About two years after it was inaugurated at Kedarpuram area in Dehradun during August 2016, the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Centre has been able to sterilise more than its target number of stray dogs in the city. At the same time, the stray dogs sterilised and treated here are finding few takers as people of Dehradun appear to be uninterested in adopting stray dogs.
The ABC centre’s senior veterinary officer Dr Vivekanand Sati informed, “Our work is to sterilise the stray dogs so that population rate can be brought under control. We also take care of the anti rabies vaccination apart from which we also treat stray dogs and other animals injured in accidents or suffering from any problem.” Regarding the number of stray dogs sterilised at the centre, he said that the figure varies from 600 to 1000 with the average being 700 dog sterilisations a month. “The target set in 2016, was to treat 16386 dogs in 24 months which means 683 dogs in 30 days. We are achieving more than the target, which is a good thing, especially as our team is willing to achieve more in the coming time.”
Talking about the problems faced at the centre, he states that since it is the lone centre of its kind in Dehradun, the work load is high. The untrained staff members have to be trained before they can be sent out in to the field. Regarding adoption of dogs from the centre he said, “People come here looking to adopt a dog but tend to change their mind on seeing that we have stray dogs. People should come forward to adopt these dogs. They are not violent; they are very intelligent, healthy and compatible dogs,” added Dr Sati.
It is pertinent to mention here that at the time of the ABC centre’s inauguration in Dehradun, the stray dog population in the city was estimated to be about 22,000.