To promote the welfare of stray dogs and control feral animal populations on its campus, National Chi Nan University (NCNU) in Puli in Nantou County has launched a “campus dog” program.
The initiative is aimed at keeping stray dogs as campus guardians, and is the first of its kind among local universities.
With air of melancholia and a pair of innocent-looking eyes, one canine guardian, named Rice Sausage, has proven very popular among students, who affectionately call their canine friends the “angels of NCNU,” the university said.
Photo: Courtesy of National Chi Nan University
The school’s campus covers about 150 hectares of land, and is home to a number of stray dogs, the university said.
To manage the strays, the university started the campus dog program in 2002, adopting dogs that had exhibited a stable character and friendly demeanor, the university said, adding that five dogs have been officially adopted so far.
Dogs are by nature territorial, and it is normal for the campus dogs to ward off feral animals from outside of the campus, thereby enhancing campus security and prevent animal-disease epidemics, school officials said.
Photo: CNA
The five adoptees have become an integral part of campus life, and are mostly seen around restaurants, convenience stores and a complex deep inside the campus, the school officials said.
Members of the school’s animal welfare club took photographs and wrote advertising leaflets for each campus dog, and each one wears a distinctive collar and accessories.
The school added that a number of other dogs are kept in kennels on campus, and the club is looking for suitable people to adopt one of the “frat-pack.”
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