Agonising wait for medical help

A stray dog seriously injured after being hit by a speeding vehicle spent more than four hours in pain unattended on Beach Road here on Tuesday.

Anilkumar, a taxi driver, had to run from pillar to post to seek medical assistance for the dog.

His efforts to seek assistance from the People for Animals (PFA) were in vain. He was informed that the unit does not have volunteers to carry out the rescue operation.

Mr. Anilkumar then contacted the Fire and Rescue Services, police, and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) but did not get any response.

Later, an SPCA volunteer informed him that all volunteers were engaged in tranquilising an elephant that had run amok and would reach the spot on completing the task.

By 11.15 a.m., an SPCA team led by technical expert B. Aravind reached the spot and transferred the dog in an ambulance for veterinary care.

When queried about its response, a PFA volunteer said the Animal Welfare Board of India had not been providing funds for such operations. The PFA shelter at Kottiyam on the city outskirts did not have facility to take care of seriously injured animals.

But animal lovers alleged that animal welfare organisations were averse to rescuing vehicle-hit animals.

Dr. Aravind said the SPCA programme to sterilise stray dogs in the district had covered Kalluvathukkal panchayat. The project was under way at Nedumpana panchayat, he said, adding that more than 250 stray dogs had been sterilised under the programme.