Within a month after it started functioning, the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Centre at Konakkarai has neutered around 100 dogs in the city. The centre, which became operational in the first week of August was lying in disuse before the civic body engaged a private veterinarian and an NGO.
While the ABC Centre was locked up after its construction in 2019, complaints of street dog menace continued to pile up. With the COVID-19 lockdown and other protocols in place, authorities were unable to focus on the ABC. Despite the delay in opening, the centre has conducted 100 sterilizations from August 1 to 31.
The ABC Centre in Konakkarai, set up at a cost of ₹90 lakh has the facility to neuter up to 30 canines a day. “However, we have begun at a slow pace, and are moving ahead”, the veterinarian in charge at the centre said.
Whenever the civic body receives an alert or distress call, a team rushes to the location with the special vehicle to transport the dogs. “The dog catchers bring them here and put them in specially-constructed enclosures,” the doctor said. The enclosures are fitted with name boards to identify the location from where the dog was caught.
Each dog is kept at the ABC for five days. “On the day that it is caught, we leave it so that it gets acclimatised to the enclosure. Dogs from the same locality are usually grouped together, so there is no quarrel. On the second or third day, the dog is sedated and neutered. It takes two to three days to recover, following which it is dropped back at the location from where it was picked up,” he added.
Dogs who are neutered are usually not aggressive and will not attack, the doctor said. The dogs were fed regular meals, and well taken care of, he said.
