Pet lovers in Mohali fume over ill-treatment of dogs

Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 31

After reports of alleged failure of sterilisation of certain dogs in Mohali, now ill-treatment of dogs after sterilisation has surfaced. The sterilised dogs are allegedly kept hungry and unattended for days together in pitiable conditions, at times resulting in their death. 

This is what a local dog lover, Col JBS Mehta, has pointed out, citing a case of how two dogs died after being sterilised due to their poor health and no follow-up treatment. Expressing similar sentiments, Reshamjit Dhaliwal, president of the Protection and Care for Animals, wrote to Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and sought her intervention in the matter. 

In her letter to Maneka Gandhi, Reshamjit Dhaliwal raised her concerns over the alleged ill-treatment being meted out to the animals at the operation centre. 

She alleged that during the sterilisation process, the dogs were not being fed properly. 

Colonel Mehta alleged that a team of the Mohali Municipal Corporation had taken two dogs for sterilisation from his area recently and had left them back after about a week. “Both dogs were robust and healthy when they were picked up and looked like skeletons when they were dropped back. It seemed they were never fed during their stay at the operation centre. They had wounds after operations for which no antibiotics were given,” alleged Colonel Mehta.

He alleged that they took both dogs to a private veterinary doctor as they were crying in pain. “Even after the treatment by a local vet, we could not save them and they died after four days of their return,” said Colonel Mehta. 

Mohali Deputy Mayor Manjit Singh Sethi had also raised questions over the ongoing sterilisation process in the town recently by pointing out an incident in which a “sterilised” bitch gave birth to puppies near his residence.

Refuting the allegations, MC Joint Commissioner Avneet Kaur said though the sterilisation process in the town was being handled by a private player, the MC had a committee to keep an eye on the entire process.