Struggling to feed families, Venezuelans abandon pets

Duke is pictured at the Famproa dogs shelter in Los Teques, Venezuela August 18, 2016. Duke was left tied outside the shelter about five months ago. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

LOS TEQUES, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelans struggling to feed their families, let alone their pets, during the country's deep economic crisis are increasingly abandoning emaciated dogs in streets, public parks and makeshift shelters because they no longer can afford to care for them.

At one dilapidated sanctuary in the hills outside the capital Caracas, hundreds of scrawny dogs bark and claw through wire mesh to scavenge for food in the streets and forest land nearby.