With snack shops and restaurants shut because of the lockdown, a few Good Samaritans are out on the streets every day to ensure that community dogs are not left to starve.
"We used to tie up with hotels to collect chicken waste which we cooked as feed for the stray dogs. But with restaurants shut, we cook rice at home and add a few boiled eggs to feed the dogs,” said Rohit Shankar, a computer engineer who now works with Auroville's Pebble Garden, a forestry project.
Every night he carries food for about 12 community dogs in and around the Vaithikuppam, Rainbow Nagar and Kamaraj Nagar neighbourhoods.
“I was stopped by the police first couple of days but now they allow me. Sometimes, residents in the neighbourhood raise objections and need convincing,” said Mr. Shankar, who is a volunteer with Bark India, an NGO dedicated to animal birth control initiatives and stray rescue interventions.
More people need to understand that animal birth control is the only mode of tackling the stray dog situation and avoid man-animal conflict, says Mr. Shankar, who shares his concern about a stray with a recently picked up limb injury.
While volunteers can give first aid to some basic injuries, cases of serious trauma need a vet's intervention.
Good bonding
"But it takes a level of bonding to be established before a dog will allow humans to touch them let alone hold them firmly to even apply tropical ointment," he said. And trying to get sick dogs to eat food mixed with a pill was tricky as most dogs can sniff out any slight variant. “And worse you lose a bit of trust as well because the dog is wary of whatever you give them the next time.”
Meanwhile, three NGOs — Puducherry UT All CENTAC Students Parents Association, the Makkal Mandram and Kulangal Kappom — have been marshalling their volunteers to search and feed community dogs.
“Even before the lockdown, we were cooking our own food to feed the animals. But now that the eateries are shut, we have doubled the quantity of rice that is cooked with chicken pieces to be given to community dogs,” said association president Narayanasamy, who supervises the feeding programme with associate Karthikeyan.
A group of 16 volunteers from the NGOs are feeding dogs in the heart of the town, Thattanchavady and Reddiarpalayam during over two-hour rounds that begin at 11 a.m. every day.
The NGOs serve dinner to beat policemen. “Since the lockdown, many of them are on the streets for long hours and unable to go home for a meal,” said Mr. Narayanasamy
