E-Paper
Senior citizen, child injured in two stray dog attacks in Pune
Two dog bite incidents in Pune raise concerns over stray canines, with an elderly woman and a child attacked, prompting calls for action to control the population.
Two dog bite incidents were reported in the city in Dattwadi and Chakan areas on Saturday, raising serious concerns about the increasing incidents involving stray canines in Pune.
In the first incident, the 88-year-old woman in Dattwadi was bitten by a stray dog inside her house on Saturday at around 7 am. She was sleeping inside her house when a stray dog entered the house and bit her multiple times on her hands and face. The woman sustained injuries in the attack and was rushed to Sassoon General Hospital for treatment.
Santosh Kurade, son of the victim, said, “My mother has been unwell and bedridden for the past one month. The door of the house was open, and we were busy with our work. We don’t know from where the dog came and attacked my mother while she was sleeping. There are over 60 to 70 stray dogs in this area and such incidents are common and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is taking no measures to solve this perennial issue.”
In the second incident, the child was standing outside his house on Yash Park Road in Kadachiwadi in Chakan when the pack of stray dogs surrounded and attacked him, a video of which later went viral. In the attack, the child was knocked down by one of the dogs and started to bite him severely. Later five more dogs joined and started to bite and pull the boy by nabbing his limbs.
The timely intervention of family members and nearby residents saved the child’s life. He was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Citizens in Chakan are now demanding immediate action to control the growing stray dog population, as these dogs, often found scavenging on meat from garbage bins, are increasingly targeting small children.
Although the population of stray dogs has declined in the city from 3,15,000 in 2018 to 1,79,940 in 2023 even as there has been hardly any decline in the number of dog bite cases. Pune city broke all its past records and reported the highest number of dog bite cases in 2023. Following this the civic body started to report only stray dog bites from 2024 which doesn’t give an actual number of dog bites reported in the city.
Dr Sarika Funde-Bhosale, chief veterinary officer of PMC, said, “The team will visit the location and catch the dog and keep the canine under observation. The vaccination and sterilization of the stray canine will be done. Also, sterilization and vaccination of the stray population in the Dattawadi area will be done.”
