag of balanced dog food of good quality each month.
• Have access to free veterinary care for the pet in question.

The foundationsAmigos del Mejor Amigo (A.D.M.A) and the Ayuda Animal Social y Sustentable (FASS), the neighboring Claudia Sagrera and other non-governmental organizations participated in this agreement.

After the measure was imposed, several dogs were quickly adopted in the city of Córdoba.

The initiative is already paying off. At the time of writing this article there were already 13 stray dogs that had found a new home.

To access this benefit, it is ensured that the adopters are able to provide the animals with the proper care. And it is also verified that they have an enclosed yard to prevent the dogs from escaping.

This measure will allow a savings of around 300 pesos to the neighbors who take an abandoned dog into their homes. This amounts to a bit more than 17 euros.

For its part, the Municipality of Alta Gracia must carry out awareness campaigns aimed at preventing the abandonment of pets.

An initiative in favor of pets that is worthy of imitation

Undoubtedly, the measure taken by the authorities of this Cordovan municipality is worthy of imitation. Especially when Argentines’ purchasing power decreases. It continues to decrease because of different actions carried out by the national government.

Some time ago, we said that this country holds the record of having the highest number of pets per inhabitant. According to a study, 80% of those interviewed indicated that they had at least one pet, above all dogs.

But when the economic situation of the population deteriorates, unfortunately dogs run the risk of being abandoned. It is due to how impossible it is to afford food and other minimum care.

Hopefully the situation will reverse. We dream that all Argentine pets might continue to enjoy a good life with their owners.