Animal lovers who feed stray dogs have approached the High Court for protection through as many as seven different petitions. Last week,the first hearings were held on these petitions; all are related to the same issue dog lovers being harassed,and in the case of some women,molested,for feeding and taking care of stray dogs. The High Court has now served a notice to the government. Before approaching the High Court,these animal lovers shared their experiences with each other. It emerged that the number of people who had problems with neighbours was very high. Some women have complained of molestation,and many say RWAs and the local police have actually become part of the problem. Feeding dogs has set off a trend of criminal intimidation,they say. We wanted to know if these problems existed on a larger scale. Most of the responses we got confirmed that they do,and everyone who wrote in urged us to go to court, says Geeta Seshamani,co-founder of Friendicoes animal shelter,one of the petitioners. The dogs are aggressive and they bite is the commonest complaint dog lovers get. Its absolutely untrue, writes in a dog lover from Vasant Kunj. People make these stories up to discredit dogs,even those that have been de-wormed and vaccinated, she says. People have thrown stones at me and used foul language. On one occasion,pups were smeared with white paint and thrown into a dump full of broken glass. Once the paint hardened the puppies could not move their limbs, says the woman who feeds dogs in D-block,Vasant Kunj. A 66-year-old woman from Golf Links writes in that despite being a senior citizen,she has had stones hurled at her for feeding dogs. She says she considers dogs on the road homeless dogs,not strays. But despite having a letter from the Ministry of Environment and Forests authorising her to feed dogs,police complaints have been filed against her. A resident of Chittaranjan Park complains that stray dogs are not allowed inside public parks. Only expensive pedigrees like Beagles are let in. Residents have also resorted to throwing boiling water on any stray animal,dogs or cats. She also says that whether the dogs bark or not she and her family have been threatened and told that the MCD will be called in to take care of the dogs. A woman who writes in from South Extension says people want that stray dogs should be invisible,forage from dustbins,and lie dead on the road,while a Mehrauli resident adds that people in his colony hit dogs but want to make sure they dont die in front of their houses. A resident of Panchsheel Park,who has been feeding dogs there for 15 years,says her RWA has been harassing her. I have to face my cruel neighbours for dogs who have done nothing to endanger anyone elses life. Such is the level of intimidation that many do not want to be named. We have put in this case to protest against what is going on. Many of those who are suffering are too frightened to be named. We hope the case sets a precedent, Seshamani says.
