Ukraine accused of killing stray dogs in preparation for Euro 2012.

(Soccer Dog should probably sit next years tournament out.)

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Animal welfare groups accuse Ukrainian authorities of using illegal and inhumane methods of killing stray dogs that cause long, agonizing deaths. They say dogs are often poisoned or injected with banned substances as officials rush to clear streets ahead of the Euro 2012 soccer championship next summer.

Euro 2012 organizers deny any involvement in a stray eradication campaign.

Full official statistics are hard to come by, but figures and estimates provided to The Associated Press by authorities in the Euro 2012 host cities of Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv show more than 9,000 dogs have been put to death over the past year. Animal protection groups believe the number is far higher.

Ukraine has a large stray dog population, estimated at tens of thousands in some cities. The dogs, often running in packs, can be seen on streets, in parks and even children's playgrounds. Nearly 3,000 people reported being bitten by stray dogs last year in Kiev and about 1,900 in Kharkiv, according to city officials.

Is anybody really surprised that this is happening in Ukraine? Before you condemn the way that the Ukrainian officials are handling their stray dog problem, you have to remember that these are the same people that allowed this dog problem to get out of control in the first place. How the hell do tens of thousands of stray dogs take over a city anyway? Local government officials in these cities must be absolute morons. At least they're finally taking some initiative, though. Sure, feeding the dogs poisoned sausages may not be the best way of dealing with the problem, but at least it's something. My brother lived in Ukraine for a few years and he said the stray dogs were a big problem. They were all over the place. One winter night he was walking down the street and he saw a dead dog that was frozen solid in a garbage can. Apparently somebody had found the dog dead on the street and threw it away. And believe me, that's better than just leaving it on the street, because another time over there he saw a dead dog on the street getting banged by a fellow stray dog. Nobody should have to see that, especially not a visiting soccer fan.

So it's pretty obvious that something has to be done about the stray problem with the start of Euro 2012 rapidly approaching. Sure, we have to think about the welfare and safety of the fans, but I think more importantly, we should be thinking about the welfare and safety of all the whores that are shipped in to service those fans. Everybody knows that the success of an international soccer tournament is judged soley on the quality and availability of the whores. And the whores can't exactly avoid the dogs by hiding in their hotel rooms until kick-off now can they? Fuck no, they have to be out there on the front lines, pounding the pavement, and selling that ass. And if you think anybody is going to pay a premium price when there are bite marks from a stray dog all over said ass, you're probably a perfect candidate for local government in Ukraine.