A Dog’s Life

SITTING AT THE dentist’s table, Wrigley, a golden cocker spaniel, watches as a four-year-old boy un­dergoes a root canal treatment in a South Delhi locality. When the child winces softly in pain, Wrigley barks, cautioning the dentist, who stops for a moment. The child keeps looking at the spaniel, waiting to jump off and play with him. Wrigley, a therapy dog, waits un­moving, his eyes on the patient, till the procedure is completed.

Walking out of the clinic thinking a dog must be a child’s best friend, more than a man’s or woman’s, WhatsApp groups were flooded with messages on the Supreme Court’s order to National Capital Region (NCR) authorities to round up all stray dogs, put them in shelters within eight weeks, and not release them back into public places. The court had taken suo motu cognisance of a news report on strays attacking children and causing rabies. It triggered an uproar; resonating on social media, television, and the streets. Protests cut across political affiliations, class, caste, age, and gender. There were petitions by animal rights activists, experts and individuals who dubbed it cruel, impractical, unsci­entific, and counterproductive. Former Union minister and ani­mal rights activist Maneka Gandhi said it is “a very strange order  given by someone in anger. Angry judgments are never sensible.”

On the other side was disconcerting data—over 26,000 dog bites reported in Delhi so far this year while it stood at 68,090 in 2024, as per the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Accord­ing to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, in Parliament in April, there have been 25,210 dog bites in Delhi last year, but no rabies deaths since 2022. The World Health Orga­nization (WHO) says as per available information, rabies causes 18,000-20,000 deaths every year across the country.

Was confining dogs to shelters the answer? In the absence of a dog census since 2009, when 5.6 lakh stray dogs were found to be in Delhi, rough estimates have put the present number at around 10 lakh. This meant that even if 5,000 dogs are taken into one shelter, it would require 200 sprawling shelters. Each dog would need to be fed and given medical aid. Maneka Gandhi said that if three lakh dogs were removed, three lakh others would fill that space. Animal rights activists, experts and stray dog caregiv­ers say confining dogs to shelters would be calamitous, fearing that non-neutered dogs would mate, resulting in more numbers, and being territorial they would fight for space and food, get aggressive and harm each other.

Mahatma Gandhi had said the “greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” American writer Mark Twain had said “the more I learn about people, the more I love my dog.” It was in a Supreme Court case in 1870 in the American state of Missouri that the phrase “man’s best friend” gained popularity after a lawyer, defending a farmer whose dog was shot dead by a neighbour, made an emotional closing argument, a eulogy to dogs, moving the jurors.

What has made people turn against their best companion, a no­tion that goes back thousands of years, reflecting the bond between humans and dogs? The advice to write about this matter in “a purely scientific” sense, “not an emotional one” is sane but testing.

Three days after the Supreme Court ruling, sparking off pro­tests, a three-judge Bench, while reserving the order, noted that the problem had stemmed from inaction of local authorities. The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, based on court directives, involve capturing stray dogs, neutering them, vaccinating against rabies and releasing them into their original territory, a formula which made the Netherlands the first country to eradicate stray dogs without mass culling. About a week after the court order, the Union government, reinforcing its commitment to addressing the “growing menace of stray dogs through a humane and scientific approach”, made it clear that it intended to contain their population through the ABC programme, endorsing the views of animal rights activists. The ABC rules, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, are in line with global standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), promoting the Capture-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release method, it said.

Whatever the court or government decides, the debate will continue. “Why has it been reduced to a human rights versus animal rights, or a dog lovers versus dog haters debate? This is a public health issue that requires the entire community to unite and push the ABC programme,” says Kuhu Roy of Bridging Rain­bows Foundation, a non-profit organisation promoting transpar­ency in the ABC programme.

Roy, a clinical nutritionist and pet loss grief specialist, who has prescribed a detailed digitalisation of the ABC programme, blames the situation on the lack of accountability and corruption of local authorities and animal welfare organisations in implementing the programme. In a petition to Chief Justice BR Gavai, she has drafted a master plan to fill “gaps” in the implementation of the programme across the country, thereby supporting the government’s efforts to aim for zero deaths due to dog-mediated rabies by 2030.

MCD, ALONG WITH NGOs, operates 20 ABC centres where dogs are kept for up to 10 days post-sterilisation before being released into their territories. Maneka Gan­dhi has estimated the cost of construction of 3,000 shelters for three lakh dogs, staff and vans itself at around ₹15,000 crore. Besides, the food would cost ₹5 crore a week. For a cash-strapped MCD, the plan looked unfeasible.

“It costs an average ₹50 per dog a day to feed and attend to their medical exigencies, sterilisation and vaccinations. If there are 10 lakh dogs in NCR, you can imagine what it means. Besides, relocating is the most traumatic thing for dogs,” says Arnaz Bhagwagar, a Noida-based volunteer who has been looking after 60 community dogs, mainly with her own resources, since the Covid lockdown. In a corner of a park where she drives every eve­ning to feed them, the dogs calmly wait for their plate of rice with chicken or curd or eggs, as she calls each one by name. All are neu­tered, except Jimmy, the latest entrant who was thrown out with her pups by nearby residents. She plans to get her splayed too.

“One is not denying that people get attacked. It should not happen. You cannot undermine their fears. But cruelty is not an answer to fear. The ABC guidelines are very specific. You feed them, vaccinate and sterilise them and return them to their ter­ritory and they will be a calmer lot, eventually leading to their numbers dwindling,” says Arnaz.

Those opposing confining stray dogs to shelters say there are humane ways to contain their population—ensuring municipal corporations strictly follow ABC guidelines, creating awareness about them, updating data and involving volunteers. But for vic­tims of dog bites, none of these is assuring. Deepak Arora, a resi­dent of Karol Bagh, whose nine-year-old daughter was attacked by strays, favours confining street dogs to shelters. “My daughter, who loved feeding stray dogs, was mauled and had to undergo a painful course of injections. For families like ours, this is not just a debate, it’s an experienced trauma. Those opposing the court order should step forward and adopt the dogs. We don’t want any other child to go through what mine did.”

Roasie Virq, co-founder of Air Foundation, a non-profit or­ganisation involved in environmental protection and wildlife conservation, along with a group of volunteers, met Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh and suggested creating a core committee with locals of Delhi, representing each zone which, with MCD’s help, manages dog-related issues in a humane manner. “Many of us have been taking care of community animals for decades from our personal funds, without any support from government. Why not involve them in a structured process with MCD?”

Under ABC rules, the local authority is responsible for vaccina­tion, sterilisation and deworming of street animals and can engage an animal welfare organisation recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India. On complaints regarding dog bites, it suggests that local authorities establish a helpline. It stipulates that any suspected rabid dog be subjected to inspection, and if found to be having a high probability of rabies, be isolated. A dog generally dies within 10 days of contracting rabies.

“Many countries have recognised animals as sentient beings. In several colonies, socialisation of dogs is actively promoted with ordinary people feeding them in market places in clay food and water bowls, bringing their children along for bonding with the canines, among the most socialised of all in the animal kingdom. Once the animals are cared for by society, they are programmed by nature to return this kindness by protecting humans of that col­ony,” says Prabha Jagannathan of Canine Concerns Foundation.

In a letter to the chief justice, the Foundation says the focus should be on ramping up manifold the number of ABC centres with medical and paramedical staff besides trained catchers, where spends are monitored, and launching a public awareness campaign sensitising people and children about dogs and other animals. “This is about scientific, rational and logical processes acknowledged the world over for human health. The WHO is aware that cramming dogs into shelters on an industrial scale may lead to the spread of new diseases that affect humans,” says Jagannathan.

Deepak Saxena, director and co-owner of Pounchi and Furries Foundation, a private non-profit com­pany incorporated in Ghaziabad, blames the situa­tion on MCD. “Funds provided to it for sterilisation and putting microchips on dogs were siphoned. As a result, we have no idea about the actual number of strays in Delhi. The logistics needed for imple­menting the Supreme Court order are a nightmare. Where is the money? Where is the space?” asks Saxena who runs a private shelter-cum-medical boarding facility for dogs, currently sheltering around 250 of which over 235 are strays.

When Manasi Shimpi, a paediatric dentist, re­alised how traditional behavioural techniques were at times insufficient to calm children, she started ex­ploring the human-animal bond as a complemen­tary tool. She trained her spaniel Wrigley as a therapy dog, the first in the field of dentistry in India. “Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) is not about gimmicks or replacing traditional care. It enhances the treat­ment experience with scientifically supported in­teractions,” says Shimpi. When the child comes into the clinic, interactions with Wrigley not only release happy human hormones like Oxytocin and Dopa­mine but also reduce the levels of the stress hormone, Cortisol, calming the child before a procedure.

“AAI may not be suitable for children with allergies or an ir­rational fear of dogs. But for those who connect with Wrigley, the results speak volumes. My goal is also to raise awareness about the therapeutic value of the human-animal bond. Street dogs also have the right to live. How to coexist with animals can be part of education,” she says.

Vandana Menon, who is involved with animal welfare proj­ects, says the court order disregards Animal Welfare Board (Ad­ministrative) Rules, 1962, the ecological effects of completely removing one species, and the possibility of zoonotic diseases spreading among confined dogs. She suggests a first response helpline, awareness about ABC rules and ensuring proper dis­posal of garbage so strays do not end up near residential areas.

The furore over stray dogs is one that has not drawn a wedge along political lines. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, a veterinary sciences graduate, said the stray dog menace in Delhi can only be solved by regulating their pop­ulation and not by confining them to shelters. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posted on X: “Blanket removals are cruel, short­sighted and strip us of compassion… These voiceless souls are not ‘problems’ to be erased. Shelters, sterilisation, vaccination and community care can keep streets safe—without cruelty… We can ensure public safety and animal welfare go hand in hand.”

The human-stray dog conflict leads to an unending debate. Meanwhile, Wrigley, oblivious of the commotion over his species on the streets, has another appointment at the clinic, with a child who has to undergo a dental procedure.

animal rightsdog sheltersstray dogsStreet dogsSupreme Court of IndiaThe Animal Birth Controlthreat