Right to survive
It’s high time street dogs were treated with the care and respect they deserve. ALYSHA THARANI
The debate is on. They are the regulars on the street and can be better than those pedigrees if taken good care of. Why do people blame them for attacking after hitting them with a stone first? Where have the animal lovers gone? And why hand them over to the dog catcher only to be killed brutally. It is time to get our moves right. And how? Garbage is the major attraction.
Small steps
So let us dispose our garbage properly. Vaccinate and sterilize these dogs. Vaccination will terminate any chances of rabies after being bitten and sterilization will prevent these dogs from reproducing. It may sound brutal to terminate their race, but it is better than killing them barbarically. A little care for the stray dogs is what we did at my campus, FLAME, Pune. Over the past two years the debate has been going on as to how to ‘dispose’ the dogs off. There were students like me who didn’t mind them being around and there were the others who wanted them out of the same space. In the first year, there were ten dogs which were under our care, the favourite being Rani.
The second year, there were new dogs, the favourites being Piddi and Mofo. Though these dogs were again domesticated, there were other night wanderers who disturbed the peaceful atmosphere, framing Piddi and Mofo for their crimes.History was to repeat itself but this time in more thoughtful ways. FLAME students like Kritika Kapadia, Kabir Kathpalia, Namrata Anirudh and Kannagi Shanbaug reasoned with the management and got helpful tips from the Blue Cross Society, which works for the welfare of dogs.
Huge battle
They drafted a letter to the management taking responsibility for all their actions and promising no other complaint. After this huge battle, the dogs were vaccinated and sterilized. Kritika says, “a dog free world isn’t possible”, indicating a peaceful coexistence of man and dogs should be aimed at. This can be replicated in all the cities and keep our hands off stray dog blood. “After all these dogs may be a menace but that doesn’t take away their right to live”, says Kavita, a FLAME student.
Alysha is doing her BBA with Liberal Arts at FLAME, Pune.
Popularity: 1% [?]
hello there.. am in nerul,navi mumbai and am doing my MBA at a college here. we also have a few stray dogs in our campus and as mentioned in the article above, few love them and few hate them esp. the managment. i got the two female dogs sterilised and the pups and other stray dogs have grown up. now after i finish my college i don’t know what’ ll happen to these dogs here. cos its hard to find like-minded people.mumbai doesnt have any facility like in chennai, u can leave the stray dogs at blue cross.
one should try to learn the importance of a dog y people say them 2 be more trust worthy and the best friend of human although we have evolved from apes but we always have a good and the best companion in a dog.never ever try 2 b brutal with them,its moaning and barking might be annoying 2 everyone but think in a constructive way that only because of them ur safe from the thieves and the burglar.people would only learn from their own mistakes but dont try 2 repeat them we are in a position that now we have only countable number of tigers in India dont let that happen with the “HUMANS BEST FRIEND”
Dear Usha,
Sorry for the late reply. I appreciate your concern, love and the sense of responsibility for the dogs even after you have graduated. Blue Cross society has several branches all over India.
There is an organization called Welfare of Stray Dogs in Mumbai which you can contact for further help and guidance.
http://www.wsdindia.org/