Laws needed for controlling dog keeping...at least in India
By vanny
@vandana7 (102066)
India
July 3, 2025 1:10am CST
I was just going through facebook page regarding pets available for adoption.
I felt extremely sorry for the pets. As they grow older, their owners try to find reasons to get rid of them.
Usual reasons are, we are moving elsewhere, or there is nobody at home to look after the pets, or there are infants at home, or workload has increased.
People opting for pets, overlook factors like
a. Space that the dog or cat would require;
b. Society's view on pets;
c. Habits of that dog or cat - like taking the dog out for walk for peeing and pooping
d. Food preparation needed for that pet
e. Cost of food, medicines, vaccinations, and toys
f. Likelihood of damage due to loneliness.
g. Third party issues like my dog biting you.
h. Expenses on grooming and bathing both in terms of costs and time
i. Vaccination costs, neutering and spaying costs, medical treatment costs
etc.
When the reality sinks, people no longer want that pet. Then they dump the poor sweetie on the road, with impunity. T
The implication of owning a dog must be explicitly explained to the buyer, and they need to take time to decide each and every aspect.
This will ensure that there is less risks of dogs being abandoned.
Lets also establish something like a dog park in our cities. There should be hotel like facility attached to it.
People who wish to know how it is to have a pet around may go there, spend a day or few days watching all the activities involved and take the pets to their rooms...feed them, take them for walk, bathe them, groom them, play with them. Including how it is for dogs with maggots, what causes those, etc.
A nominal fee for visiting such parks can help to cover vaccination, deworming, neutering and spaying costs, of the stray dogs at the facility, apart from medical treatment or medical equipment costs.
Dogs are stress busters and humans stress creators. Most people would love to visit such places during weekends...and the trend would catch up.
Now, if a family feels all the work involved in owning a dog is easy and so are keen to get one, they are welcome. But as a prior qualification, they need to foster two or three dogs for a month each. That way, they get familiar with different characteristics and needs of the dogs and are mentally prepared for excessive barking and other ways.
In the meanwhile the dog they wish to take home, should be trained for basic functions etc.
Once they have finished fostering other dogs satisfactorily, they may apply for license. This is another point where some money can be collected for vaccinating dogs.
The license would entitle them to hold the dog for just one year and it should include cost of vaccinating as well as medical insurance for hospital treatments, or medical equipment for mobility. They will also be liable for treatment of people should their pet attack...and others suffer some loss. So they would have to buy insurance for that as well. Each year license needs to be renewed, and corresponding set off for vaccinations can be obtained. The license should include charges towards neutering or spaying one dog each year.
Now, if they don't want the pet or have some valid reasons to surrender ...then, they may surrender the pet to licensed pet parks only. In such cases, they have to pay nominal fees for the maintenance, vaccinations, and medical treatment plus food of the pet, till they find suitable person willing to adopt the pet, who again has to go through similar screening.
Most pet owners who buy pedigree dogs, avoid neutering them. Their pets tend to leave their homes for their natural needs. At times, other pets too tend to impregnate the dogs at home. But whoever wants a mongrel? Everyone is looking for pure breed.
This increases the population of mongrels on the streets. Corresponding issues of feeding them, and keeping them from biting people, vaccinating or breeding mongrels can be controlled to some extent by the government agencies. If the dog owner wants to avoid neutering they need to pay higher license charges.
I know it is a complicated concept...but we in India need such laws. Breeders have to register themselves with the government, and pay taxes for dogs too. They also have to maintain certain standards, and same female dog should not be used twice in her lifetime. A gap of three years is mandatory foo..with the first time being at the age of 3 and second time at age 6.
We, in India, have dog menace of gigantic proportion. There are people who upload videos of dogs that would melt anybody's heart and create a desire to own one. But everybody is not cut out to hold that divine creature. The least we can do is, reduce man vs. dog conflict, reduce hunger in these dogs, reduce rabies and other diseases, and make breeding more humane.
So........what do you think, are such laws and license fees needed?
Oh I forgot, a senior citizen like I would love a dog too. But dogs like ShihTzu cannot be left alone for more than 3 hours, and should anything happen to me, and I have to be hospitalized, then there would be lot of anxiety in that creature. So we should get a dog trained exclusively for our needs, with sufficient ways to bring down that anxiety at least for three or four days.
I see a lot of job openings too in such an atmosphere.
The thing is........everything about dog ownership is not adorable as this...
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4 people like this
3 responses
@LindaOHio (193298)
• United States
3 Jul
Owning a dog is a lifetime commitment. You should keep that dog until its dying day. There is nothing in this world like a tail-wagging dog. Sometimes their whole butt wags. They lower our blood pressure and love us unconditionally. Dog licenses are required in our state; and loose dogs are picked up and held at the Dog Shelter for the owner to come and pick up the dog; or the dog will eventually be up for adoption.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (102066)
• India
3 Jul
In India, we don't need dog licenses. I have seen beagles, Indian Spitz, Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, huskies, alsatian cross, and many other mongrels. The labradors huskies and golden retrievers on the road are old, and discarded because of age. Indian spitz ...well, if they are too much to handle, they get thrown out much earlier. It then becomes a struggle to get food. Lucky that people here are god fearing. They tend to feed dogs and birds everyday...but vegetarian stuff. They also arrange for drinking water. However, some people are scared of dogs so tend to beat them up for no apparent reason. Others advocate only vegetarian fare as they fear if dogs get habituated to non veg, they will eat human babies.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (193298)
• United States
6h
@vandana7 OMG. Those poor dogs. This breaks my heart. I like our way of handling stray dogs much better.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (102066)
• India
Just now
@LindaOHio I don't like them being put to sleep unless it is absolutely necessary.
I have decided to adopt a senior dog that would be abandoned, if nobody takes them.
Not now, after Dad. I feel I have enough love to give.
@wolfgirl569 (118621)
• Marion, Ohio
3 Jul
We have laws against letting them run loose but it's normal to see. Many turn them loose when they are tired of having them. But most end up in the pound if they don't get hit when that happens
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (102066)
• India
3 Jul
If there is no demand, there will be no supply. The demand can be brought down by making people realize they are not willing to do something. I suggested pet park. So the family would have to bathe the dog along with other dogs the way it is shown. Those who do not like such things, or don't have time for it, would get the reality check. Cleaning teeth, eyes, ears, etc. When they see the dogs with ailments, and pooping issues, when they see dogs with maggots, and fleas......reality will sink in. What we see on YouTube shorts is just the pleasant side of the story, right? Other side too needs to be seen before seeking to adopt a dog.
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (8105)
•
3 Jul
I couldn't agree more with the contents of a post as I do with this one.
A dog is for life with all the.associated problems and costs
If you can't commit properly, don't get a dog.
We don't have the same problems in the UK with dogs that you have in India, but the rehoming shelters are full of dogs given up or abandoned for one reason or another.
I'm glad to hear about the laws in India regarding the use of a female dog for breeding - we need a law like that here and we would need to enforce it
We do have a problem with Puppy farms
Anyway, I would not be a good dog owner so I don't own one
1 person likes this
