Rain, Shine or Lockdown, This ‘Bitch’ will Never ‘Switch’ her Permanent Place on Road Median

Rain, Shine or Lockdown, This ‘Bitch’ will Never ‘Switch’ her Permanent Place on Road Median, near Dr Ambedkar/Jyothi Circle/in front of KMC Hospital

Mangaluru: Yes, we all agree that there are thousands of stray dogs in the City- while many citizens feel pity towards them and feed them, while many others hate them. These four-legged furry animals depend on humans for their everyday needs — food, water, shelter, care, love and more. Yet thousands of these strays in the city have no guardians to care for them, let alone a warm, comfortable place to curl up during the day or at night. Many suffer and die on the streets for lack of good homes. Animal homelessness is a complex crisis. Left to fend for themselves on the streets, animals often suffer and die after getting hit by vehicles, being attacked by other animals, succumbing to extreme temperatures, starving, contracting contagious diseases and facing other dangers. Many stray animals are poisoned, mutilated, tortured or killed in other cruel ways.

These dogs are often abandoned by the people they depend on to care for them. While city roads are already inadequate to cater to the needs of soaring human and vehicular population, the nuisance caused by strays is only adding to the woes of road users. But Mangaloreans have lived with the problem of strays for years and there seems to be no relief at sight. They blame the Mangaluru City Corporation’s (MCC) failure for the rise in the number of strays, but no one has found a solution for this menace. While animal lovers do their best to care for these homeless dogs, and even Animal Care Trust volunteers are trying all they could to save these strays- but a lot more has to be done in finding a better solution to keep these “Man’s Best Friends” happy and alive.

While talking about stray dogs, I want to highlight about one stray white with black spot female dog which I see probably see every single day, while passing by Dr Ambedkar/Jyothi Circle/in front of KMC- and for the last so many years, I have noticed that this dog has never changed his spot/location, where it sits or sleeps on the road median near Jyothi Circle. When asked with the nearby auto-rickshaw drivers, if they have kept a name for their friendly and lovable furry friend, and surprisingly our stray friend had many names, like-“Suzie”, “Julie”, “Spotty”, “Janaki”, among many other names- but no matter which name you call her, this “Suzie”or “Janaki”, will come running towards you, and starts wagging its tail, looking for a treat or petting.
Such is this pretty little plumpy stray, which has survived for years from speeding vehicles, since Balmatta stretch of road is a very busy one with heavy traffic, moving to and fro- and it is learnt that many stray dogs in that vicinity have been run over by vehicles and died, and many are still seen running around with broken legs etc. But lucky to see that our “Suzie aka Janaki ” is alive by the grace of God, and due to the love of animal lovers of the City. This stray dog is being fed daily by the nearby eateries and KMC canteen, and even by the auto-rickshaw drivers.

Even though the residents in that vicinity say that the menace of stray dogs has increased creating a sense of fear, and they alleged that despite lodging several complaints with the MCC, no action has been taken. The MCC acts only when reports of stray attacks are highlighted by the media. The dog menace is not sudden or recent. It has grown steadily over decades. Officials have been totally callous about tackling it. Had they been serious, the population of dogs and number of dog-bite cases would not have grown in startling numbers. How much hue and cry has been raised in the media over the years, but all schemes to curtail this menace have failed, say residents.

However, they all like “Suzie”, since she is calm, friendly and very lovable. They say that there are many stray dogs in their locality that are sick and this can cause the spread of diseases, but no one spoke anything bad about Suzie aka Janaki. That’s nice to hear! In the meantime animal activists and animal lovers are requesting Mangalureans to treat the stray animals with more respect, which is why more and more are adopting or fostering Desi dogs. One animal activist speaking to Team Mangalorean said, “The younger generation is a kind generation… They know, they read, Google search, everything. They don’t want to be seen as someone who’s an animal hater.”

It’s also part of a general trend toward dog ownership, which is not historically common here. Instead, dogs typically hang around a neighbourhood and get scraps when they can. Widespread spaying and neutering of street dogs is a solution most activists agree on, but it’s not enough. There are many stray dogs which are friendly and lovable like our Suzie aka Janaki- and you should make up your mind to adopt one. I am not just saying, Hey, please adopt a Desi pup or dog, but saying, This is the sexiest thing you can do. If you have an Indie/Desi, you’re the new cool.” Like they say Buy Desi, similarly Adopt a Desi!