CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, Sept 13: Dog bite cases have increased rapidly in Ranchi in the last month and continue to do so. A total of 437 dog bite cases were reported at Sadar Hospital in the last 10 days. Similarly, more than 1,500 people have taken the anti-rabies vaccine in one month.
On September 12, a total of 133 persons took the anti-rabies jab at the Sadar Hospital.
Veterinarian Dr Santosh Rawani spoke to lagatar24.com and said that the cases of dog bites are usually on the rise during monsoon as it is the mating season for dogs.
“Keeping aggressive dog breeds like German Shephard and Rottweiler at home requires a lot of commitment. The owner should provide proper training to these breeds or else they can become a dangerous companion to live with. In Ranchi, many dog owners keep such breeds and always keep them on a leash which is not at all good. It makes them aggressive. A dog must always be socialised,” Dr Rawani said.
He further added that pet dogs should be vaccinated with doses of anti-parvovirus and anti-rabies every year so that the dog stays healthy and without any infection. A pet dog must also be mated at least once in their lifetime for a healthy life.
As per the official sources, there are a total of 22 Pitbulls, one of the most dangerous breeds in India, and 33 Belgian Shepherds in Ranchi and most of their owners have not registered them under the Ranchi Municipal Corporation.
A renowned journalist from Jharkhand, Dr Vishnu Rajgadia, also shared an incident where he had to suffer a dog bite due to the dog owner’s carelessness.
“Last year, I went to one of my acquaintance’s houses. He had a small white dog with him. I told him to tie it up first and then I will enter the house. He assured me of safety by lifting the dog in his lap. After a while, he took the dog off his lap. The dog bit my leg and inflicted a deep wound. I immediately called a doctor and he told me to immediately wash that wound for a long time and clean it with Dettol. I also had to take 5 doses of anti-rabies injections in Sadar Hospital. There was a pain in that wound for a long time and the mark is still visible,” he said.
To get data on the availability of anti-rabies vaccine in govt hospitals, lagatar24.com tried contacting the Ranchi civil surgeon but he was unavailable.
To curb these cases, RMC takes out drives every year where the workers from RMC lift street dogs from across the city and get them neutered (remove reproductive organs) so that their population doesn’t increase. However, many dogs tend to hide or escape and they end up increasing the stray dogs population.
