This article is in defence of stray dogs. It has been written with anguish, and anger, but not in blindness, and certainly not with a lack of empathy for the parents of a little girl who tragically lost her life in Delhi’s Tughlak Lane. It has been written to drive home a simple and obvious fact that so many seem to have decided to ignore as they ravenously throw around the phrase ‘stray dog menace’ — dogs aren’t humans, and they aren’t plotting to kill you.
A few years ago, a friend called me and posed a bizarre question. She said that her pet dog, whom she adopted off the streets, had bitten her. She was appalled that he bit the person who fed him and took him into her home. How could he, she said. How could he bite the hand that feeds him? I was annoyed, of course. My advice to her was to stop trying to search for her dog’s conscience and hire a trainer.
She isn’t the only one. Many who seem to dislike stray dogs look at them as if they have brains that function just like a human’s. Oh, they attack with malice, they bite to injure, they charge at you to kill. Oh, these evil, malicious beasts, plotting to poop on my porch!
‘Stray dog menace’ a human-made crisis
It would be a gross understatement to say that I love dogs. I cannot imagine my life without them. When I look at them, I wonder how such pure creatures were born on this imperfect planet. I have seen dogs heal people, help them cope with grief, and make an unliveable life liveable. I have seen them show love that isn’t human; it’s far, far superior. In this thing called life, they are almost an anomaly, a blip.
But you don’t have to see them through my eyes. I fully respect your decision to not like them, or even be afraid of them. But you do need to understand, that this ‘stray dog menace’ that you speak of is an entirely human-made crisis. Behind it is an arrogant, dominant species that thinks it is the sole heir to every inch of space on this planet. Just like we are usurping more and more territory of wild animals, we are swallowing up more and more space that once was home to strays.
Hate to mention the obvious, but stray dogs are animals. They do not think like humans, they don’t know logic, they aren’t operating with a conscience. They aren’t attacking humans or (allegedly) killing children, intentionally. They are simply trying to survive. If you push them to a corner, they will have no option but to defend themselves. If they are driven to the utmost limit of starvation, they will try to eat what looks to them like food, like a shark that mistakes a surfer for a seal.
A stray dog’s life is three parts debilitating hunger, five parts fear, and seven parts abuse. The other day I saw a post by a rescuer who had picked up a sick puppy from the streets. He had eaten a used sanitary napkin out of sheer hunger. Another post was of a pup dragging herself on the streets. A shopkeeper had broken her legs. She died a few days later.
And that is why, when even Faye D’Souza decides to use the term ‘stray dog problem’ (in a now-deleted Instagram post), all hell breaks loose. Because using this term shows a blatant lack of understanding and a pompous bias toward our species. If you hear of one case a month of a stray dog attacking a human being, try following the social media handles of a few animal rescuers in India. Rapes, stabbings, a puppy flung off a high-rise, mass killings, poisoning, hit-and-runs, acid attacks. I will find you one such case of animal cruelty a day.
The irony is that any animal rescuer you speak to in India will tell you something you may not expect coming from them. They’ll all post adoring videos of stray dogs, but they dream of a day when not a single dog roams the streets. They are on the same page as the dog haters in this matter. Because they spend most of their days tending to dogs abused by human beings, and the rest of their time desperately seeking donations to be able to pay their veterinary bills.
Also read: Middle-class Indians want dog-mukt smart cities. But it isn’t possible without mass killings
Find real solutions
One of the biggest solutions to this conflict is sterilisation on a war footing. Yet, the government, which has taken the responsibility of carrying out ABC (animal birth control) drives, is blatantly cavalier about implementing them. Even when this most humane answer is staring them in the face, their go-to is hiding the stray dogs when there’s a G20 Summit, because who cares, dogs can’t vote. Many rescue groups conduct sterilisations privately, but it’s never enough. They don’t have the kind of funds governments do.
Today, several resident welfare associations are on a crusade against stray dogs, although there are a couple of exceptions. Some RWAs work hand-in-hand with community feeders to ensure both canines and humans co-exist peacefully, coordinating on sterilisations, and demarcating feeding zones.
However, some irresponsible feeders aren’t careful where they put down food and don’t dispose off remnants, riling residents and adding to the problem.
Many politicians love promising ‘stray dog shelters’, but that is not a solution. Free-roaming dogs cannot adjust to it because the streets are their home. Confining them will only frustrate them, and can make them more aggressive.
If governments truly want to find a solution to dog bites, why don’t they commission studies? Put researchers to work to find solutions instead of just paying lip service to aggrieved families. Social awareness among disadvantaged families on how to co-exist with stray dogs can also help, and rescue groups would be more than willing to participate. Some of them already do conduct sensitisation programmes.
Another factor that’s keeping this conflict burning is the rabble-rousing on social media from both sides. As long as both dog lovers and dog haters go at one another’s throats, a solution cannot be found.
When I sometimes try to put myself in a stray dog’s shoes, I think of how life would be if I lived permanently in a minefield. Speeding cars that can run over me at any moment, splattering my insides on an expressway, a buffet of garbage for food, a heavy beating with a rod for stealing a kebab, slurping from a filthy puddle to quench my thirst. A dark corner to die in, if I fall ill, and if I am lucky, a human being to tend to my wounds.
Dogs and humans have lived as companions for centuries. Both have been a great source of comfort to each other. The solutions to the current conflict are staring us in the face. If only we could tamp down the anger and the hate.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
Good to read that someone is presenting the point of view of an animal. Strerilisation and feeding program are indeed the only solutions to reduce community dogs population and reduce agression amongst them and make them human friendly.
Loved your piece.
This is a well-balanced article and points to the most important solution for stray dog population reduction which is sterilisation. An NGO organisation called Canine Control and Care has been doing consistent sterilisation in Pune city for 10 years and the last report by Pune Corporation shows 42.8%!! Only a lac of dogs are left on the streets and most are healthy strays. This clearly proves that their population can be controlled and managed well with sterilisation.
The British were killing stray dogs for hundreds of years in India still today we have so many dogs! This is because culling dogs does not reduce their population – the dogs that escape the cull will continue to breed and population increases again.
Do you know India has the highest pet abandonment rate – where do you think all the stray dogs come of the streets? It is the stupid dog owners who abandon dogs for smallest of reasons as dogs are owned for status and not because they love that animal.
India needs steriliastion for stray dogs and cats on war footing – this is the best solution for permanent control of stray dog population.
Gitanjali Das – hats off to you and The Print for printing this solid article backed by science and not fear of stray dogs. Thank you.
good to read and understood reality…been following u from many days and this one earns more respect from me. kudos to your work. all the best to u and your type people.
That’s the irony of being human …..humans are powerful dominating nd selfish beings nd they are at no 1 to misuse their intellectual nd power both ……if you think euthanizing someone who Chase you bite you or dirty your surroundings is the solution to all these problems then be honest nd have one policy for all …..let’s start euthanizing all those who Chase humans rape them kill them burn them shoot them alive blast them for no reason be it an animal or a human why all these trials in courts why waste your money time nd energy ????
An interesting article, but I am afraid that stray dogs in India are a menace. We have been hearing of sterilization as a solution to this forever now, but let’s face it the (local) governments will never get their acts together on this. So, I feel that the rights of humans must also be protected. For example, to the best of my knowledge, in most places in the U.S., if a dog attacks and injures a human, it is euthanized. On the other hand, in India, from what I understand, even mad dogs cannot be culled. Surely, this is not right.