Video dogs wandering from Via Transilvanica arouse controversy: “They come after a piece of bread, but we are tired”

On Via Transilvanica, animated with the arrival of spring, tourists frequently meet friendly dogs. Some consider them guiding animals and have provided excited accounts of them, but the locals warn that these dogs have masters and their loss cause suffering.

Spring again animated the hiking routes in the Carpathians, and on the most popular of them, via Transilvanica, the route of 1,400 kilometers, many tourists have already started on the road.

Some of them had memorable experiences: unexpected meetings with bears, dogs that accompanied them everywhere, but also long travel days through the loneliness of forests and wild. Their adventures caused some travelers to provide memorable accounts on social networks.

The friendly dogs of the man’s meadow

One of the most attractive places on Via Transilvanica is Ponor’s foundation. Until the place in the Șureanu Mountains, called the “palm of God” (video), the tourists go through a half -day forest road, starting from the area of ​​Târsa, where the asphalt stops at the end of the village, next to the former school in Cătunul Prihodiște.

The road passes through the man’s meadow (video), an old place of meeting the flocks of sheep in transhumance. Some sheep live on the wild landscape of the mountains, but the dogs here seem friendly to people, as many tourists who have wandered these ancient paths.

“I discovered that between Târsa and Ponor, on the route that passes through Ponor’s foundation, there is a ‘gang’ of shepherd dogs that accompany you if you receive them in your group. We met one: it came from another group of tourists directly to us, in Poiana Man, and we went to Ponor.

At Sălaș (temporary shelter in the mountains) were other people, accompanied by other dogs, with the same story: friendly animals that go with you, running through the woods after who knows what and plays through all the ponds on the road. Of course, if you endure to leave them and a little food ”tells Ana, on the Facebook group “Via Transilvanica”.

This adds that the host of the hall of the Ponor’s foundation (video) told tourists that the villagers know these dogs.

“They are regular animals with tourists and, in a way, they offer a ‘service’-they accompany you on isolated paths and, why not, I keep you from wild animals. What I want to convey to you is that I am incredibly gentle and friendly, and if you want a comrade, take a bit!the traveler added.

The message of the tourist has sparked a wave of comments and appreciation, and many travelers claim that they have been going through similar experiences. They were also accompanied by the animals they called “Călăuză dogs”.

“Our group started from Băile Tușnad, to Sânzieni (Sânzimion), and we were accompanied by three big dogs over a path of about 20 kilometers. They were playing between them and made races, for our amusement. We give them water and food (on the route, of course, we had divided with them from our sandwiches), but, in the arrival, we did not realize when they left us ”, reports a tourist.

Other tourists reported that they were scared at first, but then their heart returned again, seeing that the wandering animals are friendly.

“I met one like that, at Fundata. He came to us-I was on isolated hills and, logically, at first we were terrified, being far from civilization. It was big, woolly, white with black and it seemed like a chick. It was a memorable experience ”, says another tourist.

Some travelers passionate about the fact that the masters of the wandering dogs do not take care of them, which is why animals call for the mercy of tourists. I tell that they have noticed weak and sick dogs and that they always take food to help them.

“The cruelty and indolence towards the animals in the rural area in Romania are difficult to find elsewhere … and, right, and stupidity plays a role.”supports a tourist.

Controversies of wandering dogs

Some locals say, however, that the wandering animals on the mountain paths could do more harm than good, and the stories about the guide dogs are not related to reality.

“This is a classic example of distorting the real situation, through a too rich imagination. The respective dogs do not stand next to tourists” to save them from wild animals “, but because they learned that, spending time near humans, they also fall into a food. It is not a choice based on logic, bravery or care for people. It is an automatic response to a stimulus. What do these dogs feed on when there are no tourists in the area? The answer is offered by the post of posting: “He still runs through the forest after who knows what.” Well, he runs because from the woods he gets his food when we, the people, are not there. And I do not make molds: deer, wild boar, deer, rabbit – any “drop” is better than nothing “, Write another hike.

Dogs accompany people could be diseases of disease, he adds.

“” Not being careful-veterinary care, these dogs wear a lot of parasites, which can be transmitted to wild animals. Is they the fault that they are in this situation? Sure no. We are guilty, people, and this harmful mentality to feed and protect the dogs. All you have to do is aggravate the problem. says the local.

Tourists, irritated by the local response

His comment aroused irritation of other hikers on Via Transilvanica. One of them states that, in the end, he sees no problem if those dogs hunt, because they do it to feed and survive.

“If we really want to help them, we have to take care of them and give them a chance, but in Romania, the number of abandoned dogs is so great that, practically, this becomes impossible. Than to pass carelessly, even a corner of bread if it is offered, it can help them.“He adds.

These dogs do not have masters, but belong to the villages-there were born and were left free.

People know them and feed them in winter, the author of posting believes. “It seems to me that it is a true service that the locals offer to the tourists: protection and friendship”add it.

The shepherds are used to changing their adult dogs between them, and sometimes it happens that an alpha male does not like a new income and to get it, says a farmer and veterinarian. He explained how these animals come to wander.

“Be perhaps the third or fourth move, the dog no longer has the orientation needed to look for their initial sheep (where it grew) and look for the closest place where there are people, becoming a permanent inhabitant. Do not confuse the situation with that of the bear, which is wild and, if you once, when you do not give it!says the farmer.

The call of the locals to the tourists of Via Transilvanica

Some locals in the villages crossed by Via Transilvanica have asked tourists to ignore the wandering animals, even if they seem friendly.

“It is pleasant and beautiful for hikers, but for those who grow them is not as pleasant when they remain without them. The hikers would do well to ignore them, and so everyone would be happy. I had grandparents in the area and, in this way, a few dogs have disappeared. Those who talk about them. He does a lot of harm.writes another tourist.

The message of the tourist became popular has shortly led to the identification of the dog in the Târsa – Poiana Man area.

“The dog is my cousin, a dog with chip, vaccines and all the necessary. Throughout the holidays, the dog was searched in the area – I thought it was gone. The same thing happened to me last year, twice, when my puppy disappeared,” Write a local.

More and more tourists who go to Via Transilvanica, when I see a dog (most of the time near a house), mum with food, and the dog follows and disappears, he adds.

“I even had a situation in which I quarreled with a group of tourists when I went to recover my dog-they thought it was lying to them and that it was not mine. Unfortunately, this is a less beautiful part of the stories for the locals. More inhabitants of the village were forced to recover their dogs. much weaker. he concludes.