After surgery, the dogs stay in the hospital till their injuries are healed. And, to avoid inconvenience of preparing food, the 'patients' are given costly dog food.Kozhikode: The stray dogs menace is a growing problem in Kerala. But this serious issue has thrown up some amusing moments for those involved in catching stray dogs.
For instance, there are people who are willing to catch the strays, but there are not enough dogs available. Dogs that are sterilized and released are returning to hospitals so that they can get 'good' food.
These scenes are played out on a daily basis at the special facilities run under the district panchayat's Karuna program to sterilize and vaccinate stray dogs.
Though dog bites are painful and the issue has acquired grave proportions, there is no shortage of lighter moments even amidst this serious issue.
The Karuna program envisages setting up required facilities at eight centers in the district and sterilize dogs from the area. The initial target was eight dogs a day, which was reduced to five later. Now the program is on at Perambra and Balussery only. It could be extended to Koyilandy too. The program is managed by Animal Cruelty Prevention Squad from Wayanad and they get Rs 1,450 per dog.
Dogged enthusiasm
The Medical College Hospital is flooded with dog-bite patients from Balussery but it has become difficult to find stray dogs in the area so much so that the progam runs the risk of being wound up.
The facility near the veterinary hospital in Vattoli is not getting more than eight dogs a day. They need at least 25 strays a day to run the center that includes specialist doctors. They point out that if 25 dogs can be sterilized a day, it will reduce the stray dog menace in a big way.
Food for thought
What happens to stray dogs, which rely on garbage as their main source of food, if they are given good quality food? Well, they return to the place they get the food.
After surgery, the dogs stay in the hospital till their injuries are healed. And, to avoid inconvenience of preparing food, the 'patients' are given costly dog food.
Once they are healed, the dogs are released at places from they are caught. At Perambra, such dogs return to the facility in search of food they got used to during their treatment.
Tail piece
"If a vehicle is provided the Balussery team is willing to come to the city and catch stray dogs. The program is being carried out with great difficulty. It is unfortunate that we are not getting enough dogs," says Dr A C Mohandas, deputy director, the animal husbandry department.
"Will it be possible to transport dogs in ordinary vehicles? I am not sure. The corporation's Animal Birth Control hospital at Poolakkadavu will be ready in a month," says Thottathil Ravindran, Kozhikode mayor.
