Dog poisoned to death with cyanide, another battered in Bengaluru's Richards Town

A stray dog was poisoned to death with cyanide while another was severely battered, according to animal rights activists. Both the incidents occurred in Richards Town, East Bengaluru, in the second week of January.

The attacks have shocked area residents as well as animal rights activists but it's unclear who's behind them. Strays Matter, a group working for animal welfare, has lodged a complaint about the matter at the jurisdictional Pulakeshinagar police station.

Local residents Sunita Vaznaik and Arjun Vaznaik found Cookie, aged about one and a half years, convulsing and frothing at the mouth. They rushed it to the government veterinary hospital in Hebbal where the dog eventually died. An autopsy showed it was poisoned with hydrocyanic acid (cyanide).

The second stray, named Sugar, was beaten up so bad that its leg fractured. Residents rushed it to vets and took care of it until its wounds healed. The dog usually hung around an ATM guard in Clarke Road.

Animal rights activists say some residents of Richards Town see stray dogs as a menace although the canines are neither aggressive nor irksome. They suspect that it's these touchy residents who are behind the vicious attacks.

Sunita Vaznaik said Stray Matters volunteers ensured that every dog in Richard Town was well-fed and neutered on time so that it did not bother residents or become aggressive.

"Nevertheless, there is still a lot of hostility towards these animals. The demography of Richards Town has changed over the years. There are also groups of youths who come on weekends, create mayhem and throw stones at the dogs," Sunita told DH.

Activists say a number of street dogs and cats have died in and around Richard Town in various incidents in recent times.

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