Abandoning your pet is illegal and inhumane

Five years ago, I was told by some considerate people about a pomeranian-like furry white dog, abandoned on a street near mine. To be precise, a minute or two away from mine. As I was having my exams, I made a mental note to check on him the first thing after my exams. It was in May 2017 that I first saw Milky. Yes, I named him Milky because he was sparkling white and I wouldn’t exert my brain for something I had an obvious answer for.

No, it wasn’t love at first sight like we are habituated to watching in movies and TV. Milky was asleep and woke up to my noise. I tried to feed him biscuits but in vain. I signalled him to get up but he didn’t budge. I moved near to him and he pounced, combining indignation and fear. I somehow escaped being scratched or bit by him. His aggression wasn’t for no reason – he was thrown out of a car by his ‘family.’ The people around him attempted feeding rice and biscuits but we all ended in the same situation. I don’t know the reason for people’s affinity and pity towards Milky. Was it his Indian Spitz Mix breed? Was it because he was a white and fluffy dog, unlike the Indies that are despised for their appearance? I will never know.

As I went home having achieved nothing, I knew it would be a tough road ahead. For him, accepting the dismal reality and for me, to mend his broken trust on our species. My futile attempts to feed Milky continued.

It was only after almost a month that Milky was eating what I gave. That one month or more was all about me hoping for a miracle and Milky constantly irritated by a bugging human presence. He didn’t want to eat anything from anyone. However, the truths can’t be changed; one, he was a good boy and two, he was hungry. He wasn’t a dog that knew where to sniff for food. He didn’t know which human would hurl a stone and which would befriend. After a long and demanding checking process, he categorised me into the latter. But that was the beginning of a new problem for me. Milky was trusting me. He began following me, a highly typical dog trait. Each time I vanished from his sight and watched him slog back (or scamper himself away from my street dogs) it was heart-breaking. He was nothing but a little child looking for love. How would I tell him that I was not like his ex-family and he would never have one?

Nevertheless, like I have mentioned above, the people in his street weren’t hostile to him like we are, in general, to the street dogs. As they observed that his aggression reduced, they were feeding him. I slowly inculcated it in him that he should follow me for a few steps unless he desired an ugly brawl with my desi dogs. It took him time but he grasped.

After a few months, we were playing with my each other – I was allowed to rub his fur, feed him and he, to run to me, jump and follow. I would reiterate on how we gave him the time he needed and never, ever forced intimacy or friendship. I couldn’t do anything to pacify his mental ordeal. I was only bringing him food. To believe that food is the only thing a dog needs is shallow and ridiculous.

Fast forward to today, his tyranny made him the only dog of his street, sparing one female. He gets an appreciable choice of foods, ranging from mutton (courtesy a nearby mutton shop) to biscuits and anything his neighbours give to dog food (from me). The brat broke multiple food and water bowls. He changed about four collars, never being without one. He occasionally gets baths and dazzles like the teeth in a toothpaste commercial for almost a day (post which, he deliberately rolls in mud). He once grappled with a few desi dogs and ended up with a dog bite on his neck. His neighbours got him treated on the spot and mollycoddled him for a few days. He healed in no time. Now, he tactically chases away any intruders without physical harm. He still gets to decide when he will play with me and how. Sometimes, he runs over and leaps on me while the other times, he prefers his nap over a screechy human voice and a phone flash. He casually ignores the curd rice kept for him like you did, in your school lunch box. (The only difference being, he isn’t scolded).

In course of my working with animals (in individual capacity), I have come across tens of animals abandoned by their ‘owners’ without remorse. To do so is detrimental at many levels – these dogs undoubtedly get into trouble with the local indies and stand minimal chance. They would encounter hunger, thirst, ruthless weather and abusive humans; none of which they were prepared for. In simple words, not every dog is as fortunate as Milky to find a street without dogs and people without ego. They would contribute to the existing number of homeless animals on the streets.

A simple news search on the internet would reveal the magnitude of this problem. NGOs are overburdened with the number of street dogs needing attention. In that case, it would not only be difficult but also unfair to expect them to tend to our pets too. The reasons people give for why they abandoned their companion animal are so bizarre, I would rather discuss them separately.

Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (PCA), criminalises the owner failing to provide the animal with sufficient food, water and shelter; abandoning without reasonable cause; permits the diseased or disabled animal to di in any street without reasonable cause.

In the rare event of the family having a reasonable cause why they cannot keep the pet anymore, they should behave like family i.e., find another responsible and better home for their animal. Leaving them on the roads is not only a deliberate act of animal cruelty but also a sign of inhumanity.

Milky is a strong dog. He coped up with what could crumple and kill. He has a lion’s heart, a baby’s mischief and the moon’s lustre. Of course, every dog does. It has been established ages ago that a dog is man’s best friend and a symbol of undying faith. We don’t have to now test their resilience by leaving them on the road after promising a forever. Because, there is a famous saying that a dog may manage with lesser food, lesser shelter and lesser care but not without you. Milky will never know why he, a good boy, was left mercilessly. It took him a mountain of courage to trust yet another human. No dog should ever have to go through what he did.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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