Dogs are man’s best friends for a reason. Generally, animals and humans have had a special bond for centuries. The friendly puppies help us relieve tension and anxiety and love us with everything they have. While we embrace our pets with gentleness and tranquility, there are some poor puppies who live on the streets and are often deprived of all warmth and affection.
Sometimes we are worried and saddened by these helpless pups on the street in bad weather and with various problems. It is very painful to see an animal homeless. Many pet lovers feel lost and show their interest to help them. Most people might like it, but they don’t know how to proceed. It’s not always possible to get a home for a homeless man, but there are several ways we can ease his pain.
Why should you help stray dogs?
Most of the time you leave the house and are surrounded by stray dogs. Some of them seem quite healthy, while others look wounded, hungry, or weak. Some of them even show signs of illness. The population of street doggies is increasing and in the next few days, you will only find more of them on your streets. This is not useful for you and your community, and especially not useful for these puppies.
People need to have a basic understanding of this when facing street doggies. Showing compassion to them is a great thing. And with animals, we tend to reserve a softer place in our hearts. The truth is that most of these pups were once pets or belonged to a long line of domesticated breeds that were unlucky enough to suffer stressful situations such as abandonment and abuse.
Pet lovers know that even street dogs deserve the same level of love and care as their domestic counterparts. So if there is an opportunity to care for street doggies you can implement these ten useful tips.
Some tips to help stray dogs in India:
1. Find like-minded neighbors in your community
The first step in helping them is to build a safe haven by creating a community of pet lovers. Remember that you are never alone in the fight for a good cause. Searching for other pet lovers in your community is really easy. You’ll need to watch the behavior of their towards people in your neighborhood and you’re likely to find like-minded people who want to help them.
Work together to find and organize food, veterinarians, lodging, take care of their health issues, and more. Caring for puppies as a community will go a long way in reducing the street dog population, facilitating crowded shelters, and giving stray dogs in your community someone they can love and trust and live a cheerful and peaceful life, even when on the street.
2. Provide regular food and shelter
Some may have an idea of what foods are best to feed, when to feed them, and what to avoid feeding the street dog. While others are interested in setting up makeshift shelters with cardboard boxes. They also have a young audience considering adopting a street for personal care. Make sure kids don’t pick up puppies and take them home for fun. That’s cruelty to animals.
It is best to leave the puppies with their mother and help if the mother gets good food at least once a day so that she does not have to walk away from the babies in search of food during the day. As soon as the mother stops breastfeeding, you have to inform the nearest NGO to have her castrated so that there are no more puppies in the future and she stays healthy.
3. Adopt and support them
A healthy dog is a happy dog. Before considering a stray dog for adoption, complete the medical examination and vaccinations. A quick visit to the nearest vet is essential. If signs of discomfort in the dog persist even after treatment, seek a second medical opinion.
Remember that you may also encounter stray puppies that are in critical condition, that appear malnourished, that show signs of abuse, or who are simply too old and weak to be adopted. Don’t worry, for these stray dogs, you can connect with a permanent home where they can live and be loved as much as a healthy one.
4. Vaccinate and sterilize/neuter
If your local veterinarian or animal expert detects some street dogs that are the right age to be vaccinated, don’t hesitate to do so. It also recommends that young puppies are sterilized and, in fact, a mandate approved by the Indian government, as it helps to significantly control the population and make them healthy. After a dog has undergone the required vaccination and sterilization spay/neuter procedure, it may need five days of rest and hospital for treatments before being dropped off at the pick-up location.
5. Raise awareness and learn the laws
Puppies also have rights, and this also applies to street dogs. For years, pet lovers have been fighting for a proper legal system that must be introduced against their unethical treatment of them. India has one of the best laws in the world to protect the rights of dogs. It is therefore important that you draw attention to such laws in your community and, if in doubt, consult the legal advice and precedents set by Indian courts.
6. Prevent and report cruelty
If you encounter animal abuse, don’t just be a silent bystander. If you see someone hitting or bothering a pup, take it personally and contradict it. Instead, try to educate them to save them. Tell them that it is punishable by law to violently harm or relocate street dogs. Some people around you may not have the best intentions for puppies. Stay tuned to them and be prepared to resolve any conflicts that may arise. In extreme cases, opting for legal advice can be helpful.
7. Rescue a lost or abandoned one
Sometimes dogs can be hostile or defensive due to separation anxiety, past abuse, neglect, and illness. Here’s how you can help lost or homeless pups: Unfortunately, lost and homeless pets make up a huge impact on the stray dog population in India. These can usually be identified by necklaces or their behavior because they respond to people, understand orders, and usually have difficulty searching for food. Here are some steps that how to help lost or homeless doggies:
- Try to ensure make sure it receives necessary items like food, water, and medical treatment right away.
- Use Facebook groups, WhatsApp, or other social media platforms to post images of the dog.
- Ask about signs of lost dogs in the area.
- If you receive property claims, review them thoroughly before delivering the dog.
- Try to adopt the dog if you can’t find an owner.
- If you can’t find the owner and there is no evidence of adoption, contact an animal control agency and a shelter and leave the dog.
8. Organize a Dog Welfare program
One of the simple and most effective ways to ensure that street dogs in your community receive the love and care they deserve is to organize a wellness program. These programs can take the form of adoption programs, feeding campaigns, castration, and a push to improve the infrastructure and veterinary needs of local community enterprises.
You may need your parents’ help because some shelters require volunteers to be of a certain age unless they are with one parent. If you find a shelter where you can volunteer, you can walk the dogs, clean up animal waste, fill water bowls, and hand out toys and treats.
References: https://vosd.in/how-to-help-stray-dogs-in-india/
https://bvspca.org/6-easy-ways-to-help-stop-animal-cruelty/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_shelter
Further Reading:
- Howexpert, How To Rescue Abandoned Dogs and Cats: 7 Ways To Save Abandoned Dogs, Cats, and Other Pets Hardcover – Import, 13 January 2020
https://www.amazon.in/How-Rescue-Abandoned-Dogs-Cats/dp/164758051X
