Stray dogs can be a blessing in disguise - A force multiplier of sorts

NewsBharati    24-Jan-2025 11:41:10 AM   
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‘A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.’ – Josh Billings

The stray dog menace

Many would be surprised to know that there are 62 million that is 6.2 Crore Stray dogs in India as per an estimate! These are street dogs which are mostly cross breed, tough physically and at the same time a nuisance to humans. They are in all shapes and sizes. Every day- almost as a routine you have headlines screaming about dog bite, children being mauled, killed and ripped apart by stray street dogs. Some dog lovers feed them and hence support their survival. Courts too do not allow the administration to catch and kill the street dogs which are a nuisance for local municipal authorities- who are always at the receiving end of the aam junta.
 
stray dogs
 
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) had spent Rs2.17 crore on Animal Birth Control (ABC) operations in seven years, sterilizing 58,843 dogs in the process. Despite this there was no drop in dog bites, rabies cases and their population. In the year 2013, 19 rabies deaths and 10,532 dog bite cases were reported in the city. Likewise, every city is struggling with dog menace.

Mission Rabies, surpassed its goal in the ‘Rabies-Mukt Nagpur' campaign vaccinating 20,392 dogs at a pretty high cost in terms of efforts and money.

Sterilisation option

With incidents of stray dog attacks growing by the day, the government has been exploring multiple options to speed up the process of their sterilisation. Government is laying down a minimum rate that each agency that does sterilisation gets as remuneration to speed up the process nationwide.

Agencies usually get around Rs 800-1,500 for sterilising one dog. The amount is considered inadequate as the cost of surgeries, veterinary doctors' fees, feeding and housing a dog for at least three days is much more. An amount of at least Rs 1,800-2,200 should be paid per animal to cover expenses, animal rights campaigners have said.

The rules prescribe an elaborate procedure on catching stray dogs, sterilisation and post-operative care. According to animal rights activists, some municipal corporations use professional agencies for sterilisation. In several cities the local administrations have engaged professional organisations for carrying out sterilisation drives. The rules prescribe an elaborate procedure on catching stray dogs, sterilisation and post-operative care.

Sterilisation is not the only solution as it won’t stop the dog from barking or chasing someone. Yet , sterilisation might help in controlling the dog population over a period of time and together with active vaccination might control rabies but it won’t change the nature of conflict that happens between dog lovers and dog haters for which sensitization workshops and programmes are very much needed.

The above gives an idea that just to manage (the unmanageable) it is a herculean task and yet there is no solution which is perfect.

Can these animals be used for any better purpose? Some of them.

Whatever one may say these are living beings. Dogs are man’s oldest friends and have been great loyal companions for more than 2500 years of recorded history. As a pet they provide warmth love and the are great for security too. Even a small dog is an early warning system as their hearing is much more augmented than that of a human being. They also can ‘smell danger’ from a distance and often alert you by barking. They also have an inbuilt system of identifying friend or foe. Dogs have been used by gypsies and nomads as guarding angels- they move with the tribe and are a part of the family.

Indian borders

We have more than 11000 km long borders with several neighbouring countries. Some are fenced and lot of it is not fenced. The terrain across borders is very different and challenging. Manned by BSF and Army this is a 24 by 7 – 365-day challenge and the gaps are used for not only smuggling drugs and arms but are a gateway for terrorists and infiltrators too.

One needs costly state of the art high tech drones to keep surveillance of these gaps. You need night vision devices and other equipment to monitor effectively.

What if we deploy dogs in these areas along side troops- as a help to augment their capability?

The army already has dog units who are well trained sniffer dogs. The army has a substantial amount of dog units that number more than 30 with each dog unit having about 24 dogs in a single unit. They are called K-9 for a good reason. The term 'K9' or 'K-9' is derived from the English and French word 'CANINE' (which simply means 'DOG'). 'CA'='K' and 'NINE'='9' (same as 'YOU TOO'='U2').

These are highly trained, expensive pedigreed dogs who are used for sophisticated jobs.

Army dogs are deployed for a variety of operations, including counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, and search and rescue. They are also trained sniffer dogs.

German Shepherds, Labradors, Belgian Malinois, Great Swiss Mountain, Cocker spaniels, and Mudhol Hound are usually employed. Maintenance of these dogs is expensive yet they are limited numbers to be used for very sensitive specific jobs.
The training process for these dogs is rigorous and extensive. The main training starts at the Remount and Veterinary Corps Centre and College in Meerut, where a dog training school was established in 1960. The dogs undergo training for at least 10 months.
During the training, a dog's loyalty and combat skills are honed before they are inducted into the armed forces.
‘Ridicule is the tribute paid to the genius by the mediocrities.’ Oscar Wilde

Boots on the ground – our street-smart friends

This term I am using to indicate mass deployment alone, as dogs do not wear boots!

We could select 50,000 or even more healthy stray dogs. Give them basic training to become tamed and friendly and take simple orders like sit still or bark or as per requirement, give them anti rabies shots to protect them and humans too and allot say 20 dogs per unit. These can be used by troops to man border posts and listening posts and act only as early warning system. It takes maximum 30 days course for basic behaviour training and that’s the only training required. Each unit has troops who are animal lovers and they could be coopted to become handlers.

I am sure they would cost much lesser than keeping them on streets, running from pillar to post. We also give them dignity, shelter and a home. We give the ‘rozgar’ or employment.

Advantages of this idea are: -

  • They are tough because of cross breed.
  • Low maintenance
  • High impact
  • Very agile.
  • Have great sense of listening and smelling as gift of God.
  • ‘When the going gets tough the tough get going’

Cost of a robot dog

Army day parade 2025 on 15 Jan was held at Pune. The Indian Army put on display its first batch of robotic Multi-Utility Legged Equipment (MULES). These robot dogs are designed to operate across different terrain, reduce risk to soldiers and improve their efficiency. They are said to be able to ascend and descend stairs, steep inclines and navigate area filled with debris and can operate in extreme temperatures. They have a battery life of 20 hours and work on the NVIDIA Xavier processor.

Rs 285-crore deal has been finalized for 100 four-legged robotic mules capable of autonomous movement in diverse terrains up to 10,000 feet. Therefore, approximately Rs 300 crore for hundred Robo dogs is 3 Crore a dog!

UniTree Go2 Pro- western armies

This robot dog costs $3,500 plus $1,000 for shipping. It has a top speed of 11 mph and weighs under 30 pounds.

It will not be right to compare these sophisticated machines, equipped with modern sensors and other state of the art capabilities to a living dog. Modernisation must continue at an optimum pace but a tamed tough dog can be an ‘additional asset’ to augment the strength of the over stretched army and para military force.

Our borders are getting hotter by the day and geopolitics is moving like a molten lava., it is time to bring our feet from the street to our borders.

New ideas can be wonky

A new idea will always remain an idea till some one is brave enough to use it. At local levels Some army units are using local dogs but a concerted coordinated effort at the ministry of Defence and Home is required to serve a dual purpose- use them or kill them.

‘Too often new ideas are studied and analysed until they are suffocated.’ - William Pollard








Virender Kapoor

A thinker, educationist and an inspirational guru. Kapoor is an Indian who wears many hats. An educationist of repute, he was the Director of a prestigious management Institute under the Symbiosis umbrella. He has emerged as a leading think tank in human behavior, motivation and success. As a celebrity author, his name appears with the likes of Thomas Friedman and Dale Carnegie. He has authored more than 30 books as of now which are on Amazon worldwide and several of his books are in the pipeline.