Missing Dogs from the Streets

Recently there were extensive public debates about whether the BMC should kill the stray dogs or not. There are around 6 lakhs stray dogs in Mumbai, growing at around 2 lakhs every year. There are cases of around 50,000 dog bites every year. BMC spends around Rs 4.25 crore every year to procure Anti Rabies vaccines (ARV). There are several solutions suggested, but the time tasted one is sterilization of female dogs. I don't want to bring this debate to the street. I want to tell a short story. 

My story goes back to the time when I was working in a cement plant near Raipur. Number of stray dogs in the colony had become very large, and some one brought attention of management towards the growing threat to safety. Point was noted in the minutes of weekly coordination meeting. The solution as suggested by the security head was short and simple - kill them by poisoning. Our works manager was a very kind man. He was not ready for this solution. He asked why not dogs could be caught and left away from the place. The security head was asked for arranging this. 

Now, every week, the security head brought a new problem, objecting the scheme of catching the dogs. The sequence was this: 

Week #1: How can we catch the dogs they will bite us. (Solution: inject them to make them unconscious)

Week #2: There are no such injections available in plant dispensary. (Solution: get them from outside)

Week #3: We don't have trained people to catch the dogs. (Solution: Search outside)

Week #4: The dogs will come back after coming in senses. (Solution: Leave them 50 Km away) 

The security head was like testing the patience of the works manager. Every week, he brought some new problem. Works manager would suggest the way out and would ask him to do the job very fast. 

Then I went out for a week. When I returned back, I found this: The security head, informed that there was no supply of the drug used to make the dogs unconscious, and persons and vehicle to catch the dogs were difficult to find. The works manager was fed up and gave in. They poisoned many dogs for several days. After the dogs were finished, equal number of stray dogs from near by villages took exactly the same position where the original ones used to live!