Knowing the psychology of a dog will go a long way in saving oneself from dog bites.
Unfortunately, most people do not know how to react in front of ferocious dogs, and wrong behaviour may prove risky. Hence, creating awareness is a crucial component of ‘Jeevanam Athijeevanam’, a stray dog survey to be organised by the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation from March 3 to 9. “The classes will mainly be for children of 30 schools in the city as they constitute 80% of dog bite victims,” said K.K. Baby, senior veterinary surgeon and general convenor of the project.
The survey has been planned as a forerunner of the much-awaited Animal Birth Control Centre and veterinary superspecialty hospital in Kozhikode.
Stray dogs have been a menace in the city, especially in the coastal zone. Other than a 2011 ward-wise survey, which registered 20,000 stray dogs within the corporation limits, the civic body has no solid data on the number of strays. The head count and its results are key to the execution of the ABC project.
Meanwhile, the services of residents’ associations and voluntary organisations have been enlisted for the survey, which will be conducted by 50 National Service Scheme volunteers of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Wayanad. The public have been advised to identify spots where dogs usually camp at night. Night vision cameras will be installed at such spots for the survey. There will also be health camps for owned dogs in all wards on March 4 where they will be immunised against rabies and other diseases. The camps are held with the help of veterinarians from Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad districts. “There will be random sampling of serum from owned dogs to find out their present immunity status,” Dr. Baby said.
Jeevanam Athijeevanam is organised with the help of KVASU and Indian Veterinary Association. Mayor Thottathil Raveendran is the chairman of the organising committee. The survey will be held from March 3 to 5, and the report will be submitted on March 9.
