BBMP’s dog centres ‘doing a shoddy job’

The death of stray dog Jhansi has again put the BBMP’s animal birth-control programme under a shadow.

Jhansi and two of her puppies were picked up at JP Nagar 8th Phase on June 18. The ABC Centre in Chamarajpet operated on them the next day. The dogs were dropped back on June 22.

Ganesh HK, who used to care for the dogs, says, “I followed up every day. When Jhansi was back, she wasn’t moving much. She seemed to be in pain but I assumed she was on a heavy dose of medicines.”

On June 24, he observed Jhansi’s stitches were open, and her internal organs were spilling out, with ants feeding on them.

“I called up the centre and they said I should move her to a private hospital. We took her to Jeeva Hospital and then to Cessna but they were not able to save her as her kidney was infected,” he says.

Ganesh, like other ‘street dog saviours’, filed a complaint on July 1 at the Adugodi police station.

The ABC programme of the BBMP is run by NGOs that bid and win tenders.

Geetha Misra, social activist, says operations are botched as the centres have untrained doctors. She has filed a police complaint in this connection against the ABC centre in the compound of the Government Veterinary Hospital in Kasturi Nagar, Mysore Road.

“Most centres, including the one at Chamarajpet, are run by veterinary science students. The skin of a female dog has several layers that must be sewn up correctly after an operation but they don’t do it,” she says.

Geetha found a male dog with its ears clipped, indicating it has been sterilised. But it was not.

The birth control operations are not well organised. The doctors keep no records of where the dogs are picked up from, she says.

“Dogs are territorial and street dogs depend on the food given to them by people. If a dog is picked up from someplace and dropped off elsewhere else, it won’t know where to go for food and will run behind people carrying bags,” she says. This kind of relocation has been banned by the Supreme Court, Geetha observes.

Animal care activists say only some organisations like Sarvodaya are doing a good job when it comes to the animal birth-control programme.

Sanjana Madappa, who works with CUPA, says, “The BBMP calls for tenders from veterinarians. Many organisations that win tenders are violating norms.”

Most complaints are against stitches opening up. “So, there is a definite problem with the suture quality and post-operative care, and the veterinarians operating on these dogs,” she says.

Sanjana says healing time is not factored in when dogs are sterilised. “The ABC centres are often not accessible. Whenever we hear of such cases, we take the dogs to private veterinarians who say improper care has caused the problem,” she adds.

Most centres have two or three dogs crammed in each kennel. “When many dogs are put into one kennel, the chance of infections is higher,” says Sanjana.

Training grounds

Sanjana Madappa from CUPA says, “There is speculation that animal birth-control centres are being used as training grounds for veterinary students.”

They must rest at least three days

“The rest period after a sterilisation is usually three days but it is for the doctor to decide. The BBMP has a target and to meet it, the dogs are moved out quickly. The BBMP needs to concentrate on providing proper infrastructure and hygienic conditions for dogs,”says Sanjana Madappa, who works with CUPA.

Misleading clipped ears

Geetha Misra, social activist, suspects ABC centres just clip the ears of dogs and drop them back on the streets. Clipped ears indicate the dogs are sterilised, but some of them are not, she says.