Be forewarned: The photo below is not for the squeamish.
For the last couple of years, I've been regularly visiting a stretch of land – actually railroad right of way – under an I-630 overpass. It's now part of the master plan for a bike and walking trail that will connect the Central High area with the capitol, and I was originally drawn to it as an abandoned wild space within the city, but what has kept me going back is what I found there. The stretch has become a dumping ground for dead dogs. In fact, what first drew my attention to the area was a circling of buzzards one warm spring day. I walked back to find several dog remains – given sizes, breeds, and injuries, most appeared to be fighting dogs – wrapped in plastic garbage bags and dumped away from any roads. And this wasn't a one-time thing. Each time I have checked back, I have found new carcasses and new skeletons, including this past weekend. I have begun collecting some of the bones and processing them for a future project.
