Sochi Olympics Royally Screwed The Pooch

The 2014 Olympic games began with an asterisk. During the opening ceremonies, five enormous illuminated snowflakes hanging in mid-air were supposed to transform to the iconic Olympic rings, however the fifth stubbornly malfunctioned, leaving the world wondering if the Games, at this early stage, had gone to the dogs.
My brother-in-law and I were watching these yawn-inducing opening ceremonies when my wife walked in delivering impassioned, rapid-fire information: “They’re killing dogs there! Shut it off! Banned! They are killing dogs!” What? After my initial shock wore off, an Internet search ensued and it was soon revealed that what she was saying was unbelievably horrific, but true.
How do you solve a problem like a plethora of puppies? If you’re Sochi, Russia, you murder them. It was reported that the city of Sochi contracted Baysa Services, a pest control company, to round up and kill thousands of stray dogs wandering the streets. “Let’s call things by their real name,” Alexei Sorokin, director of Baysa Services told ABC News. “These dogs are biological trash.” In a separate interview, Sorokin claimed, “A dog ran into the Fisht Stadium, we took it away. God forbid something like this happens at the actual opening ceremony. This will be a disgrace for the whole country.” Yes, absolutely. God forbid. Russia would never recover from such a scandal!
So this is the Ruskies’ solution: a heartless, inhumane extermination of man’s best friend. I guess you can’t blame them though; it was just announced in 2007 that Sochi would be hosting. So they only had seven years to prepare for the Olympics – only seven years to find a solution to the dog problem that didn’t involve slaughtering them. Oh, and they also only spent more than any other country in history on the games: $50 billion. I guess none of that could be set aside to save those animals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a purported dog-lover himself has, of course, not commented on the issue. In fact, during the swell of the controversy, Putin had the gall to bring his own dog Yume, a 2-year-old Akita (a Japanese breed), to Sochi. “Yume,” for the record, means “dream” not “nightmare,” which is what the strays in Sochi are experiencing.
It is unclear how the actual killings are performed though there have been some reports from people who have witnessed the slow painful deaths of these animals, most likely from unforgiving poisons. Meanwhile, the games continue and some of the world’s finest athletes go for the gold. I don’t blame them for what goes on outside arena walls. They’ve worked all their lives to compete at this level. It isn’t the athletes’ fault this year’s host country couldn’t cull their canines properly before they hit the slopes.
I’m not a complete ignoramus. I understand that the dogs in question are not all the well-behaved, housetrained love-bugs we spoiled suburban Americans are head-over-heels in love with. No doubt some of Sochi’s strays are downright dangerous and carry diseases. Do I want to see a young child bitten by a rabid, homeless Rottweiler? Of course not! But surely there’s a better way to go about this?
As I write this Feb. 13, animal activists in Russia have set up special camps for rescued animals, and thank God for them. Some of the images on news sites show our adorable furry friends being carried gently to cars and driven away from the hunting grounds. Those dogs being photographed don’t appear to be wild, teeth snaring mouth-foamers. They only look sad and thankful.
And whom should we be thanking? The saviors are often anonymous but we do know that Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Basic Element Company and major financial contributor to the games themselves, backed a “dog-rescue golf cart” and shelter, a sort of shanty village for strays. The effort to save as many dogs as possible has been ongoing since October 2013.
The New York Times interviewed Olga Melnikova, an organizer for the effort. “We were told, ‘Either you take all the dogs from the Olympic Village or we will shoot them,” said Melnikova. The shelter’s volunteers have also given medical vaccinations and are hoping that some of the Olympic spectators will consider adopting some of the dogs.
One other person of note is American slopestyle and freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy. The athlete has taken time from his rigorous competitions to get involved. He is adopting at least one stray and plans to bring it home with him when the Olympics have concluded. Kenworthy received much well-deserved recognition when he tweeted pictures of himself holding several stray puppies in Sochi.
“Also, for the people wondering, I’ve lined up kennels 4 the pups & made vaccination appointments. Doing all I can to bring them home w/ me!” Kenworthy tweeted Feb. 12. If I were there, I’d take one too! My wife would probably claim a dozen.
But as much as I wish Kenworthy luck (did he get to stand on the podium?), I am not watching these Olympic Games this year. I also won’t be buying my boarding pass to Sochi anytime soon (read: ever). But I do thank the heroes who are addressing this heinous problem. It is one that never should have existed in the first place. With more than ample time, funds and manpower, something should have been done long ago to head off this travesty. But it was not. Russia should be ashamed. The Sochi Olympics royally screwed the pooch.
Bryon Cahill has a Twitter account @shakabry where he gives dogs, cats and all species big and small lots of kisses and hugs.