Hygiene Ignorance In Shelters Lead To Health Issues Among Dogs

Recently, a Morhabadi-based family took a holiday to Puri, due to the traveling constraints, they left their two-year-old Labrador at a city kennel. When they returned four days later, they brought their dog home and realized that it had picked up Ehrlichiosis a bacterial infection causing high fever and internal organ swelling.

Vivek Ranjan, a city based banker makes frequent trips outside Ranchi and owing to his professional commitments, he usually keeps his two-year-old Labrador in a city kennel.

“Every time the dog returns home, it loses appetite and shows symptoms of physical illnesses. Plus, its coat becomes infested with ticks,” Ranjan said.

Main problems for the dog owners

Due to professional or personal traveling commitments, owners are looking up to pet shelters in and around the city to keep their pets in a hygienic and healthy atmosphere. Many dog shelters have popped up in the city in recent years but their neglect for hygiene and lack of professional competence is posing problems for the owners and the pets.

Several breeding centres have spawned in Ranchi to cater to the ever increasing demand of pets. Breeders are also doubling up and running dog shelters, where many of the canines are being crammed up due to lack of space.

“The growing trend of having pets has come as a boon for breeders and kennels. But most of them are running them for quick money,” a kennel owner said, under the condition of anonymity.

There are roughly 10 kennels in the city. They charge a pet owner anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 800 for a day that includes food and shelter. The kennel owners do not take responsibility if a dog contracts a disease during its stay.

Rajashri Gupta, who owns a four-year-old German shepherd, has faced similar problems.

“I left my dog for a week at a kennel. When we took him back home, it had contracted cough. It never stopped,” Gupta said.

According to veterinarian

Dr Suranjan Sarkar, Ehrlichiosis and kennel cough (a form of lung infection) are on the rise among Ranchi’s pet canines.

“Both these diseases are happening at the unhygienic kennels. The kennel owners are supposed to spray disinfectants once a week or call in vets for periodic check-ups. But they refuse to do so. Sexually transmitted diseases among pets are also on the rise due to the unabated breeding of pets by kennel owners. They also administer spurious vaccines that are leading to further health complexities,” said Sarkar.

Though kennels have to procure licenses by the animal welfare board of India, there are no proper monitoring mechanisms to check on these centers on grounds of cruelty to animals.

Reference: The Times Of India

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