Every Indian must have this useful information regarding rules & guidelines for pet dog owners & the ones who take care of street dogs.
There was a time in India when very few people had pet but now you'll find a pet in one out of every ten homes in India or a street animal dependent to it for food. With increase in number of residents actively engaging in taking care of their pets and stray dogs, it becomes important for everyone to understand their duties, rights and responsibilities, for the welfare of whole society.
Pet owners on numerous occasions find letter taped to the apartment's notice board that is full of crap, inhuman decision based upon extremely weird laws related to pet dog owners, residents, pets, street dogs. Most of the time pet owners give up in front of the society as they're unaware of the laws or guidelines made for pets or stray dogs. Indian Constitution advises peaceful coexistence in between all creatures and lists it as one of our Fundamental Duties (Article 51(g)) to show compassion to all living creatures. To let you know what by-laws are in place, we have rounded some guidelines passed by the Animal Welfare Board of India.
Guidelines for pet dog owners living in society apartments
1. You can consider your pets as part of family but you have to ensure your pets don't cause inconvenience to others.
2. No Resident Welfare Association has the right to ban residents from keeping pets in their apartments, not even by getting a majority vote in the society with the help of other tenants or residents. Doing so is a violation of the law.
3. Barking, which is a natural form of expression of a dog, has to be tolerated in a society. Pet owners must make an effort to keep their dogs quiet, especially during night hours.
4. If you abide by the municipal laws regarding pets then no civic body has the right to ban you or your pets from the society.
5. No pets can be banned from lifts. No ban or special charges can be imposed on pet owners for using lifts with their pets.
6. Leashing the dog is advisable (but not compulsory) when the dog is taken out for walks. It will make the people around feel safe. Leashing also ensures the safety of the pet from being run over by vehicles.
7. Even if Residents' Welfare Association cannot impose fines on any pet owner who do not clean their pet's excreta, they can request pet owners to clean up after their dogs defecate for society’s cleanliness.
Guidelines for the ones who take care of street dogs
1. If you're taking care of street dogs you're also advised to participate in their sterilization and assist animal welfare organizations in taking good care of their health.
2. You are advised not to feed street dogs near residences which do not belong to them, places immediately adjacent to areas in which children play, areas in which people take walks or in places that are generally crowded.
3. You cannot be to forced to control the defecation habits of strays but are advised to participate in it.
4. You are also advised to keep a record of sterilization of the dogs and share the information with residents.
All these rules & guidelines are from AWBI official website, I may have misinterpreted some rules. To check complete set of revised Guidelines for pet dogs and street dogs click here. Now if you get in an argument, you're armed with enough information.
