Owners leave pets homeless for the holidays

While this is a common sight, this attitude continues to receive flak from animal activists in the state. “Families plan long trips to far off places, especially hill stations, every summer and as they cannot take their pets along, especially the older animals, they either leave them at BCI or abandon them on the roads,” said Dawn Williams, General Manager, BCI. 

Stating that older animals and those that are not in the prime of health are abandoned first, he said, “Recently, we have been rescuing many old German Shepherds and Labradors from the roads. German Shepherds tend to lose a lot of hair and it alters their looks. Families lose interest in them once that happens and abandon them.” 

Earlier, the dogs were usually left at shelters, but now, owners merely leave them on the roads. “We won’t know the dog’s names and they won’t even respond to us. Besides, we won’t even know their medical history, which makes it difficult for us to identify their problems. We receive four to five such cases every day,” said a staff at BCI, adding, “An abandoned dog is confused, it hates mingling with any other human or dogs, and longs to meet its own.” 

“When it is time to go out on vacation, owners start giving less importance to their pet. They either leave the dogs, or let them free within their compound, from where the dogs tend to escape,” said Arun Prasanna, Founder, People for Cattle in India.   

“There are a lot of pedigree dogs that are abandoned, and it is easier for us to identify them. It is a very painful process for them as they go through much mental turmoil before getting help as they have no access to food and water and are ill-treated by the public,” he added. While Section 11 (i) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals clearly states that ‘If any person without reasonable cause, abandons any animal in circumstances which render it likely that it will suffer pain by reason of starvation or thirst’ is punishable, such cases are rarely taken up according to animal activists.