AHMEDABAD: To feed or not to feed a stray dog? Residential societies across Ahmedabad have been battling this dilemma for a while now, leading to squabbles, fights and more recently, scuffles too. The recent case in point is the scuffle between two women at a Vejalpur-based society reported last week.
The issue, however, has been a topic of discussion, heated exchanges and even spats not just on society WhatsApp groups, but in reality too between dog-feeders and others bothered by stray dogs.
While some societies have imposed a ban, some have not, some have gone to the extent of forming special committees to address dog-related issues and even defined regular feeding zones.
Devyani Ahluwalia, canine nutritionist and a resident of a society near Vaishnodevi Circle, said, “I love dogs and have been feeding strays for five years now. But not everyone likes them and many are often scared, which has led to multiple disputes in the past. In our society, an informal committee was formed to address dog-related disputes between residents. We now feed most of the dogs outside the gates, but some who were born in the society are cared for inside.”
Residents including regular dog feeders have alleged that spaying of dogs by relevant civic authorities has suffered and been neglected due to the pandemic due to which the population of dogs is on the rise.
Some societies on the other hand have defined dedicated areas, either within or outside the society, where stray dogs are fed.
“We have a dedicated place in an open ground outside our society where we feed all the strays. Typically, a time of the day like early morning or mid-afternoon or even late evening is chosen to feed the dogs so that there is lesser movement of people and dogs would not run towards humans,” said Kumar Abhishek, a power-sector professional, who has been feeding stray dogs in Ahmedabad for about three years.
Abhishek opined that societies must also make an effort to pool money and vaccinate the strays regularly and ensure they’re spayed properly so that their population can be kept under check.
In certain other areas, however, societies have simply termed the stray dogs as nuisance and made it mandatory for residents to feed them outside.
Sandra D’Souza, a Vastrapur resident said, “Our society committee has made it very clear that residents who want to feed stray dogs may do so outside the main gate and not within the society, and some of us who want to do so take the necessary precaution.”
