Licensing Rate For Dogs In Chennai District Persists To Be At An Abysmally Low

Only 1,300 pet owners go in for a license yearly; the document must be renewed annually. Licenses are linked to coverage of anti-rabies vaccination.

In Chennai district, a dog license can be had for a farthing — just fifty rupees — and in a cruel twist of sarcasm, it is being accorded just the importance of a farthing.

Pet owners either do not realize that their pet dog requires a license or, if they do, they pooh-pooh the notion, considering their four-legged family member as above it as andromeda is above planet earth.

Dr. Kamal Hussain, a veterinary officer at Greater Chennai Corporation, says, “Every year, only 1,300 pet owners go in for dog licensing, and the number is low due to lack of awareness.” Before 1996, when the animal birth control (ABC) mechanism was yet to click into place and stray dogs were eradicated through electrocution, a license for a pet dog was always a license for life.

It was common for a pet dog that had remained on the roads to be left alone if it had a license around its neck.

The demand for a dog license now might not be as surprising as that, but it is a requirement that has hardly subsided. If anything, it has only grown in significance. With the human population in the metro moving at a gallop, the pet dog population has also risen, and it is essential to keep a close tab on the health of these dogs.

Dr. Kamal explains that “licensing helps us know the population of pet dogs in Chennai and control rabies among them and other zoonotic diseases. Moreover, parasitic diseases can be communicated from animals to human beings.”

Facts about the safety of pet dogs can be counter-intuitive. However, on one end of the range are diligent and knowledgeable pet owners who bring their dogs up to date on the vaccinations. On the other end are those who labor under the illusion that a pet dog raised at home is automatically insulated against rabies.

The dog was six years old and had never had an anti-rabies shot. Dr. Akalya says awareness about dog licensing is even more abysmal.

Dr. Akalya explains: “Some time ago, I learned from a dog owner that he could successfully defend his right to keep a pet in his home, as he could produce details of the annual dog licenses and the anti-rabies shots, thereby buttressing his case that the dog was being kept safe for everyone.”