Indian Stray Dogs at University

Seeing stray dogs as individuals with personalities makes a real difference to their relationship to the people around them. The Hindu newspaper has published a story (here) about how the stray dogs at Jadavpur University in India are part of the community to the extent that some even attend lectures (more often than some students apparently). They also have their own Facebook page (JUDogs) run by a group of lecturers and students who take responsibility for their care and other dog welfare issues in the area.

What comes across to me is how these people appreciate the individual personalities of the dogs, and more and more I feel that this is a crucial connection lacking in too many situations where human residents and unowned dogs fail to live together peacefully. Remaining as strangers is far more likely to lead to tension than getting to know eachother. The urban environment isn’t always conducive to friendliness but I don’t believe it has to be that way and a more caring community attitude undoubtedly has other benefits.

It’s great to see a story like this from India that highlights the positives about having unowned dogs around to balance all the daily “dog menace” stories.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)