Requesting a man not to allow his Pitbull dog to defecate in front of her door led to a woman getting bitten five times after the man unleashed it on her recently, police said, which registered a case. Riya Devi, who lives in north Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar, had been noticing the man allowing his Pitbull to defecate in front of her house for the past few days. On November 3 morning, She rushed out of the house and confronted the man, which led to an argument between the two. Riya alleged that the man, unleashed the dog on her. Last month, a dispute over a woman insisting on taking a dog in an elevator had led to a fight between residents in a upscale society in Noida’s Sector 108. A retired IAS officer reportedly allegedly slapped the woman during the fight, after which her husband had a physical altercation with him. These are extreme cases but with residents often on a short fuse, man’s best friend is often the centrepiece of ugly spats. It doesn’t help that the population of the so-called stray dogs on the streets is increasing due to the civic agencies failing to mount an effective sterilisation drive. In Sainik Farms too, local RWA groups are reportedly full of residents complaining that the presence of hundreds of unruly, fighting & whining stray dogs poses a safety hazard as well as nuisance for them, saying some residents were feeding them out of misplaced concern and affection. It may be recalled that in March, 2023, two siblings aged 5 and 7 were mauled to death by stray dogs in two days in the Vasant Kunj area. Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi had then disclosed that there were approximately 6 lakh stray dogs in Delhi, but no census has been taken in the last 7-8 years. The MCD runs 16 dog sterilisation centres, with five more on the anvil. It currently pays Rs 900 per dog to the NGOs for catching strays and Rs 1,000 if the strays are sterilised. As per MCD officials, several incidents of stray dogs attacking people have been reported in the recent past. “The Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rule, 2001, deals with the population control of strays and provides for their neutering to achieve population stabilisation. Improper implementation of this law is seen as a major reason behind the growing menace of strays,” an official of South Zone told this newspaper on condition of anonymity. So what can harried residents do? “People living in areas under the MCD can request for sterilisation of stray dogs through a ‘dog sterilization module’ through the ‘MCD App 311’, he said. “Residents can take pictures of dogs in their neighbourhood, and then upload it on the app. Following this, veterinary department authorities will take action, and carry out sterilistation of dogs if needed,” he said.
When man’s best friend turns into a menace
