100 cases of dogbite in Kalyan a day

Although figures for the total number of strays within civic limits are not available, the total number of vials of anti rabies vaccines being used at civic hospitals indicate that the menace is very real. While Rukminibai hospital uses up 150 vials a month, Savitribai civic hospital uses 100 vials a month. Leading chemists also point to an increased demand for the vaccine.The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation has decided to pack off the dogs away from the human habitation. Said Assistant Health Officer J Kamble, “We will catch the dogs and release them in the far off forests beyong Murbad.” Although the KDMC, under then Asst Health Officer S Deshmukh, used to capture and kill stray dogs, a petition filed by a Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals activist S Bhave brought that to a halt. “We receive thousands of complaints, but our hands are tied due to the case,” said Kamble. “The KDMC cannot afford techniques like sterilisation, because we neither have the funds for setting up the requisite veterinary infrastructure nor the staff strength”, he claimed.

The KDMC has purchased a dog van, he added. This new van, though, has not moved an inch out of the civic premises since the day it arrived. “Where is the trained staff to man these vans?” asked Kamble, adding, “We do not want to end up having more bite cases on our hands by keeping untrained people on the job.” He added, “We are sending our workers to the NMMC to undergo training in trapping stray dogs safely.”

Don’t feed dogs with leftovers, say experts

Dog lovers, your attention please. Feeding your dogs with traditional feeds might do more harm than good. Recent studies show that traditional feeding causes many deficiency diseases due to dietary imbalances. Presenting a paper at the seminar for Dog Lovers today, the Bangalore-based dog specialist Dr B Ramdoss said feeding dogs with table scraps results in overweight and leads to acute diseases. Table scraps are known to have excess fat and carbohydrate.

“The owners should feed their dogs with good stuff. A shift from traditional food to ready-made food is necessary,” he said. Traditional food has a lot of disadvantages like nutritional imbalance, obesity and hip dysplasia, he added. Hip dysplasia is a problem associated with growing puppies, especially in higher breeds like Gratedanes and Boxers. He said dogs be given dry, semi-moist and frozen foods.