Managing Missing Dogs and Pets in India
- Priya Chetty-Rajagopal
- Mar 22
- 6 min read
Managing Missing Dogs and Pets: A Global Perspective and Proposed Framework for India
Losing a pet can be a traumatic experience for pet owners, causing significant emotional distress and financial burden. Parents suffer and the pets are distressed, confused and often suffer or die. Even in western countries like the US, surveys show that 80% of missing dogs are never found . In India, the issue of missing dogs and pets is further complicated by the lack of a clear process escalation, robust and reliable reporting system, inadequate involvement of law enforcement agencies, and insufficient awareness about pet care and responsible ownership. This in turn can put pressure on the system where lost dogs are unfamiliar with the streets and often get fatally injured, attacked, by territorial street dogs, stoned by people. taken in by unscrupulous breeders, or fostered at great cost, readopted, and often mated on streets , resulting in further dog population on the streets and pressure on the civic framework and budgets. Also many low lives are motivated to steal dogs given the high reward offered by pet parents of even one lakh. This is a very dangerous practice that must be nipped in the bud.
This note examines global practices in managing missing dogs and pets, highlighting successful strategies and frameworks that can be adapted in India. We propose a comprehensive framework for reporting, searching, reuniting, and preventing missing dogs and pets, emphasizing the need for a collaborative effort between citizens, law enforcement agencies, shelters, and local authorities. We must also note that missing pets also include beloved community, cats, and dogs that are beloved by a locality who often get displaced injured or relocated . Since there are many layers to this, and it has not been discussed in great detail, Animal lovers, welfarists and NGOs must come together to focus and deliberate on this issue.
Something must be done. Statistics elsewhere are alarming and it must be same or worse in India ( except that India has a no kill policy) . American Human Association reports One-third of all dogs and cats in the United States are reported missing in their lifetimes, more than 80% are never found, and between 9,450,000 and 9,632,000 pets that wind up in shelters in the US are killed.
Global Practices
1. Microchipping and Identification : Many countries, such as the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, have implemented microchipping and identification systems to help reunite lost pets with their owners.
2. National Reporting Systems: Countries like the United States (National Lost and Found Pet Database) and Australia (Lost Dogs Home) have established national reporting systems, allowing pet owners to report missing pets and increasing the chances of reunification.
3. Community Engagement: Successful initiatives, such as the "Missing Dogs of Bangalore " Facebook groups, have been launched in various cities worldwide, leveraging social media to disseminate information about missing pets and facilitate community-led search efforts.
4. Technology and AI: quicker data, searches, and facial recognition is playing a huge part in reuniting pets across geographies, and we need to use the stool more extensively and more
5 . Legal & Operations: it is important to follow legal procedure and proper time lapse when dogs are put up for readoption or foster as the possibility of the original parent turning up, etc. require the adoptive parent to be first considered a foster
Stakeholders
The network of stakeholders are very important and many do not realize that everyone has personal stake and loss, if this issue is not addressed. There is a lot of pressure - be it on resources both time & money, injury, disease, heartbreak all of which is very highly preventable. So stakeholders must be aware, involved and in action mode, for their own good.
Pet Parent and pet family
Animal Welfare Board of India
Local Police and Home Guards
Local Civic authority eg BBMP in Blr
Local SPCA
Local NGOs and shelters
SAWB ( State Animal Welfare Board)
Network of rescuers & adopters
Hyperlocal community or local squad
Veterinarians, vet workers and paravets
Media, Content creators & social media
Proposed Framework for India
1. Centralized Reporting System:AWBI (Animal Welfare Board Of India) should take the lead in this, considering the pre-eminent status in Indian Animal Welfare . They must Establish a national online platform for reporting missing dogs and pets, allowing pet owners to upload details, photos, and contact information. This process and framework can then be duplicated across all the SAWBs (State Animal Welfare Boards) and then the District level SPCAs as well for easy implementation and rollout .
For eg UK RSPCA has an excellent one stop system called Animal Search UK for reporting, database and search as a single point of contact for lost or missing pets . In the USA, a network of resources and organizations helps reunite lost pets with their owners, including online databases like Petco Love Lost and Pet FBI, as well as services like 24PetWatch and AKC Reunite.. AWBI should apply apply the UK system here earliest and do it city and state wise. A central system could result in a near 100% report, recover and reunite of pets.
2. Collaboration with Law Enforcement: Ensure that police stations and local authorities are informed about missing pets, enabling them to assist in search efforts and prevent potential animal cruelty cases. The police should consider accepting lost pets in police stations where they can be easily cleaned with the right paperwork. At the very least, we should have a small division of the police dedicated to animals, including lost dogs, cruelty, etc. and this would make a very big difference with Better systems reporting matrix and recovery . Sadly, police don’t seem to take this very seriously we recently had a case where a husky was found at a police station, and a local cop surrendered the dog to a breeder without any paperwork.
3. Shelter and Rescue Involvement: Engage with local animal shelters and rescue organizations to facilitate the reporting and reunification process, ensuring that found animals are safely housed and cared for until their owners are located.
4. Media and Public Awareness: Allocate free space in newspapers and electronic media for "Missing Pet of the Day" features, raising awareness about the issue and encouraging community involvement in search efforts. Media must take their role seriously in this, and this also provides excellent content and stories which are reader, engaging and heartwarming
5. Prevention and Education: Launch public awareness campaigns emphasizing the importance of responsible pet ownership, vaccination, neutering, and proper identification (e.g., microchipping, collars with identification tags). For eg CJ Memorial Trust has initiated and pushed the #DogTagged NOT #DogGone #NoMoreLostDogs to ensure parents tag their dog so reuniting is easier if pet lost. Unneutered dogs tend to run away when in season so neutering is a must. Tagging, neutering, AirTags, microchipping are excellent preventive methods rather than morning and morning when a dog is lost . Eg a stitch in time save nine.
Better safe than sorry, etc
6. BBMP or Municipal Corporations Involvement*: Collaborate with local municipal corporations to establish a dedicated wing or department focused on managing missing dogs and pets, ensuring a coordinated response to reports and effective implementation of prevention strategies.
Implementation Roadmap
1. Conduct stakeholder meetings with law enforcement agencies, shelters, rescue organizations, and local authorities to discuss the proposed framework and establish partnerships.
2. Develop a user-friendly online reporting platform and mobile application, allowing pet owners to report missing pets and upload relevant information. For eg both Mars and Swiggy have this- Mars with an app Four Paws or Swiggy Pawlice as part of their overall app
3. Launch public awareness campaigns and media initiatives to promote responsible pet ownership and the importance of reporting missing pets.
4. Establish a dedicated team to manage the reporting system, coordinate with stakeholders, and provide support to pet owners.
By implementing this comprehensive framework, India can establish a robust and reliable system for managing missing dogs and pets, reducing heartbreak and grief for pet owners, and promoting a culture of responsible pet ownership and compassion.
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Your comments and suggestions on this important and heartbreaking topic is very welcome
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