Army doctor injured in stray dog attack in Pune Cantonment

Pune: A routine evening turned into a traumatic experience for a senior Army doctor after he was attacked by a pack of stray dogs outside his residential quarters in Pune's Ghorpadi. The incident has reignited longstanding concerns over the growing stray dog population and lack of effective management within the Pune Cantonment Board limits.

The attack occurred around 6:30 PM, when the doctor, a Colonel and super-specialist posted at Southern Command, was stepping out to drop his daughter off for tuition. A group of stray dogs reportedly charged at him near the colony gate and bit him on the legs. He sustained injuries but is now in stable condition at Command Hospital, a senior Army officer confirmed.

Residents and military families living in high-security zones such as Ghorpadi and Wanowrie have raised concerns about the unchecked population of stray dogs in the cantonment. Many have criticised the PCB’s failure to implement consistent Animal Birth Control (ABC) and vaccination drives.

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Another Army officer said feeding spots are also an issue. He stated that they told dog feeders not to provide food in residential areas, but the feeders refer to ABC Rules and court orders, which limit their actions. He added that they have now approached the Wanowrie police for a solution.

Animal rights activist Vineeta Tandon, who has been working on dog sterilisation in cantonment areas, blamed the Local Military Authority (LMA) for blocking sterilisation efforts. She explained that they had made multiple correspondence to the LMA requesting permission to carry out sterilisations in military areas, but the authorities did not respond to their requests. As a result, they were unable to achieve the desired results.

Tandon added that they were never allowed to conduct a drive to sterilise and vaccinate dogs in the Vishwamitra Colony residential quarters, and now the residents are bringing up dog bite cases. She said they need to provide proof.

According to TOI, tackling the issue of designated dog feeding spots created by LMA and PCB, animal activists said these are "unscientific". "We have been urging these authorities to set up a committee as per the ABC Rules to fix feeding points within the limits. But they have not done so. Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations (PMC and PCMC) have set up committees for this purpose. Why hasn't PCB done so?" asked Tandon.

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Speaking to TOI, another volunteer pointed out that it has been at least four years since PCB took sterilisation and vaccination drives seriously. He alleged, "We have also seen new stray dogs illegally relocated in PCB limits by PMC. These dogs struggle to survive in new areas and could become aggressive. That also eventually could result in attacks."