Dog squad kept on tight leash

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It’s the same old story for the Corporation’s ‘dog squad.’ At present, there are four men in the unit and just one old vehicle for carting off the trapped dogs to the pound at Pettah. The Corporation had promised one more vehicle, but that was about two months ago, and nothing has been heard of it since. Satheeshan, the harried official dog catcher appointed by the Corporation, says euthanasia should be allowed for at least the old and ailing stray dog population, but he well knows the Corporation or the government is not going to break the law and allow him to do it.‘’There are 40 dogs in the dog pound here at present. And only five have been sterilised this month due to the shortage of vets. We are expected to return the dogs to the place they were caught after the operation, but will the people allow it?’’ he asks. ‘’We also have only one vehicle, which is an old one.’’Satheeshan hails from Peerumade, Idukki, and has been at the job for seven months. Earlier, there were eight members in the Corporation’s dog catching unit, but they dropped out after little was done to increase the award for each dog caught. They were succeeded by Satheeshan and his team. They are paid ` 75 per dog, plus ` 15 for feeding and sheltering the animals.‘’We feed the dogs rice and chicken waste from KEPCO,’’ he said. There were supposed to be two new dog catching teams, but the Corporation has succeeded in forming only the one led by Satheeshan.