Living miserably in the "dog and cat neighborhood"
At 7am, dog and cat shops on Le Hong Phong Street (District 10, Ho Chi Minh City) were already opening. At NT dog and cat shop (387 Le Hong Phong), the staff had just opened the iron door slightly when nearly a hundred dogs and cats started screaming miserably.
The haunting screams of pets in the "dog and cat street" in Ho Chi Minh City (Clip: Ha Di).
Next to the pet shop, the residents in alley 379 Le Hong Phong sighed in frustration, quickly took their motorbikes out and quickly closed their doors. The residents here admitted that they had to keep their doors closed all day, only opening them in the morning to go to work and in the evening when they returned home.
Mr. Tung, a resident living in the alley, sighed when someone mentioned the effects that the people here have to endure because of the house selling nearly a hundred dogs and cats at the beginning of the alley.
"It stinks! I've lived here for 30 years. Before, my main door had a vent, but in the past 7 years I had to seal it. It already stinks just having a few dogs in the house, but here they keep hundreds of dogs at the same time. Honestly, our lives are miserable," he said indignantly.
Mr. Tung confided that this alley used to be the most peaceful place in the city. When his daughter was little, Mr. Tung often let her go out to the alley to play with other children.
People's houses are always closed (Photo: Ha Di).
The once cheerful neighborhood has now fallen into silence as all households close their doors day and night. The alley is also devoid of children and elderly people because of the stench that permeates the entire alley.
Meals no longer taste good, clothes have to be hung indoors for fear of being smelled... are the things that Mr. Tung's family has to endure.
Ms. Huong, a resident of the alley, said that every morning she has to sweep the yard in front of her house. Every time she sweeps, Ms. Huong is frustrated when she "collects" thick piles of animal hair.
Ms. Huong has lived here for more than 10 years, but in the past 7-8 years, except in emergencies, Ms. Huong confirmed that she has never taken her child for a walk outside because the smell of the pets is terrible.
"The stench is almost all day long, even standing a few houses away is still terrible. The dogs and cats there are of unknown origin, I'm afraid my children will catch an infectious disease so I don't let them leave the house. The house is cramped and the children have to stay inside, unable to go out. My baby is 7 months old but the number of times he leaves the house can be counted on one hand," the woman shared.
The bustling alley, filled with the laughter of children and the elderly, is now silent (Photo: Ha Di).
Furthermore, Ms. Huong and other households are tired of the dogs barking all day long, especially during feeding times or when they see strangers passing by.
"Even though we closed the door, we still couldn't rest at noon. The dogs barked like drums. In the bedroom, my husband and I had to build a noise-proof glass partition so our child could sleep there," said Ms. Huong.
According to Mr. Tung, the local residents have reported this incident to the local authorities many times. However, after many times of advising and working with the business, everything is still the same.
"If possible, I just hope that the dog and cat suppliers will reduce the number of pets to 10-20 or the government will take decisive measures to relocate them to prevent these impacts on residents. We understand that it is very difficult to completely end these problems, but please think about the lives of the households here," Mr. Tung earnestly said.
Where do dogs and cats come from?
Posing as a person looking for a lost dog, Dan Tri reporter stopped by the NT dog and cat supply facility. Before he could say anything, the consultant continuously greeted him with a series of questions: "Lost your dog? Is it lost or stolen? Give me the information and I'll find it for you, it will be available this afternoon."
The officer in charge repeatedly affirmed that even if the dog was lost or stolen, it could be found within the afternoon.
Animals of unknown origin lie in cages at a dog and cat supply facility on Le Hong Phong Street (Photo: Ha Di).
When the customer provides the dog’s information, the employee quotes a price of 100,000 VND to find the dog. In the event that the dog is stolen and sold to pet stores in the city, the customer must pay an additional ransom of millions of VND, sometimes even more expensive than the original purchase price of the dog.
However, if the stolen dog has been moved to another province, the staff confirmed that "even if you pay 20 million VND to ransom it, you still won't be able to get it back."
Nearly a hundred dogs and cats at the facility on Le Hong Phong Street (Photo: Ha Di).
The conversation was constantly interrupted by dogs barking at people. Furthermore, the extremely foul smell rushed straight into the nose, causing the communicator to sometimes have to try hard not to… vomit.
Among the dogs and cats lying panting in their cages, some had no strength left to scream. Even more horrifying, some cats were sick, their eyes were covered with pus, and some dogs vomited on the spot and then ate the vomit.
The staff admitted that the animals here do not have papers or clear origins, and if they do, they are only... fake papers (Photo: Ha Di).
The staff said the animals here cost several million VND each. However, most of them are stolen pets or pets that the owners no longer keep and are being sold. The staff only informed that the dogs and cats here have been fully vaccinated, but could not prove the origin of the pets.
Even another dog and cat shop on Le Hong Phong street confidently shared: "Dogs and cats here do not have papers. They are all fake papers. I will print out as many papers as you want."
This raises concerns about the safety of these animals and the difficulty in seeing an end to the miserable lives of the people here.
*Character names have been changed
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