Mumbai: The mystery of disappearing Juhu strays

Community dogs are reportedly ldquodisappearingrdquo from Juhu causing distress among animal lovers in the locality Juhu residents claim that at least five dogs have either ldquodisappearedrdquo or been relocated since August 23 Of these two were found in Colaba and Powai The incidents occurred mainly around Juhu beach and its adjoining lanes So far an FIR has been registered at the Juhu police station for one dog and complaints have been filed for the othersThe first dog was found near the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Colaba and was retrieved by a local animal caretakersrsquo group including TV producer Preeti Simoes her sister Neeti Simoes and nutritionist and chef Shonali Sabherwal They claim that the second dog was ldquodropped backrdquo near Juhu Post Office in a ldquofancy carrdquo a day after being spotted in PowaiSabherwal told midday ldquoWe searched for our community dogs for about two weeks before approaching the police Preeti scanned CCTV footage from the beach and nearby lanes for days The cameras installed by the BMC were either dysfunctional or too hazy so we asked a nearby residential complex for CCTV footagerdquoOne of the missing dogs on a morning run Caretakers have placed collars on each dog with QR codes names and emergency contact numbers CCTV footage of a dog being lured to the main road and put in a rickshawThe footage accessed by midday showed two people leading the dog from the beach toward the main road ldquoWe saw two men luring the first dog from the beach to a nearby lane then tying its mouth and speeding off in a rickshaw The way they handled the dog it seemed they were experienced with caninesrdquo said PreetiThe TV producer claimed that the police identified the two individuals as a junior engineer in a merchant navy firm and a former employee of a famous ticketing platformAnimal lovers claim that affluent dog owners from the upscale locality are paying people to relocate the street dogs from there as these dogs become territorial and bark at their pedigree pets However SubInspector Abhishek Patil of Juhu Police Station said ldquoWe are still investigating the case and cannot yet generalise the disappearances So far only one FIR has been filed so itrsquos too soon to make such claimsrdquoThe localityrsquos residents midday spoke to said the dogs in the area are well looked after Sabherwal added ldquoWe as local animal welfare groups use personal funds to provide them with medical care vaccinations neutering and spaying We have also placed collars on each dog especially those on the beach and in the adjoining lanes with QR codes names and emergency contact numbers It is visible that they are wellfedrdquoAnimal activist and dog feeder in the area Ilham Khan told midday ldquoThe dogs in Juhu are extremely friendly toward humans pet dogs and even cats Their population is under control as most of them are neutered They donrsquot need to be relocatedrdquoAnother Juhubased activist Neha Golwala who feeds strays across the locality echoed this sentiment stating ldquoWe prioritise the sterilisation of female dogs first and males as much as possible The dog population in Juhu is well under control Moreover itrsquos illegal to relocate strays from their areas under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 PCA ActrdquoHowever isolated incidents of aggression occur from time to time due to the territorial nature of dogs Shiven Khosla a Juhu resident who owns a female Cocker Spaniel has experienced aggression from strays He said ldquoOnce while walking on N S Road 7 with Sushi his dog at night I was surrounded by about five street dogs all growling intensely I picked my dog up and ran away and since then I have stuck to the regular route ofN S Road 4 and 5rdquoUnfortunately dog aggression is not always handled appropriately On October 2 a stray dog was beaten to death with an iron rod in JVPD Scheme Gulmohar Cross Road No 5 an area just a kilometre away from where the recent incidents have been reported leading to an FIR against the individual involvedAbodh Aras CEO of Welfare of Stray Dogs says dog conflict between street dogs and pets can be dealt with by canine behaviourists who can train dog owners and their pets on how to deal with community dogs ldquoRelocation is not only illegal but it also never works because the vacuum created by relocating streeties is filled by other dogsrdquo