She has not stepped out of her room,” says Powai-based retired navy officer Lt Cdr Sanchit Kaushik, referring to his wife, Richa Kaushik-Arora , who is confined to her bed with 20 stitches to her face and a reconstructed nose. Richa, a research scientist, had last ventured out of her second-floor home in Jal Vayu Vihar’s A wing around 10.30am on March 22 when a car pulled over in the compound in front of her.
As she made her way to inspect the progress of her new flat in the locality’s F block, two dogs — a leashed black bulldog and a brown dobermann— leapt out of the car and allegedly charged at her.
“The dobermann kept circling her initially as the bulldog pounced on her. In the chaos, she fell and the bulldog bit her on the nose and right thigh,” said Lt Cdr (retd) Sanchit Kaushik, whose wife filed an FIR against the owner of the pets, Major (retd) Divesh Virk. “The owners were on vacation and had left the pets under the supervision of their driver Atul Sawant and house help Swati,” said Lt Cdr Sanchit, adding his wife had to undergo a nose cartilage reconstruction surgery following the incident. “She is too traumatised to speak right now,” he told Mumbai Mirror.
The shocking incident has turned the spotlight back on socially responsible pet parenthood. Recent reports from hospitals indicate that more than 75% of dog bite cases in some areas involve pet dogs rather than strays.
“The average pet parent in India is largely unaware about their responsibility to ensure the safety of others,” said dog behaviourist Tanya Patel who has heard of many instances in which people have been hurt because “the pet owner did not take their pet’s aggression seriously”.
Animal rights activists blame the desire to own a “trophy breed” pet dog such as a dobermann, pitbull or mastiff.
“Pitbull-type foreign breeds are primarily kept by people who use them for illegal fighting or as guard dogs, forcing them to suffer on the end of a chain. Such abuse often causes the dogs to be fearful and defensive. Illegal pet shops and breeders mostly sell these dog breeds to buyers without warning them that they have been bred specifically for fighting over many generations and could attack unprovoked,” said Shaurya Agrawal, advocacy associate of PETA India.
Pitbulls and rottweilers are also commonly abandoned by people who consider them difficult. This Jan, one such abandoned pitbull at Mahim beach bit two people before the dog was captured. In another incident, a pitbull brutally attacked and tore into the neck of an Indian dog, who later succumbed to the injuries.
Legal experts highlight that victims of dog bites have multiple legal routes. They can file an FIR under BNS Section 291 for negligent conduct with respect to animals, which carries a penalty of up to six months of imprisonment or a fine of Rs 1,000, said advocate Aditya Pratap. Additionally, Section 125 (B) for causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life can result in up to two years of imprisonment or a fine of Rs 1,000. “Apart from filing an FIR, dog bite victims can seek compensation in a civil court and file a complaint with the BMC for lack of licence, nuisance and dog bites,” said Pratap.
He further said victims of dog bites can also seek compensation from pet owners under Tort law. “It states that when a person takes a dangerous dog, capable of causing injury or harm to a person or property, out of the house, even if he exercises full duty of care yet, if the dog escapes or is unleashed, the owner nonetheless will be held absolutely liable for damages caused to others,” said Pratap, citing instances in which dog bite victims have been awarded damages of up to Rs 2 lakh.
Doctors warn that dog bites are particularly dangerous. In contrast to wounds inflicted by assaults and accidents, dog bite wounds, science says, are deep puncture type wounds compounded by the presence of pathogenic bacteria from the saliva of the attacking dog.
In Dec 2023, an Andheri-based 10-year-old girl who required a two-hour operation and 45 stitches after being bitten by a German Shepherd belonging to a tenant neighbour.
Advocate Sujay Kantawala said, “As per law, a dog that gets dangerous and bites innocent people sans provocation must be taken away by the BMC and kept in its facilities under mandatory observation for 14 days for rabies.”
BMC Act says “If a licenced dog, which has bitten any person, is brought to the municipal kennel, the Commissioner may order it to be detained therein for its incubation period, if so desired by the owner or person in charge of such dog or the person who has been bitten by that dog, on payment of detention charges not exceeding Rs. 2 per day as may be determined by the Commissioner.
(4) If any dog detained under sub-section (2) or (3) is after examination found to be suffering from rabies, the Commissioner shall order it to be destroyed forthwith.
Acknowledging the rise in instances of attacks by pet dogs, BMC officials told Mumbai Mirror the civic body plans to release updated guidelines for pet owners. A senior official from the BMC’s veterinary health department said the update will include provisions requiring pet owners to purchase dogs only from registered sellers approved by the Animal Welfare Board of India.
“Most pet shops and breeders in India are illegal as they aren’t registered with their state animal welfare boards. They also typically deprive dogs of proper veterinary care and adequate food, exercise, affection and opportunities for socialization,” said Agrawal of PETA India, urging the Maharashtra govt to ban breeding, selling, and purchasing of foreign dog breeds bred for attack and use in illegal dogfights.
Around the world, pet owners are governed by a sturdy leash. In Austria, the anti-cruelty law, one of Europe’s strictest, bans pet owners from cropping their dogs’ ears or tails and ensures that puppies are not sold in pet shops. Violators are subjected to fines of $2,420 (around Rs 2 lakh), and in cases of extreme cruelty, have their animals seized by the authorities.
Hungary has laws that make sure your dog is exercised a certain number of times each day. The Netherlands disallows people with criminal records from owning dogs. Stopping a dog from barking is considered illegal in Switzerland where pet owners must pass a test on buying their dog in addition to undergoing a practical course on pet care. While there’s no federal ban on specific dog breeds in the US, many cities and towns have breed-specific legislation (BSL) that restricts or bans certain breeds, with some estimates suggesting over a thousand such localities.
In Japan, any dog over 90 days old must be registered and after the registration, will receive a licence tag that they must wear on the collar at all times.
Citing Singapore which requires owners of certain breeds to go through mandatory training with a govt-approved trainer whose methods are “rooted in science” and carried out in the “least intrusive and minimally aversive manner”, pet trainer and behaviour consultant Janhavi Kamani-Vaswani, said such training is a must for every breed. “In India, unfortunately, people can have a lax view regarding the safety of others,” said Janhavi. Only a handful of pet owners, she says, actually learn about dog body language and behaviour and tend to apply human attributes and desires to their dogs.
“This approach ends up pushing their dogs into situations that are uncomfortable for them and then the dog is labelled as a ‘bad dog’,” explained Janhavi, adding that the problem begins with the fact that pets are chosen on the basis of looks rather than temperament. Just as art buyers are advised to do a ‘provenance’ check to determine the authenticity of an artwork before buying, prospective pet parents must consider the temperament of the dog before bringing it home, said Janhavi.
“Large-sized dogs like huskies, for example, are not suited to India’s tropical climate. So, they tend to get irritated and can lead to attacking someone. Also, if a pitbull is often chained for many hours inside a small flat, and not allowed to release its excess energy by running in a ground or a field, they may also attack their own owners,” said animal welfare officer of Karuna Parivar Trust, Bhavin Gathani.
While authorities must balance humane animal welfare practices with effective control measures to ensure public safety, people should adopt indie breeds, say activists. “Instead of foreign breeds, adopt a desi street dog which is more loving and healthier,”’ urged Gathani.
(With inputs from Swati Deshpande)
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
