The Struga municipality won't be building a stray dog shelter for now, after the Municipal Council failed to adopt the feasibility study for a project worth around 523,000 euros. Half a million euros for a stray dog shelter - a sum that immediately raises questions from all sides.

On one hand, the problem of strays in Struga and in nearly all Macedonian towns is real - it's a matter of both public health and basic humanity toward the animals. On the other hand, a price of over half a million euros for a single shelter in a small municipality justifiably raises eyebrows: who calculated that figure, and what exactly goes into it?

Rejecting the study can mean two things - either the Council showed rare financial prudence, or it simply swept the problem under the rug for another season. The strays won't disappear because one project was rejected; they stay on the streets, and the residents are left with the same problem.

The question Struga needs to ask itself isn't only "is half a million too much," but "why does the solution cost that much." When every infrastructure project here comes with a price that looks inflated, the residents' skepticism isn't cynicism - it's learned experience. The only question is whether anyone will ever give a clear answer, or whether the problem will be left waiting for the next budget.