Review on -a better world for street dogs

Abstract

Stray dogs are correlated with environment and public health impacts. The key objective of this review is to create an awareness on finding an appropriate solution to eradicate the hunger of stray dogs. The reasons for dogs being homeless, the impact of aggression of dogs on public and the struggles faced by the stray dogs are elaborated in the article.

Full text

Review on - a better world for street dogs
Paviya Sri Nand Yamuna. R*
Department of Zoology
PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, Coimbatore.
Abstract
Stray dogs are correlated with environment and public health impacts. The key objective of this
review is to create an awareness on finding an appropriate solution to eradicate the hunger of
stray dogs. The reasons for dogs being homeless, the impact of aggression of dogs on public
and the struggles faced by the stray dogs are elaborated in the article.
Keywords: Street dogs, struggles of street dogs, Mamamatik.
Introduction
Dogs are one among the adorable animals who get adopted as pets. Globally the population of
dogs is estimated around 900 million. Although dogs are regarded to be the most petted animal,
majority of them are left homeless which is an unnoticed rapidly increasing global crisis. There
are around 6.2 crore street dogs in India. Most of the human population consider stray dogs as a
menace and a threat. Stray dogs in India depends on their origin and upbringing. Some stray
dogs are ‘originals’, born on the street. Some strays could be dogs abandoned by pet owners for
a host of reasons. Some stray dogs are nomad, pets whose movement their owners neglect.
Some of them spend most of their day out and return home only to eat food and for safe shelter.
In India Street dog population is closely associated with municipal sanitation practices.
Because, these homeless dogs often survive by scavenging rubbish, exposed garbage means
more healthy dogs and more puppies. Ironically, this actually makes the dogs a boon to public
sanitation. By scavenging garbage, they reduce perishable waste that could otherwise be a
source of contamination for people. And their presence around garbage keeps away other
potentially dangerous scavengers, such as rats and mice. Unfortunately, fear and ignorance have
led many Indian citizens and officials to see street dogs as nothing but a nuisance and to seek
eradication using inhumane methods such as poisoning and beating. But for every dog killed,
another typically comes in to take over that dog's territory. The only scientific method to
humanely reduce street dog populations is mass spay and neuters, commonly known as animal
birth control. The current review focuses on the different breeds of stray dogs in India, the
reasons for being homeless andan approach to safeguard them.
Reasons for increase in population of street dogs in India
The street dogs found in India are a big mix of different breeds over the years but the most
common breed or trait used to define the Indian street dog is the Indian Pariah dog/desi dog or
urban landraces similar to the Indian pariah/desi dog. The Indian pariah dog is also known as
the Indian native dog, termed as INDog. Pariah dogs are the first breed of dogs native to India.
Other than pariah there are Mudhol/Caravan Hound, Rampur Hound, Indian Mastiff,
Rajapalayam, Kombai, Kanni and Gaddi.
Science, Technology and Development
Volume XI Issue VIII AUGUST 2022
ISSN : 0950-0707
Page No : 243

Large amount of exposed garbage
The streets of India are littered with garbage (Jasmine Monrouxe, 2015).The dogs are not only
attracted to the leftovers but also to uncollected garbage. Stopping the habit of throwing away
the garbage bags on the street must be the first step to check the street dog menace. Street dogs
are found where there are chances for them to get food. Responsible waste management is one
of the possible methods to control the population of street dogs (K.Sarumathi, 2017). When a
dog has access to food, it increases the dogs' fecundity (ability to reproduce successfully) (Abi
T.Vanak, 2021). The waste from small road side shops, bakeries, meat shops, restaurants also
attract the huge dog population.
Lack of programs
In developed countries, almost every town, state has a government program that is allocated for
capturing stray dogs, vaccinating, spaying, neutering and working a shelter for adoption. This
type of programs are not well established in every part of India .However, there are local
municipal organizations that are working on programs quickly. The initiative to help stray dogs
needs a lot of funding from the government (Varsha singh, 2018) lawfully, the local authority of
an area is responsible for the management of all unrestricted dogs roaming on public streets or
in public spaces. But because local authorities might be falling short in their ability to do so,
individuals and organisations often assume responsibility for the management of these dogs.
This is largely driven by compassion and provides help to thousands of street dogs (Abi
T.Vanak, 2021)
Lack of sterilization
The government has enacted the animal birth control (ABC) rules, 2001 and as amended in
2010 has mandated the local bodies to carry out the Animal Birth Control (ABC) program to
control the street/stray dog population and prevent spread of rabies . Till 2014, the programme
was under control, but it has not been monitored since then. The result has been an increase in
the population of stray dogs (Sarumathi, 2017).
Problems caused by dogs to public
Street dogs attack public when they are in aggression or provocation. Aggression is caused due
to many reasons. Sexual aggression is the main because dogs have two breeding season in a
year. During this period dogs move in pack for mating .When public disturb them during
mating they get easily provoked and start attacking the public. Maternal Aggression where the
female dogs give rise to few numbers of puppies .For first few days the mother dogs are so
concerned and protective about their puppies. They start attacking public those who go near or
walk near the puppies. Food Aggression Street dogs do not get their food that easily .They
depend on the leftover foods that are found in the garbage .When they are disturbed while
eating, it provokes them easily and they start attacking people/public. Fear Aggression When
people pick sticks, stones, etc. that are harmful for dogs, they sense the danger and starts
attacking people/public around them in order to protect them from danger (Bhalla et al., 2021).
Territorial Aggression Stray dogs usually have their territories .They live in groups or packs in
a particular area/street .When new dog or person enters their territories, the dogs consider them
as outsiders, they get irritated easily and start attacking the person or dog that come into their
territory.
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Rabies is a viral infection that attack brain and nervous system .As it attacks the brain, it leads
to death. They are zoonotic hence it spread among the species and between two species. It is
caused by rabies viruses and lyssaviruses. Dogs that are subjected to rabies disease will attack
public without any reason. Dogs which are suffering from Rabies disease usually have blank
look, dropped jaw, dropped tongue, with profuse salivation and dropped tail. The dogs that are
affected by Rabies will be moving without any direction and will be hitting to the obstacles,
inanimate objects, will hit or bite anything comes in their way. So public should judge and be
more aware about the stray dogs from their behaviour and should keep safe distance. (Kumar S.
2002).
Struggles faced by street dogs for the survival
Unowned dogs on the streets have an average life span of three years, struggle to survive and
have very low fecundity and litter survival rates. Starvation is the first and foremost problem
faced by dog is struggling for food. The street dogs depend upon garbage, leftover food from
restaurant .They don’t get proper food for the survival. Due to lack of food they starve and
succumb to death. Dehydration is the next important problem water is highly essential for the
survival of an organism. To avoid dehydration, dogs depend on contaminated water.
Consumption of contaminated water would invite many diseases which results in fatality.
Abuses is the cases of animal cruelty seem to have gone up amid the covid-19 pandemic and
lockdown. A veterinary surgeon Dr.Ushma Patel treated a female stray dog that was brutally
stabbed on the forehead in Nagpur .She said that the injury was so deep that her skull was
visible and it was clear that it was not a natural accident rather caused by sharp object. In
Maharashtra, an another heart-wrenching crime came to the fore when eyes of a dog were
brutally pulled out using a sharp object (Manka Behl, 2020).Apart from such cases, in general,
the dogs are very much disturbed and harmed during festivals like Diwali and Holi . Diseases
due to exposure to various climatic changes, contaminated food and water, the street dogs suffer
from numerous infections and diseases. Fleas, heartworm diseases, intestinal parasites, skin
problem, diarrhoea, kennel cough, and malnutrition are some common diseases. Psychological
sufferings as there is fragile bond between humans and street dogs, they rarely get any comfort
or love from humans. They suffer from loneliness and anxiety which may bring imbalance in
the mental stability.
Mamamatik – an innovative initiation
In Istanbul, Turkey, there are vending machines that dispense pet food to help feed stray
animals while encouraging the public to recycle plastic bottles. This ingenious idea was given
by the Turkish company “Pugedon”, which was founded in 2014 as a social responsibility
project. The dispensers are called “mamamatik,” which translates roughly to “vending machines
for pets.” The working process of this machines is the vending machine allows people to release
food for the city’s stray cats and dogs by recycling a plastic bottle. Every time someone drops a
plastic bottle into the deposit slot, it releases food for animals. The vending machine also has
space for people to empty out their water bottles for the animals to drink. Though mamamatik is
a great initiative it is not that much effective in protecting stray dogs because, it is less
attracting the crowd, and it provides no benefit for the public. If we altogether try to overcome
the disadvantages of this initiative the sufferings of the stay dogs can be rescued.
Science, Technology and Development
Volume XI Issue VIII AUGUST 2022
ISSN : 0950-0707
Page No : 245

Conclusion
As there is a growing population of street dogs, dog vaccinations and sterilizations are
potentially the most sustainable and ethical solutions to the stray dog crisis. Vending machine
for pets will be a solution for starvationwhich is the major problem faced by dog today. Street
dogs are bound by the sense of loyalty and affection, it is the duty of every individual public
can come forward to adopt street dogs by these methods and action. Through this we can make
a better world for street dogs.
References
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4. Jasmine Monrouxe (2015), “why are there so many street dogs in India”(The Dodo).
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Medical Journal, 325(7355), 66.
6. Manka Behl,(2020). “Dog stabbed on head, animal cruelty cases on the rise in covid –
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Science, Technology and Development
Volume XI Issue VIII AUGUST 2022
ISSN : 0950-0707
Page No : 246