Sunday, January 25, 2009

Stray thoughts

Dogs cannot use condoms,” declares US celebrity Pamela Anderson. “but with municipality’s help, they can be ‘fixed,’ painlessly and permanently.” She has been in the forefront of a campaign against killing of stray dogs. Good intention, Pamela. Thanks to you and all animal rights activists.
I had personally seen the site run by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation where they put such dogs to sleep. It was pathetic. The sight of animals waiting to die can move you to tears, I swear.
Now, the other side of the story. I lived on a fifth floor flat, without elevator (How healthy!). One night, I was chased by a pack of dogs while returning after night duty. One particular dog chased me right up to the fourth floor. I literally ran, panting, and got my life back only when my wife opened the door. There are cases where two-wheeler riders got injured after running into mishaps, chased by dogs. And instances are there of babies being mauled.
The idea is to get the problem solved. Dogs should not be killed, but there is a need to protect human lives from harm. Do not forget, there are roughly around 70,000 stray dogs in Mumbai. Can municipalities, with all the bureaucracy involved, solve the issue that easily? Activists should now act to make the municipalities act, before the population of strays shoots up.

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