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Passions: Pets & fines
If an incident occurs, pet parents should offer to bear medical expenses By Preeti Sharma Sood
If an incident occurs, pet parents should offer to bear medical expenses
By Preeti Sharma Sood
Being a pet parent, I feel our pets are our own responsibility, although putting a blatant fine on such episodes isn’t a great idea. We need to learn to co-exist and respect each other’s space.
A lot can be done to ensure harmony. Like, have a dedicated space for pets to get exercise as a lot of behaviour issues arise from pent-up energy. If someone is already in the lift with a dog, ask them if the dog is comfortable around new people before you enter the lift. Tower guards must be trained to keep a close watch on the lift to inform ingoing people if a pet is inside the lift. It’s also important that kids are taught to ask permission from the pet parent before approaching the dog or cat.
Pet parents should keep pets on a short leash in public spaces. They should ensure the pet’s vaccination is up to date. Carrying a toy on walks helps distract your pet if there is any sudden situation. Investing in a good trainer can be made mandatory for pups.
However, if an unfortunate episode occurs, the pet parent should offer to bear the medical expenses. Banning or penalising is never a good route. Instead, we should look at solutions and work towards creating an environment that’s friendly for both pets and people.
Preeti Sharma Sood, 42, founder of pet brand PoochMate, is also a parent to three dogs.
Pet owners in Noida will be fined ₹10,000 if their pets injure someone in a mishap. They will also have to register their pets as well as have them vaccinated against rabies by March 1, 2023.
Authorities need to monitor pets & strays living in the area
By Ujas Kumar
I completely agree with the fact that a heavy fine should be imposed if a dog attacks an innocent person, because as pet parents, I think one should be responsible enough and make sure that others who may or may not be so pet-friendly are not inconvenienced, nor should they be forced to live with a constant fear.
Having said that, a huge amount of responsibility rests with the Government authorities to make sure that the implementation of such rules is done sincerely and diligently without any misuse. There is an urgent need for the authorities to build a healthy ecosystem wherein there are regular house checks, registration etc. for pets so that pets who are not being cared for properly can be rescued. This will also help with proper vaccinations for stray dogs.
The authorities also need to look into the fact that a large number of dog bites involve stray dogs and no one is accountable in such cases. The local body/officers should be made to pay a similar fine for such incidents involving stray dogs, so that there is an active effort in making sure that the stray dogs in an area are vaccinated and their health is also monitored regularly.
Ujas Kumar, 32, is a lawyer who lives in Noida and a dog-dad to two rescue indies.
From HT Brunch, December 24, 2022
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