Golden Labrador was one of the first dogs abandoned this summer
Bruno, a two-year-old golden Labrador was one of the first dogs to be abandoned this summer. Left tied up in Connaught Place, he has been living in the care of Friendicoes SECA for the past month, with no one coming in to claim him. The experience has left him agitated and distraught, making him extremely difficult for handlers to manage. A number of other dogs have shared the same fate as Bruno this summer.
"We have located at least 40 dogs which have been abandoned since April. There is definitely a 25-30% increase in the number of those abandoned during the summer months. People want to go off on vacations and they start to see their dog as a liability. We get around 300 calls a month from people who wish to ´donate´ their pets to us. When we refuse, they leave the dogs tied up near our shelters," says Mr Gautam Barat, co-founder of Friendicoes. However, leaving dogs near the shelter is still human as compared to those which have been thrown out of moving cars, drugged with sleeping pills, pushed into gutters, beaten and underfed before being abandoned.
"Due to so many dogs being abandoned and ill-treated, space and resources obviously become a problem. We have at least 150 dogs to house in our shelter at Defence Colony and we have roughly 60 cages available. Although we make hit and run cases our top priority, how can we refuse to keep an abandoned dog? A domesticated pet would never be able to survive on the streets for long," says Barat.
However, there are a few solutions to bring down the number of abandoned dogs. Says Ms Geeta Sheshamani, Friendicoes, "Compulsory registration and micro-chipping of dogs would definitely help. We would be able to locate the owner, find out if its stolen, keep track of illegal breeding and press charges if need be."
A lot of dogs also get abandoned in crowded market places like Sundar Nagar, Connaught Place, Hauz Khas and C R Park to name a few. This poses a threat not just to the dogs, but also to people of that area. "I was at Sundar Nagar market a few days ago and I nearly had my leg bitten off by a Doberman. Thankfully, I shut my car door just in time. The attack was entirely unprovoked and no one came to claim the dog. He had no collar or name tag. A few minutes later he ran off by himself. I don´t understand why people keep dogs if they end up leaving them at markets," says Aditi Trehan who works at Wipro. Ambika Shukla, People for Animals has a few pointers for those leaving behind their pets:
-Check with friends if they are willing to take care of your pet in your absence.
-Try locating a good shelter. But we would advice that you gradually ease your pet into living in a shelter and not make it an overnight process. Dropping him off and picking him up at intervals for a week is a good idea.
-Starting a neighbourhood pet sitting service is also a viable option, not just for the summers but all year round.
-Lastly, one should never abandon a pet simply because he is old or sick. This is the time when he most needs support and company.