I was introduced to the stray animals at our colony in an unusual way.
My wife and I, moved into the colony in January this year. In the first week, the colony strays, the brown dogs and the white one, all growled and mock attacked us. In the second week I got badly bitten by a stray cat who entered our (until then vacant and derelict) home. It was pretty bad - I had to be rushed to a hospital by a kind BBMP worker outside our house. I was on painkillers for two weeks.
So I decided to do something about the stray cat problem.
I scattered our garden with a tiny amount of dry dog poop to keep them out of our compound. For the ones who chose a more aerial route, via the balcony, I sprayed with water (I didn't want to hurt them. Just deter them.) Eventually, I solved the stray cat problem.
But the dog problem turned out to be something else.
My wife and I are Social Impact designers, meaning, we have some training in analysing social problems and attempt solving them. Note that I said attempt, not actually solve. That's because in our line of work, we refer to problems like these as Wicked Problems - Problems that adapt to your solutions to create new problems. Wicked problems cannot really be solved. One can only design solutions that can solve temporary issues before new ones crop up.
Take education for example. All children have a right to education, but the problem is not uni-dimensional. Solve in one place and a new problem pops up in another place. This is because the underlying system adapts to our interventions. We refer to these as Complex Adaptive Systems.
The problem of stray dogs in India can be described as a wicked problem that is part of a complex adaptive system.
So here we were. I wanted to do something about the stray dog problem, but I knew nothing about dogs. We have a cat called Spock who has lived with us for 8 years. A lot of knowledge about how NOT to deal with dogs basically.
One of the principles we use in design for Social Impact is called User-Centered Design. What it basically means is, before you can design for someone, you must first know something about them.
I didn't know dogs, so I spent all of Jan and Feb this year, learning about them. I watched scores of YouTube tutorials on Canine behaviour and training. I read dozens of articles, and spent hours drawing the dogs. (You may have seen some of our drawings of the dogs on Whatsapp recently.)
Once I felt confident, I decided to begin. I picked the one I thought was the most aggressive - a white female with a pup. The idea was to get her accustomed to people in general and to get her to respond to some basic commands (in case of an emergency). I thought this sort of training might reduce her aggression somewhat.
There was another reason I picked her. A few weeks after we moved in, I was returning from Runway, when I noticed a bunch of strays cornering a pup. I ran in between them and chased they bigger strays away. The mother and pup follow me everywhere since that day.
They say training strays is very hard, if not impossible. I discovered why. Without a controlled environment to train them in, they were open to all sorts of distractions. Plus, you can train a pet dog because freedom is the reward they are granted. Strays already have all the freedom they need, so are independent and strong willed.
The white female turned out to be a handful. She is quite aggressive because she is a female, also because she has a pup to protect. She also turned out to be very intelligent, had a surprisingly gentle and compassionate side once I got to know her.
Spending time with her close-up, I could see welts and scars on her hide, from a lifetime of abuse. She had a collar, but that collar also had multiple types of rope and twine, suggesting she may have been captured and confined by more than one 'owner'.
Despite all that she had suffered, in the end, she allowed me to teach her some things. Now she responds to sit, down, heel, let's go, and stay. I can put a handful of biscuits right in front of her nose and request her to wait unti I ask her to eat it. She complies, as does her pup. So clearly, she has good impulse control - just never had a human patient enough to teach her.
So if you see a long haired man, with a short white beard, walking the white dog up and down the streets of the colony, that's me. I have spent some time introducing people who are scared of dogs to the white one. The training sometimes goes both ways.
So the next time you see me walking the white dog…
Anyway, that's about me and how my wife and I are doing our bit to help with the problem of strays. Now I'd like to discuss how some other people are going way beyond what my family is doing to help.
I am proud of Indian laws that protect the well-being of stray animals. Not only does it show incredible compassion, it also mirrors an eons old culture of love and compassion for all strays - animal and human.
Feeders - people who go through tremendous trouble to feed strays, care for their health and well-being, are protected by our courts and constitution (See Article 51A) . People who intimidate or harass Feeders can be booked under Section 503 of the Indian Penal code, after a recent Delhi high court ruling. This is because Feeders play an important role in controlling the dog population of the areas in which they operate. As Justice Sinha observed, “Feeding (stray) dogs makes them friendly and easier to handle..." Since Feeders know individual dogs, they are able to assist Government and NGO workers when it is time to neuter them or have them vaccinated.
Much of the time, their work is not appreciated, though I have never seen a feeder look for praise. They simply do their job, often paying for the food out of their own pockets.
This is why it is hurtful when I hear people accuse these feeders of attracting dogs to the colony. One of the most ridiculous statements I have heard is "If you like these dogs so much, keep them in your own house." It betrays not just a massive sense of entitlement, but also a lack of commonsense and empathy. In true Orwellian fashion, it creates disinformation, wrongfully targeting the very people who are trying to help.
Feeders feed strays that have already become embedded in neighbourhoods. They don't attract new ones. As I explained to one lady who created a bit of a scene outside my house - dogs are opportunistic scavengers. Unlike crows, they have a very small territory they scavenge in.
Dogs are attracted to neighbourhoods mostly because there may be a vacuum (no other dogs), unsecured garbage, and smaller prey like cats and squirrels. Once they have carved out a territory, they can be quite aggressive in guarding their space.
When feeders notice that a dog has adopted a neighbourhood, they may choose to feed the dog, maintaining a regular schedule. This trains them, builds trust with humans and reduces their destructive behaviour greatly. A well fed stray dog will simply sleep on the pavement all day and lift nary an eyebrow when a known resident passes by. Yes, you can thank the feeder for your safety. If they were not around, you'd have to deal with an hungry, angry dog protecting what it thinks is it's turf.
Our colony is also blessed with a vet who spends her precious time ensuring these dogs are healthy and disease free. Remember, again, this is for the benefit of humans more than the dogs.
None of these people need to do what they are doing. But then, the satisfaction of doing good within the community is often its own reward.
The Indian mongrel (there are four that live in our colony) is a derivative of one of the oldest dogs in the world. The Indian pariah is a land race, meaning, unlike most dog breeds, it is not the result of selective breeding by humans, but of natural adaptation. The Indian pariah learnt on its own how to co-exist with humans.
If you stop to think about what this means ,you will be amazed at these animals that live in our colony. They are intelligent, loyal and highly protective of the residents. They don't let in new dogs, which means known strays keep out the unknown ones, who may be carrying disease or even more frighteningly - have gone feral.
A recent spate of whatsapp messages complaining about the white dog led me to write this piece. I wanted you, the reader to know that there are people in the colony who have been trying to help with the issue of strays for many years.
One gentleman has promised to look for a home the moment the issue of the pandemic clears. This is not only reasonable, it is much appreciated. If anyone is unable to wait that long, they are always welcome to help find a home for the white dog and her pup. I encourage more people to lend a hand with the issue of strays.
You can coordinate with the feeder, if you'd like to help feed the dogs or if you'd like to offer to purchase dog food or pay for Medicine.
If you have experience with dogs, you can help train them, walk them and get them used to people in the colony.
Even if you do not want to be involved, you can still help by educating people. If you come across people with irrational belief about dogs or feeders, spend a moment educating them. Explain that it is a problem that needs a collective solution.
So that is my story in a somewhat large nutshell. I will leave you with an introduction to the 4 dogs in your colony. As is usual with strays, they may have many names. This is what I call them.
Note: Chippi, the white dog has been suddenly aggressive the past week. This is because an unknown person has beaten and wounded her. To add to her woes, she was attacked by another stray a few days ago and nearly had her ear torn off. The reason for her aggression is simply pain and distrust.
Written by a dog trainer by circumstance and social impact designer by choice, on April 22, 2020.