What Tbilisi street dogs and their human patrons can teach us about animal agency and multispecies care

Y. Kisora; B. Bovenkerk; C. Driessen

What Tbilisi street dogs and their human patrons can teach us about animal agency and multispecies care

In: EurSafe2024 Proceedings

Authors:

Y. Kisora

Y. Kisora ¹Philosophy chair group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
²Cultural geography chair group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
^*Corresponding author, e-mail: kisoray@gmail.com

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B. Bovenkerk

B. Bovenkerk ¹Philosophy chair group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands

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, and

C. Driessen

C. Driessen ²Cultural geography chair group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands

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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 236–241

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004715509_039

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Free-roaming dogs are often identified as a societal, ecological and welfare issue that has to be dealt with by the reduction of their populations and, eventually, their complete disappearance. In opposition to lethal or displacement methods, Collect, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return (CNVR) promotes social and spatial connections that result from returning dogs to the same area. This paper focuses on investigating the role of canine agency and human caretaking in establishing a more harmonious co-existence within local communities by looking into a case study of street dogs in Tbilisi, Georgia, and a system of patronage that supplements a CNVR programme. Methodologically, the paper is based on interviews with caretakers and observations of different packs, but we use here an example of one of them, Bukia dogs, named by local residents after a city square they have been inhabiting for over 10 years, Bukia garden. Studying those connections reveal agential capacities of dogs themselves that enable them to establish social connections, effectively communicate with familiar and unfamiliar humans and navigate urban environments. At the same time, a system of patronage allows willing humans to act as caretakers, mediators and ambassadors for the dogs, while giving them space for self-determination. We suggest that one of the solutions to the ‘issue’ of free-roaming dogs could be a committed yet limited caretaking by humans, all the while taking canine agency seriously through engaging in multispecies care.

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EurSafe2024 Proceedings

Back to the future - Sustainable innovations for ethical food production and consumption

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004715509

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 03 Sep 2024

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What Tbilisi street dogs and their human patrons can teach us about animal agency and multispecies care

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EurSafe2024 Proceedings

Back to the future - Sustainable innovations for ethical food production and consumption

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