Strays Vaccinated Against Rabies Get Green Collars In Pune

When you spot a stray dog with a green collar now, know that it is a “safe” dog — i.e. the dog poses no rabies-related threat. ResQ Charitable Trust, a city-based non-governmental organization, has come up with a “safe collar” which is very securely fitted on adult dogs to help people recognise the dog as “safely vaccinated against rabies.”

A significant number of strays dogs in the city — more than 4,250 — have been vaccinated against rabies by ResQ in the past three months alone, said Neha Panchamiya, the president of ResQ Charitable Trust.

The stray dogs are vaccinated against rabies using a vaccine that has a three-year efficacy. Apart from vaccination, we are also collaring these dogs using colour-coded, riveted collars. These collars are also labelled and reflective. For the year 2018, the chosen colour of the collar is green.

The label on the collar specifies that“This dog has been vaccinated against Rabies” in Hindi,” said Panchamiya.

She said the NGO will be changing the colour of the collars every year to make it easy to identify the year of vaccination.

“When we see a dog with a green collar, we know it has to be vaccinated next in the year 2021 only,” said Panchamiya.

ResQ is the only animal rescue centre in the city currently testing canine rabies. It is taking steps in an attempt to make the city’s streets safer, without any government support. It has been running the ‘ResQ-against-Rabies’ initiative in Pune for the past several months by conducting mass anti-rabies drives. This apart, it conducts more than 700 animal rescues on an average every month.

“Our efforts are maximised when responsible local volunteer groups take part in these initiatives. Recently, the Vadgaosheri Animal Saviors and Kalyaninagar Woof Group, along with ResQ, caught and vaccinated over 900 dogs against rabies in those areas,” she said.

Meanwhile, the unneutered dogs that were caught were sent for animal birth control surgeries at the Pune Municipal Corporation’s pound.

“This is a great example of how responsible volunteer groups, which that take charge of their area, can collaborate with NGOs to make our city’s streets safer,” said Panchamiya.

Reference: Times of India

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