[srikat]

Government? There's no such thing in Bangalore.

[Rocky_Balboa]

I agree that dog menace is disturbing, in any part of India.

However I fail to understand why is the govt blamed for everything that happens around. Next time I find a nail in my tyre, I ll blame the govt for not providing nail free roads.

I am not saying govt is not to blame, but expecting the govt to arrest dog menace in every street is impossible, atleast for now in India.

[netchef]

CUPA has a helpline and are extremely responsive. Services include collecting ill and disabled street animals; the dogs in our locality have been spayed and returned to the neighbourhood where they remain faithful guarddogs. The most recent patient was collected by them 4 days back and they will perform a major operation to remove a tumour free of charge. All CUPA asks is a donation to help them sustain their service.

Has the road become more important to us than man's best friend?

[directinjection]

This may come as a surprise to many but that most famous preacher of non-violence we call the father of the nation strongly advocated killing of all stray dogs.

A few quotes:

1. "........It is a sin; it should be a sin to feed stray dogs and we should save numerous dogs if we had legislation making every stray dog liable to be shot. Even if those who feed stray dogs consented to pay a penalty for their misdirected compassion we should be free from the curse of stray dogs.”
2. “A roving dog without an owner is a danger to society and a swarm of them is a menace to its very existence…. If we want to keep dogs in towns or villages in a decent manner no dog should be suffered to wander. There should be no stray dogs even as we have no stray cattle…. But can we take individual charge of these roving dogs? Can we have a pinjrapole for them? If both these things are impossible then there seems to me no alternative except to kill them.”
3. “I am therefore strongly of the opinion that if we practice the religion of humanity we should have a law making it obligatory on those who would have dogs to keep them under guard and not allow them to stray and making all stray dogs to be liable to be destroyed after a certain date.”

Check this for more:

Gandhiji’s writings on the stray dog issue, in his paper Young India.

[roamingrao]

have noticed this - street dogs menace has increasingly confined to areas / junctions having road side carts / shacks selling snacks after evening. The dogs have their share at that time and wait throughout the day at the place disturbing vehicles and pedestrians.

Remove the shacks / carts and see the difference ! else, let the city corporation catch the dogs at that point / part of the day. If not done this way, their festish for flesh can reach alarming proportions - attack kids !

[lurker]

Originally Posted by ramie2400

I remember last year i was driving down my cousins zen from Delhi - Jamuna nagar,I was doing speeds of 110-115km and on the right lane a dog from nowhere came running,I did not apply any brakes nor did i tried to turn the car to left as 5 of us were there in the car,I rammed him and the santro behind me went over it..Its becoming a serious problem in Mumbai too,they are barking all night long,and if a person is coming late night from work they tend to be in groups and start barking,ive heard cases of dog attacks also.Seems the Dog vans are put to rest by Meneka Gandhi.

My morning walks lately have become a big problem. The street dogs are working in packs and they attack at random without any provocation. They are just asserting their territory. Late nights and early mornings in streets in Bangalore/Delhi, these dogs have become a terror.

I have noticed that these strays are transported into new areas mainly by floating construction workers and sundry security folk who encourage, breed and feed strays to protect their makeshift slum-like living space. These dogs though basically target every child, cyclist, scooterist, car-wallah who passes through these roads esp if they think they can get away with it.

btw I have raised dogs, viz Great Dane and I know a bit about them their psychology.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Good that you did not hit or hurt the dog. If you had, one certain freckle face ex-model/minister will be after you!!

And it is very hopeless. Unlike other countries, we have no means of regulating dog ownership. People just keep dogs for may be a couple of years and then throw them out as if the dog was some rubbish. Nobody does anything to such inconsiderate people.

Ancient (read - around 10 years or more back) lawmakers were sensible to make laws enabling elimination of stray mongrels - after keeping them for a couple of days in a pound. But this lady comes around and puts an end of all that. Dogs are free, according to her.

What about humans?? What about the children (there are more than 3 in B'lore alone- going by the press reports) who have been mutilated beyond repair by even plastic surgery by the stray dogs?

We can always sue the local authority, whose responsibility it is to keep the city mongrel free. But who is going to fix responsibility on that lady for creating all the trouble to the staffers fo the local authority?*

Frankly, I have respect for so many of her ideals, except the love for stray dogs. That is one thing which is ill advised in India.

* Edit:- The laws enabling elimination of mongrels still exist. But this lady has asked the SPCAs to apply the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to staffers of local authority who implement the provisions. Strange that her writ runs though she or her party is nowhere near power.

[Moby]

I had been riding for 10 years, had 4 bike crashes, all of them caused by these stray dogs.

[funkydevil]

Hey buddy, glad to hear that you are alright, i know how it feels about losing a car or bike to an incident like this. But its your life that is important.

Altough your accident didnt happen at high speed, i just wanted to share this with everybody, if at high speed please do refrain from swerving hard in order to avoid hitting any animal on the road. Any sudden move at those speeds can lead to disaster. Forget about the car getting hit and stuff. It can be repaired, life cant.

"This incident happened when a dog ran out in front of the car while going around a curve. Driver sacrificed the car in exchange for dog's life."

Quoted from a website. Dosent say anything about the driver after the incident. Car is a 2006 M5.

[Nitin]

Ouch!! Sad to see the M5 take such a bad beating.

My views are a bit different. As much as I love dogs,I feel they shouldn't be on the roads in any city. If only there was some kind of organization that came forward to pick every single dog,and take them to the outskirts of the city,where they'd be housed in a facility. With some form of donation from big firms/individuals, setting up a multi-storey complex that would have numerous vets & caretakers. Sick & injured dogs would be taken care of. Thats the only way to make the streets a lot safer,and at the same time refrain from killing these innocent creatures.

Utopia? You bet!

[HappyWheels]

Since we in the topic, here is my story:

Way back in 1997, at my home town and it is around 6am. Decide to visit the temple. Bathed and ready by 6.30am. Take the bike (Bajaj Caliber) tell my granny that am off to the temple and go.

Went 100 meters from my house and have just gone to 3 gear (just above 20kmph). A dog which was on the road side and which I noticed, suddenly decide to cross the street. Now this street is an old tarred-but-gone-bad road. And due to construction activities, there were lot of gravel on the road.

Getting back to the dog, it run across, I brake but the front wheel goes above it and the vehicle falls. I fall head first on the road and hit the road face and both hands at the same time. Nothing major, but just that a gravel hit me right below the right eye and took away the flesh. Had a clearing wide enough to put my index finger in. And the eye socket bone was visible.

Initially due to shock, did not realize this; I got up and dusted myself and picked the bike to check for damage. But suddenly realized that my shirt was getting drenched in blood and checked my face on the side mirror and noticed the damage.

Drove back home, shocked my granny, woke my elder brother from him slumber and also gave him a shock (no one else in the house to 'shock').

It finally ended with a plastic surgery and costing 8k! :-)

All due to the dog which came under the front wheel and ran away showing me its rear!

[Nitin]

Damn!! Thats one nasty accident,happywheels.
Goes to say,no matter what, even if its a very short distance,its always best to wear a helmet. Full face one at that.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by Nitin

Damn!! Thats one nasty accident,happywheels.
Goes to say,no matter what, even if its a very short distance,its always best to wear a helmet. Full face one at that.

Great point Nitin. But, come to think of it, of the number of years that I rode a bike, I have never worn a helmet!

Never thought of the consequences and never gave it a serious thought!

But now, I do not travel in a bike itself, since I do not feel comfortable / safe!

[rjstyles69]

Well I hold the honor of killing 2 strays without any remorse. One was during my drive to Kerala, I was doing high speeds in my car and then Mr.Doggy decides to cross.For split second I decided to slam the brakes and then changed mind. Rammed the dog so hard that he was nowhere in sight.
I dunno where he went, my bumper had blood stains when I pulled over and checked.

2nd incident was e-city NICE road, once again same kinda situation. I decided against slowing down and never stopped to look back.

A friend recently totaled his Chevy Aveo on the outer ring road because of a dog. His cars pic has been posted in the Accidents in India pictures thread. After the accident, his dad had a coronary attack due to shock and passed away.

Since that accident I have no respect for these creatures.

[Nitin]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Great point Nitin. But, come to think of it, of the number of years that I rode a bike, I have never worn a helmet!

Never thought of the consequences and never gave it a serious thought!

But now, I do not travel in a bike itself, since I do not feel comfortable / safe!

I guess its only now that with so many brands of helmets & all the rules coming into effect,that the importance of these skull protectors is known.
True,when one doesn't feel comfortable on a bike,time to move onto a 4-wheeler.Not worth taking any risks.