以下我以一則今年一月二十九日在國外所寫的英文日記和讀者分享我的田野工作經驗。該日記紀錄一月十五日我在鹽水溪野地的捕犬、絕育和放養的實況，讀者從該日記可以一窺野地生態、野地犬繁殖問題以及放養的方式，希望能引起國人對野地犬的關懷、重視流浪犬個案研究以及參與野地犬的繁殖控制。

台灣流浪犬族群數多如牛毛，這些族群大多都棲息於空地和野地，捕捉甚為困難。個案研究把族群當成一單元，重視整個族群鍥而不捨的悉數捕捉絕育，使每一小地區的狗不會因有落網之魚而於短短數個月內又恢復原來的數量，以致前功盡棄。

About two weeks before I left Taiwan, we paid another visit to the wild area to try and catch feral dogs for spaying/neutering. From a distance, we could see five dogs resting on the dirt road that bordered a couple of fish ponds. However, to our great disappointment, they all ran away as we approached them. They cautiously kept a watch on us from a fish pond another 200 meters away. 

We then walked to see a fisherman in a shed behind his fish ponds. He greeted us and said “It is too difficult catching those smart dogs. They have been around here for a long time. I even tried setting off firecrackers one time, trying to scare them away. I didn’t want them bothering me when I was barbequing chickens in the yard.” The fisherman continued, “Now whenever they see me on my motorcycle, they bark and chase me until I am out of their sight.”   

The fisherman may have thought that dog rescuers like us put dogs' interest before his and may have had hard feelings towards us. So, to allay this misconception, we reassured him that we were helping to control the dog population in the wild. He smiled and said politely “It is good that you guys come around and try to do something about the situation here. I really appreciate it.”

After we had left the fisherman that day, we wandered around some other fish ponds where a different group of dogs were resting. It was about noon and apparently the dogs were taking a nap. The whole place was quiet and we thought we might be able to sneak up and dart one of them from a closer distance.

So we walked toward them slowly, hoping not to startle them. Then we saw that a dog was lying on a nearby road sleeping. We tip-toed in like a thief stopping about 5 meters from the dog. It was a female. Quickly we shot her with the tranquilizer. The dog ran away with the dart about 200 meters and then squatted on the ground unable to move any further.

We carefully pulled the van over to where the dog lay. We bent over the dog to remove the syringe from her hip, put her inside a cage, loaded her into the van, and took off. It took us about 20 minutes to get to the animal hospital. At the sight of our van the vet, courteous as usual, came to the hospital door to receive us and help us carry the cage inside his clinic.

What a relief it was to be able to turn the dog over to the vet for a while. We were starting to feel hungry because it was already past our lunch time. We decided to walk to a shop a couple of blocks down from the animal hospital to get some food.

We were still eating and chatting at the shop when the vet called. He said he was done spaying. We returned to the hospital shortly and found the dog was already inside the cage. The vet told us that the dog had been pregnant and was half way through her gestation.

Unfortunately, six litters of puppies had been born in the wild area during the past two months. Their prospects for life in the wild will be bleak if the dog population remains unchecked. Assuredly the government would not tolerate an unchecked dog population and would use it as an excuse to step in. Therefore, we had no choice but to end her pregnancy.

We took the dog back to her living place to recuperate. The place is peaceful being surrounded by thick bushes. After setting her free she managed to walk for a couple of minutes in under the bushes. There she stayed on the ground to relax herself.

It was about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and the weather was mild. Under the afternoon sun light, the dog's reddish fur blended well with the light brown brush which she was leaning. The grass nest the dog was sitting in looked pretty cozy. She looked up toward us softly and seemed to want some privacy. We wished her a good day and departed.