Pet Dog Registrations in Ahmedabad Remain Slow Despite Fast Approaching Deadline

Ahmedabad: As the deadline for pet dog registration in the city has come and gone, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s registration drive has not exactly been successful.

By Saturday, March 29, only 4,437 of the estimated 50,000 dogs in the city were registered. For context, that amount to roughly 9% of dogs in Ahmedabad, which is far from a favourable figure. According to experts, a lack of awareness combined with miscellaneous factors could be causing pet dog owners in the city to hesitate. 

In the meantime, the AMC plans to ramp up its awareness campaign, look to vets and pet shops for support, and relax the rules somewhat to encourage pet dog registration. It is hinted that the deadline may be extended to give pet owners a chance to register. 

According to an AMC official, pet parents in the city may have another month to voluntarily register their pet dogs. "They are required to upload a host of documents, which could be a problem for them in completing the registration process. We are considering dropping the property tax bill from the list of requisite documents. However, a final decision on this is yet to be taken," the official said.

The director of CNCID, Naresh Rajput, said "According to our estimates, there are approximately 50,000 to 60,000 pet dogs in Ahmedabad city. We set the registration deadline until March 31, but we are now considering extending it by one month. To encourage pet owners to register more dogs, we are planning awareness programs and seminars. After dog registration, we will issue licenses to pet owners. We will also install RFID chips in the dogs and collars around their necks. If pet owners do not register their dogs even after this extension, a penalty of Rs 200 will be imposed. We plan to increase the penalty amount in the future. Our goal is to register as many pet dogs as possible. For this, software will be developed, which will include details of the pet dogs along with vaccination information. We have also arranged for free rabies vaccinations for pet dogs."

Pet Parents & Their Fears 

Aside from the concerns surrounding documentation, it appears there is a prevailing sense of fear among pet owners, who are sceptical of the process bringing unnecessary action against their pets. "AMC records should not be misused. Ever since we got a dog, some neighbours have turned hostile. We have house-trained our pet, ensuring it stays happy and mild-tempered. We fully understand not everyone likes dogs, but the fear of our pet becoming a target despite all the ‘petiquette' just because of a few hateful neighbours never leaves us," said a resident who did not want to be named. 

The resident calls for transparency to help alleviate such fears, a sentiment which was shared by the AMC official. "These registrations are records on rabies vaccinations and nothing more. Having an updated record will actually be in favour of a pet owner in case of an incident. Dog owners must see the process as a benefit," he said. Giving the authorities' perspective, he said these records will come in handy if the govt decides to provide free anti-rabies vaccines in the future.

What do the Vets Say? 

According to officials, making vaccination records a mandatory registration requirement has two reasons. First, it will push pet parents to regularly vaccinate their dogs, and second, push pet parents towards the right people and vets for their pets’ vaccinations. 

"To scrimp on costs, some owners buy vaccines over the counter and have them administered by pet shop owners or anyone who knows how to use an injection syringe," said Dr Gohil. "People are not aware that vaccines are to be kept at a certain temperature till administered. But most medical shops don't provide thermal bags for this, which means that by the time the shot is given, it has probably lost its efficacy. Registered practitioners don't make this mistake," he said.

A vaccination card an owner receives from a vet carries their stamp, vaccination details, and the due date of the next round of vaccinations; unregistered vets do not provide any of these details.