German Shepherd attacks 6-year-old, owner booked, AMC impounds dog

The German Shepherd dog owned by Papaben alias Sangeeta Palaniswami Vaniyar, residing at Sharanam Elegance in New Maninagar area, allegedly attacked two children on Wednesday afternoon. German Shepherd dogs are the second highest among the total 18,776 dogs registered in Ahmedabad after Labradors.

According to the complaint filed by Nitesh Ramesh Gundela, 45, the father of the 6-year-old boy, a resident of Sharanam Elegance in New Maninagar, Ramol, he received a call on Wednesday about 1:30 pm from his wife Rinki who told him that the German Shepherd dog of Sangeeta had bitten their son Aayan, injuring his right leg, while he was playing on the society premises. Gundela reached home immediately and another society resident told him that his son had also been bitten by the same dog, injuring his right hand.

After taking Aayan to a private hospital for treatment, Gundela filed a police complaint. Police registered an FIR and booked Sangeeta under BNS Sections 291 (liability for failing to take measures to guard against danger posed by animals in possession) and 125(a) (endangering human life or personal safety).  Police also collected CCTV footage of the dog attack from the society premises.

The AMC’s CNC department officials also conducted a site inspection. “We have checked the pet registration records and it was found that the dog was registered in August. AMC’s CNCD conducted a site investigation regarding the attack on two children by a German Shepherd dog kept by Papaben alias Sangeeta Palaniswami Vaniyar…,” CNCD Head of Department Naresh Rajput told The Indian Express.

“The dog, a black German Shepherd, has been taken to the AMC’s dog shelter in Danilimda. Police have initiated action against the dog owner,” Rajput added.

On May 12, a Rottweiler pet dog mauled a four-month-old girl resulting in her death and injuring  her aunt in a residential society in Ahmedabad’s Hathijan area. The dog died of Babesiosis disease on May 27.

Six months on, draft rules framed by AMC awaits approval

Following a Rottweiler pet dog, Rocky, mauled a four-month-old resulting in the girl’s death and injuring her aunt in Ahmedabad on May 12, the AMC drafted new rules for taking stringent action against pet owners in case of such attacks in public places.  However, these draft rules are yet to be approved and implemented.

18,776 dogs registered since January 1,2025:

So far, 18,776 pet dogs have been registered by 16,503 pet dog owners in Ahmedabad. Among these, the highest number (3,563) of dogs are Labrador followed by German Shepherd (1359). Other breeds include Shih Tau (1,287), Golden Retriever (1,230), Pomeranian (9,88), Beagle (505), Siberian husky (418), 363 pugs and 326 Rottweiler. The highest dog registrations have been recorded from the west zone (4,752 dogs by 4,168 owners) followed by north Zone (3822 dogs by 3,330 owners).

Dog registration:

The AMC has made it mandatory for owners to register their pets since January 1, 2025. The registration fee was increased from  Rs 200 to Rs 500 on June 1, 2025 and to Rs 1,000 on August 1. Since October 1, the owners have to pay a registration fee of Rs 2,000.