How many times have you seen helpless puppies and kittens on the road growling in pain or in search of food? We tend to forget such instances and tend to remember the situations when strays have followed our vehicles or created a nuisance with garbage.
But how do we reduce the number of strays on our streets?
There are only two sure ways to reduce their numbers.
Firstly, dogs can be sterlised to stop reckless breeding. A dog can easily give birth to 6 to 9 puppies, which means every year one female dog adds 9 to the population, and in the following year, she will add another lot while her puppies too will start breeding.
Sterilising them is the first step to bring this under control.
Second, and the more simple and rewarding step, is to take the dogs off the streets, where you have no control over their health and behaviour. Taking the puppies off the streets and giving them a home keeps a check on their behaviour. It immediately negates the possibilities of uncontrolled breeding. It keeps them away from digging into garbage bins and spreading disease. It reduces the number of animals that are hit and run over by speeding vehicles, mercilessly wriggling to death or rotting. Also the dog owner can look after their food habits and health which will help develop healthy and better conditions for society.
Anand Siva, has launched an adoption carnival on Saturday in Navi Mumbai. He started it for animal lovers and enthusiasts. He hopes to make Navi Mumbai India’s first stray dog free city.
“It makes the city more animal friendly, because people with pets are more compassionate and friendly, reduces the problems caused by dispersed garbage, diseases, accidents. And, what most people don’t realise is that adopting a stray makes them healthier and fitter because with a dog, you are inclined to spend time in the outdoors.
By adopting dogs you make them add value to society, add value to your personal life and add value to your security,” says a beaming Siva.
Vidya Siva, his wife, says, "It is very important for society to adopt pets. We have seen lots of puppies on the road dying because of reckless driving or no food. We picked many such strays and brought them home. It feels good to get them home and ensure a better life for them."
It is to spread this message, and to find homes for hundreds of puppies and kittens, that a group of animal lovers have come together to educate families, and get them to adopt puppies and kittens. The Great Indian Breed Carnival is happening on Saturday, January 18 from 10 am to 5 p.m at the (Indian Education Society) IES Navi Mumbai Primary School, opposite Vashi Police Station, Sector 3.
Adoption is free, and a vet on call will ensure the puppies and kittens get a check before they are taken home. Pedigree is helping this cause, by providing advice to adopting families on animal care, and providing the right food for the puppies to help families get started on this beautiful relationship. To adopt you can simply walk in with an ID proof and residence proof, just fill in an adoption form and after checks and a brief counselling session, you are ready to take home these bundles of love.
