When Thankachy Harindran picked a frail and frightened Cedar from the street, he looked like an old dog. But after shifting him to the People For Animals (PFA) shelter in Kollam she realised that the huge dog was only six months old and a pedigree pet abandoned by its owners. He is one among an increasing number of foreign breed dogs left to fend for themselves on the street. Currently the shelters in the State, which are very few in number, are finding it difficult to manage the swelling population of abandoned pedigree dogs.
No street exposure
“We usually bring injured strays and leave them back in the street after treatment. But the problem with pedigree dogs is that they have no street exposure and cannot survive in that environment. For the past few months there has been an alarming rise in their numbers,” says Ms. Harindran, who manages the shelter.
Preethi Sreevalsan, who runs the shelter in Thrissur, says she gets countless reports of Labradors, pugs, German shepherds, Rottweilers, dachshunds and even Saint Bernards roaming the streets.
“Every month we come across a minimum of 20 abandoned pets, but we cannot accommodate them all. Usually people buy these fancy dogs without any knowledge of the breed and when they find it difficult to handle the dog, they simply dump it,” she says.
It is not always animal lovers, NGOs or shelters who are left to deal with this issue. D. Shine Kumar, assistant director, Animal Husbandry Department, says many owners consider veterinary centres an ideal place to abandon their pets.
“Usually they leave behind old dogs, including those in toy breeds, besides those needing regular medical aid. They tie the dog to a pole on the hospital premise and leave. In the evening, we find these orphaned dogs and it is a major difficulty we face. Currently we are planning to install CCTV cameras at the centres to stop this practice,” he says.
Unlicensed shops
While majority of districts in Kerala have no shelters, unlicensed pet shops are mushrooming in all places.
“There are also breeders who use this hapless animals as breeding machines, totally ruining their health. Very often inbred puppies are deformed and they abandon them too,” says Ms. Harindran.
Pet culture
Though many point out lack of shelters and resources as a major concern, Sally Kannan, outreach coordinator, Humane Society International/India (HSI), says what Kerala needs urgently is a proper pet culture.
“In many families, they do not treat the pet as a companion animal, but keep them for security reasons. Even if there are more shelters, they will end up as dumping grounds only and it is definitely not a solution. What we need is proper awareness and sensitivity along with more clinics and treatment facilities.”
She adds more people in Kerala should come forward offering foster care to the dogs till they are adopted. “Be it taking care of the animals or making sure that the rules are followed, more people should be involved and what we need in Kerala is a community effort,” she says.