Would you Take Your Dog to Dog Island?

What if once and for all, your dog could live back in time when he was in the wild, ultimately depending on his pack mates and ultimately, his own survival skills? What if your dog could one day be set free and enjoy the simplicity of the world around him, like running wild in the grass, hunting for wild rabbits and rolling in the dirt without being scolded? What if all of this was possible? What if dogs could be brought back in time, when they could depend only on themselves without human intervention and the stress associated with urban life? No more crates, no more collars, no more leashes and most of all, no more owners?

It may sound like a big change, a devastating one, or a blissful one, something that may cause controversy in many owners. It takes great courage and unselfishness to admit that dogs are better off without us. Yes, they offer us unconditional love but what really makes a dog happy? Dog island, free forever, has certainly stirred up many different feeling in dog owners world wide, but what is Dog Island and how does it work?

Dog Island, part of the US Minor Outlying Islands is reachable from the Coast of Tallahassee, Florida within a three hour boat ride. It is home to over 2,500 dogs who roam finally free and happy. Dogs here are allowed loads of space where they can romp around the island engaging in their favorite activities such as playing, hunting and feasting on prey.

Thousands of rabbits, fish, rodents and other natural prey are available for dogs to hunt here. To be precise, about 10,000 rabbits were released on the island 2 years ago and many are happily reproducing providing a great amount of meat for all canids. Also, surrounded by other dogs, canines are allowed to be social, form a pack and create healthy families as nature intended.

Dog Island is really not one island, rather, it consists of a complex of different islands. Following are the islands and their specifications.

• Mega Dog Island

This island is the largest island of all and it is home to dogs of medium-large sizes.

• Huge Dog Island

On this island live dogs that are not really aggressive but that would rather do better if they mingled with dogs that do not belong in their category.

• Tiny Dogs Island

This island is of course home to very small dogs such as Chihuahuas and miniature Poodles that are fragile and need to be keep safely away from the larger dogs.

While Dog Island sounds like heaven to a dog's ears, owners may have a lot of questions. Perhaps the most natural ones are: Am I going to be able to see my dog again, and is my dog going to be safe?

Dog Island organizes three trips a year for visitors to see the island. During these trips there are no guarantees that they will be able to see their dog again. Some are fortunate enough to make a happy encounter, whereas others are just happy to see the new place their dog lives in and instinctually know that their dog is joyous and free somewhere on the island, as part of a natural system of life.

Is my dog going to be safe? What if he fights with other dogs?

Safety is really something that belongs to modern day. We wear helmets, have insurance policies, wear safety belts and fear the unknown. In the wild, animals rely on instinct to be safe. They must tune in to mother nature and resort to their old instincts buried somewhere but ready to come out in an instance. 

Dogs on the island will hunt and survive as they were built to. They may enjoy artificial caves purposely built on the shoreline to provide shelter from the rain. Climate on the island however is beautiful almost year long so shelter is rarely needed.

One interesting fact is that in order to avoid fights, before sending a new dog to Dog Island risking it to be attacked and destroyed by other dog packs, it is sent to spend time together with other dogs in a bungalow. Here dogs are allowed to ''pack up together''. No new dogs are sent alone on the island, rather a full pack of dogs is sent together to avoid fights.

Owners of dogs suffering from inter-dog aggression may worry if their canine friend may disrupt in a serious dog fight. It cannot be hidden the fact that dog fight happen occasionally, but the beauty is that when placed together, dogs often learn how to get along. At times, dogs may gang up together and decide to kill another dog, but this is an inevitable fact of life, a natural event that may happen, just as homicides happen at times (or perhaps too many times) in our ''civilized'' society.

Dog Island therefore appears to be the true, but painstakingly difficult to swallow, concept that dogs are ultimately our slaves and that, if allowed to be set free, dogs will be able to rediscover their old instinctual roots and go back to being free canines. It may difficult to accept, but dogs will do just fine without us.

July 9th: just found out that Dog Island is a fake place. Read the disclaimer. Sounds like a hoax, Very likely it is.. and stupid me, I fell for it!