Give them a space

Don't kill me, take me home’, ‘let’s live together’, Why not an Indian puppy from the street?” said the placards, that were carried though Cubbon Park, as part of the Adopt a stray dog programme, conducted by Let’s Live Together, an NGO and Jain Group of
Institutions, here on Sunday.

More than 25 dogs were brought to the camps, all picked up from road sides, for adoption. The organisers said the camp aims to provide information about the benefits of adopting Indian dogs as against the foreign breeds and to solve the menace of street dogs by providing them a home.

“We say we are proud Indians but at the end of the day, we purchase a foreign breed (dog). Why can’t we adopt a dog from our lane?” asked Achala, founder trustee, Let’s Live Together.

“The basic reason why the stray dogs cause menace is because of lack of food — if we provide them that, there will be no problem at all. If an individual takes care of at least one dog in his surroundings, there will be no hindrance from the dogs,” she added.

According to experts, Indian dogs need little care compared to the pedigree breeds. “The foreign breed dogs are prone to diseases more as they find it hard to acclimatise to the Indian climatic conditions, where as the Indian breed faces none,” said Yasmine Clairve, a teacher by profession and an expert on dogs. Yasmine had rescued five puppies from a lake side and they were adopted by pet lovers.

“We already have one 11-year-old street dog, and I want to give home to
another,” said Anand Pandith, Account Manager, Hindustan Unilever Limited.

“Indian puppies show us the same love and loyalty as the foreign breed, so why should I go for foreign breed?” The puppy he adopted was for his son Sameer. “The old dog at home is my father’s, this puppy is mine,” said Sameer. He named his female pup ‘Nibbles’. But Snigdha Sahu, a student of CMS Jain University, was not as lucky as Sameer was.
She could not adopt a dog because she was a paying guest and dogs are not allowed at her place.

 “Any one, who is interested in adopting a street dog can contact us and we will arrange one for them,” said Pinky Chandran, Manager, Training and Development, Jain Groups of Institute.