How Rio is helping its stray cats and dogs leading up to the Olympics

When Olympic athletes returned home following the 2014 Sochi Olympics, many brought more than just medals – they brought dogs.

Some of the most memorable and heartwarming stories of the Games came out of those adoptions, as athletes took stray dogs right off the streets to give them new homes.

With all that animal attention at the last Olympics, there’s guaranteed to be plenty of scrutiny put on Rio de Janeiro this year. And that’s nothing new for the Brazilian metropolis.

In 2014, the government was accused of engaging in removal programs to control the stray dog population before the FIFA World Cup. This year, however, one animal rights agency stepped in to help oversee the city’s preparation for the Olympics.

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World Animal Protection, a nonprofit animal welfare organization, offered its support to the 2016 Rio Organizing Committee and has taken a number of steps to help the stray animal population. The agency began training Olympic operational teams earlier in the year on how to humanely handle animals and is also organizing adoption campaigns for both dogs and cats.

The group reportedly opened a new shelter for cats, which might help alleviate the stress currently on Rio. The largest animal shelter, Sociedade União Internacional Protetora dos Animais, or SUIPA, cares for more than 4,500 dogs, 600 cats and dozens of horses and other animals.

SUIPA, which was in the news just a week ago for saving a dog shot five times in a firefight, is a 73-year-old organization and is at risk of closing because of financial problems. Its debt is over $4 million amid Brazil’s current recession.

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While most people know about the dangers that dogs and cats have historically faced in Olympic zones, World Animal Protection noted that other animals like cattle, opossums, alligators and capybaras also live close to Olympic venues and need to be protected. Already, officials have come under fire for shooting a jaguar that was used in an Olympic torch ceremony.

Even with the added measures, there’s only so much World Animal Protection can do to control the large population of stray animals, especially dogs, before the 2016 Games begin, so it’s fair to expect more moments like these:

See a full slideshow of Sochi pups here.