DogExpress
‘Hole in one’ is a friendly mutt who can be found at the 18 fairway. ‘Caddy girl’ roams freely around the caddy area, but has a cautious temperament. And ‘white line’ can be found lurking near hole no. 2 and is the least interested in interacting with golfers.
These four-legged creatures are among the 50-odd dogs who have made the Chandigarh Golf Course their home. Only recently, these furry friends were christened and the club is now maintaining their data: what they look like, area of movement on the course, a brief on their temperament, and the status of their sterilization and vaccination.
The Chandigarh Golf Club had tied up with two NGOs six months ago to conduct a sterilization and vaccination drive. Now, the club is a ‘puppy free’ campus, with all 52 dogs, including puppies, sterilized and vaccinated. Two of the dogs have even been flown to the US for adoption with help from Reet, who runs Sewa Stray—an international NGO with roots in Chandigarh—and whose father is a member of the club.
“The club management approached us (Peedu’s People and Sewa Stray) for systematically dealing with the problem of dog-overpopulation. The drive was stretched a little due to the Covid situation. The drive will ensure the population of stray dogs stabilizes. Though the chances of a new dog entering the course are less because dogs here are territorial, if a new dog finds its way here, they will be promptly vaccinated and sterilized,” says Inder Sandhu, the brain behind Peedu’s People, which works for the welfare of stray animals and educating school children across the Tricity on how to take care of animals.
“We protect dogs against rabies so that humans are protected, too,” adds Sandhu, who has worked in animal rescue and rabies control authority in the US for six years before migrating back to India in 2016.
“All the dogs were humanely caught with the help of the club staff and after vaccination and sterilization, they were released back in their earlier marked areas,” says Rubika Singh, member of Peedu’s People.
Dog trapping, transport, sterilization, and post-operative care were done by both NGOs. The club pitched in for funds. “We now have complete data on the canines on the course and this will help us to monitor their population. Although no cases of human-dog conflict have been reported here, the drive was a precautionary measure,” says Colonel Arun Johal (retd), general manager of the Chandigarh Golf Club.
Source: Hindustan Times
Please Note: This article is not edited by DogExpress Team!
in Chandigarh, India. 
