Fatal dog attacks in and around Vijayawada region are progressively becoming a common occurrence while more frequent are dogbites due to the large number of strays allowed to rule the city roads.
The horrifying death of Ananya, a three-year-old girl who was attacked by a pack of dogs at Vemulapalli on Thursday, is a grim reminder of how little does the authorities concerned have been doing to address this serious menace. Dogs are vulnerable to ‘pack instinct’ which at times brings out the worst side of their nature. It may take no more than one other dog for this behavioural phenomenon to occur.
Most owners may look at their docile pet and say there is no way it could ever turn a killer. But the fact remains that during certain circumstances, dogs are capable of turning ferocious.
“Basically, dogs are 100 per cent carnivorous animals. It is we humans who have slowly domesticated them. The behaviour of an individual dog varies from that of a pack. One seldom gets to hear an individual dog attacking somebody. They attack only when they are in a group. An individual dog generally doesn’t attack unless it is rabid,” explains T. Sai Gopal, a veterinary surgeon.
“Canines are territorial animals. That’s precisely why they have that guarding instinct,” says Dr. Gopal.
The territorial instinct has a profound influence on a dog’s behaviour. It is related to the survival instinct. Puppies as young as two or three weeks old display their sense of territory by annexing a certain corner of a bed, cushion, or chair as their personal domain. Their territory grows bigger with adulthood.
Such incidents should serve as an eye-opener to municipal authorities. The much-needed animal birth control programme is kept at bay while veterinariansare engaged in government welfare programmes.
