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by nwiswell 961 days ago
> Street dogs gather in packs and periodically attack people: not just small children, they go after grown men and women who are just walking down the street during daylight hours.

This happened to me at night in Istanbul 10 years ago. I was walking down a side street and a pack of 5-6 dogs noticed me and began to follow me. At first they were tentative, but increasingly the bolder ones in the group closed the distance. I began moving more quickly, but stepping backward, facing the dogs.

They clearly had violence on their minds. By the time I was approaching a well-lit main street, I had been lunged at a dozen times, with each dog only thinking better of it at the last instant.

I only had a backpack which I could use as a blunt weapon, and if the other dogs joined in following a strike from one of the boldest, I was not at all confident in the outcome. Easily one of the scariest experiences of my life.

2 comments

Maybe someone from Turkey can shed light but it seems to have become much better. In 2019 all strays were tagged and I was under the impression any ill behaved one would be dealt with.
I wonder how common this is as a cause of death.
There's a very vocal population of dog haters. You'd hear about it if anybody died.

Turkey is very close to social collapse. People take every opportunity to hate on another group. This goes for the other side -dog lovers- too.