About one in every hundred of these unvaccinated wild dogs have rabies. See Animal Facts: Dogs for further statistics. While many countries run tightly controlled dog vaccine programs; canine-rabies is a major problem in many countries.

What will happen to this dog?

If it bites someone, or is suspected to have rabies it could be caged and left to die in agony if rabies is present, or it may be clubbed to death.

If it has rabies, can it be cured?

Once a dog shows symptoms of rabies, it's too late. That's why it's important to vaccinate against rabies.

Why can't all dogs just be given shots?

That's a great idea! If all dogs had their rabies shots, it would practically wipe the disease out. 55,000 human would be saved in the process.
The problem is, there are sometimes vaccine shortages in countries where canine-rabies is a problem. Also, not everyone can afford to get their pet vaccinated.

So, can anything be done to help these animals?

Yes. While we may not be able to vaccinate all dogs, (as much as we'd like to!) we can make a start! For each dog we vaccinate, many more lives - animal and human lives - will be spared. At RFW we've joined forces with CARA Philippines to help dogs like the one we photographed. Please join our free Heart a Puppy Club to show your support and check out our click2vaccinate program.