On a bright sunny evening, while I was relaxing on one of Goa’s many beaches, the sight of a white-bellied sea eagle through my binoculars made me feel good. However, something was troubling me.
Dogs! Not just any dogs but those annoying little ones who hang around everywhere in India – at beaches, famous monuments, beautiful parks, and tourist spots. In fact, there are some 62 million stray dogs, menacing the country, and this terrified me! But I also wondered whether these strays were unknown strangers or friendly but abandoned companions.
While I pondered, a pack of barking dogs were drooling at the sight of yummy snacks served by the local shack at the seashore. This took me back to the time when I used to have nightmares—spooky dreams where stray dogs chased me down a rocky cliff.
An ever-present problem
It has been four years and my fear of stray dogs still remains. The other day at my coaching class, I worried about a whole pack of strays I could see scavenging on the cricket pitch. At least I was able to laugh when a friend made a joke about them being fielders.
However, the situation with stray dogs isn’t very funny. Dozens make a home in the garbage-filled streets of Bengaluru, India. I have often seen people buying exotic breeds of dogs like labradors and chihuahuas who might provide immense joy. Unfortunately, stray dogs, unlike these pets, struggle for a single drop of water to drink.
This reminded me of the book Gopi’s Day Out by Sudha Murty. Gopi, a dog adopted by a kind and loving family, was lost one day. As he wanders through the streets, he notices the true life of stray dogs. On the way, he befriends a bone-thin dog who struggles to find morsels of food every day. Together, they journey out into the world of strays. Similarly, Woof by Aparna Karthikeyan is a real-life story about a stray dog named Shingmo and her daily life while growing up at the beach.
I truly feel that stories like these reflect and remind us about how much pain stray dogs feel. I have seen too many aggressive packs of starving dogs or news articles about car accidents where dogs have been killed. Although I once thought of them as troublesome creatures, I feel sad and pitiful seeing them struggle now.
Life-changing project
My perspective about stray dogs changed while working on a school project titled ‘Caring for stray dogs’.My friends and I researched about the problems caused by stray dogs globally, the reasons for their increasing population and the different initiatives we can take to raise awareness about them. As we completed our project, we found that humans abandon their pets for many reasons. These include financial constraints, lack of awareness, evacuation difficulties during natural disasters, health issues, and inadequate time to care for pets.
During our research we learnt about a disease called rabies that is caused by unvaccinated stray dog bites. We discovered that 97 percent of all rabies cases in India involved stray dogs (the others were related to stray cats and wild animals such as jackals and mongooses).
As part of the project, I surveyed my classmates from Grade 4 and recorded a total of 19 responses. The data revealed that 26.3 percent of the students took care or fed stray dogs very often. Also, 52.6 percent of the participants were not aware of organisations that care for stray dogs. This project and especially our survey results made me reflect on what practical steps I could take to address the stray dog problem.
Charlie Animal Rescue Centre (CARE) provides one solution. I visited CARE to interview a manager and meet a few rescued dogs—Mowgli, Captain and Skye, who melted my heart. The motive behind the organisation came from ‘Charlie’ who was a three-legged Indian dog who excelled in the field of canine therapy. This organisation vaccinates and uses sterilisers to prevent diseases like rabies. They provide varied services such as adoption, ambulance rescue, and trauma care for street animals.
Moving forward
My mindset about stray dogs has now gradually changed. I am no longer covered in goosebumps whenever I catch sight of them. Instead, I am confident when I encounter any stray because I see them as abandoned animals that have no home. I hope that sharing my journey helps others think twice about stray dogs, raises awareness about rabies through organisations like CARE, and the different actions we can take to help these animals. I urge people to care for animals like they would for themselves. Let us all take an oath to do our best in protecting stray dogs.
Kitten catastrophe
In the society where I live, a striped yellow cat gave birth to a dozen cute little kittens. As they grew up a bunch of girls kept feeding them milk and other cat treats. They never knew what dangers they were risking. They could have gotten scratched or bitten by the kittens, which could result in the transmission of rabies. The mother cat also looked pretty overfed to me. This happened for quite a while. The mischievous kittens kept venturing out in the neighbourhood and soon everyone had a kitten trailing behind them.
One sunny morning a naughty little kitten accidentally got stuck inside the engine of a car. When I heard this, I felt terrified. Finally, after a lot of time and effort spent rescuing it, the kitten was safe and sound. The lesson I learnt is that it helps to have a little awareness about the animal and its needs before we start taking care of it.
Further Reading
Karthikeyan, A. 2023. Woof! Adventures by the sea. Chennai: Red Panda, an imprint of Westland Publications.
