Animated film urges dog owners not to abandon their pets fearing virus

Chennai

Two months ago, digital marketer Lokesh Jey found a dog that was tied to a lamp post near his office. He rescued the dog, but she ran away one day. After the lockdown, Lokesh noticed there is a rise in the number of people abandoning their pets on the streets. Some people tie the dogs on to a post or a tree, some leave the dogs with a few biscuits and a bowl and flee. “Daily, I am reading the news of people abandoning their pets because of the fear of the infection. In some cases, pet parents are being harassed by neighbours and people on the road. All of them abandon their pets without any second thoughts. Instead of going from one neighbourhood to another raising awareness on this, I thought it would reach more people through a digital platform and made an animated short film called Frisbee. I am sure many can relate to the video — it might have happened in your neighbourhood as well,” says Lokesh.

In the end, humans will fight off this crisis together as a family, but abandoned dogs wait for their family without realising they have been abandoned, he points out. “In the short, a dog named Julie undergoes the same plight. After making her believe that she is going to play frisbee on the beach with her pet parent, he abandons Julie. Abandoning pets is not the solution to this. Some ‘pet lovers’ get dogs thinking they can take care of them or sometimes, children at home pressurise parents to buy/adopt dogs. But after a point, the affection towards the dog dies down. Such people also abandon their pets. If you cannot take care of a dog or a cat or any pet animal, just don’t get them in the first place. I hope this animated short can create awareness among people all over,” he sums up.