HT : To love & to Cherish : Sept 24, 2007

CITY LIMITS - TO Love & TO Cherish...
 Killing them is banned and sterilising them is controversial. Would
adoption help the city's stray dog problem? A look at the issue as the BMC
starts a comprehensive census of stray dogs in the city 'THE PROBLEM IS THAT
PEOPLE THINK THAT EVERY DOG IN THE STREET HAS RABIES' Dr Ashish Sutar,
Manager, Parel Animal Hospital
 Naomi Canton
Mumbai

M OST MUMBAIKARS looking for a pet opt for a German Shepherd, a poodle or a
pug; it shows they have 'arrived'. Few queue up to adopt a stray dog. But
pop singer Raageshwari Loomba, 31, who took home a stray puppy she found in
her garden this April, says it is one of the best decisions she has made.
Loomba thinks that more people would adopt strays if more information was
available on how to go about it. It could also help reduce the number of
stray dogs in the city .

Earlier this year Justice Radhakrishnan of the Bombay High Court suggested
that every residential society adopt a stray dog. The judge made the
suggestion when he was hearing a bunch of petitions by animal welfare NGOs
on whether to lift the 1994 ban on killing of stray dogs. If each of the
200,000 buildings in Mumbai, adopted one, it would help reduce the number of
stray dogs in the city, said the judge. In return, the dog will guard the
society from intruders.

NGOs and charities agree the idea is praiseworthy, but admit the situation
is complex. Fizzah Shah, vice-president of In Defense of Animals (IDA)
Mumbai, says: "It can be difficult to persuade people to adopt strays as
most want pure breeds. The figures would bear her out: the Plant and Animals
Welfare Society (PAWS) gets less than 10 dogs adopted per month; the Welfare
of Stray Dogs (WSD) finds homes for five; and the Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit
Hospital in Parel and IDA re-home just four to five dogs each.

The NGOs are under pressure from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
(BMC) to concentrate their efforts on the sterilisation of stray dogs that
they carry out on behalf of the BMC. Following a proactive sterilisation
drive by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation with NGOs in Bhayandar
that has resulted in no new stray pups in the area, the BMC has decided to
set sterilisation targets for NGOs in its jurisdiction. Over 103,000 dogs
have been sterilised since 1994, when killing of strays was banned but
clearly, it is not enough.

Chief executive officer of WSD Abodh Aras adds: "There are limited resources
available to NGOs to educate people about pets. We are putting all our
efforts into sterilisation so adoption and education is lower on the
priority list." He says he would like to see children being educated about
cruelty to animals and the benefits that accrue from having pets such as
improved social skills, friendship and com- panionship.

Other efforts like the Parel hospital 'Adopt an animal' scheme has failed in
the past says its manager Dr Ashish Sutar. "The problem is that people think
that every dog in the street has rabies," he says. The Parel hospital used
to have an animal welfare officer, who visited city schools to create
awareness about such is sues but the post was axed a few years ago.
Aras concedes, "Adopting pets cannot be the solution to the problem of
strays as only a few can adopt. We need to make a law that every freeroaming
pet is sterilised and its owner forced to obtain a certificate to this
effect."

As vets confirm, stray dogs are more resistant to disease than pedigrees,
eat just about anything and are generally low-maintenance. Fizza Shah adds,
"A stray can be house trained as well as a pedigree."
But Mumbaikars continue to fly in expensive pedigrees from Bangalore and
Delhi. In a city where consumer aspirations are getting ever more upscale,
the cheaper, sensible and more humane alternative is just too short on the
glam quotient.

naomi.canton@hindustantimes.com WANT TO ADOPT A STRAY? Vet Dr Trilok Telang
tells you what you should know ¦ The animal can be adopted even if the
mother is with it. But do not sep arate the animal from the mother until it
is six to eight weeks old. ¦ Take the stray to a vet to ensure there is no
exist ing disease. It could have rabies, distemper (if it is a dog) or
panleu copaen (if a cat), all of which are fatal. If you can, take the
mother too; otherwise just take the puppy or kitten alone. ¦ If the vet
feels the animal is safe to adopt, he will give the animal a pro gramme of
vacci nations. ¦ The vet will advise you on how to clean, de-worm, de-flea,
de-tick and feed the ani mal. ¦ Above all, love and cherish your pet even if
it has had a humble start. IT'S A FACT 5 lakh The number of stray dogs in
Mumbai 11,000 The number of strays sterilised and vaccinated by NGOs in
Mumbai every year 3,632 The number of staff to be appointed by the BMC to
carry out a survey of all stray animals in the city 4.44cr Rs The amount
allotted by the government of India for the survey 40,000 The number of dog
bites reported in city every year

Publication : HT; Section :Gray Matter; Pg: 7; Date : 24/9/07
URL :
http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=23_09_2007_007_001&typ=0&pub=264