Every dog lover would have come across a situation of feeling completely helpless when they see a dog in distress. When you see a weak, frail street dog, your heart naturally pounds, and your minds struggle and debate as to how to help ease the dog’s agony. You desperately want to help, but your lack of resources may make you think that you are truly helpless in this situation.
NGOs have their hands full and have heavy shortages of resources as well, making it harder for them to grant immediate help in some situations. Of course, the best-case scenario is that you can rescue street dogs yourselves, adopt them, and name them with some lovely Indian dog names, but that is something not all can do. The next best thing is also limited to some people, which is donating our time and money to NGOs.
If both these options are not something you can do, but you still want to help in rescuing stray dogs, there are things you can do apart from feeding them.
1. Hydration is key:
Just like with humans, dogs need to be constantly hydrated too. This might be tough for them in cities where there aren’t too many clean sources of water. Dehydration can prove fatal to animals and can slow down all bodily functions, putting the animal in a worse state.
Whenever you find a stray dog in agony, try giving them a clean bowl of water so you can cross off dehydration from the list of worries. Adding glucose, especially in summers, can also be highly beneficial.
2. Deworming:
Even if you are unable to adopt the stray dogs in your neighbourhood, deworming them can be a great initiative to keep them healthy. Contact an NGO or a vet before giving a dog a dewormer and try to understand the kind of dosage that particular dog would need. Try providing the tablet or liquid with a yummy treat that the dog can gobble down without fussing. Do this process as regularly as you can to ensure that the dog’s gut is healthy.
3. Vaccinate:
Every animal vet, lover, and shelter volunteer out there cannot stress the importance of vaccinating strays. The most deadly diseases can be avoided with one shot, and you can also prevent diseased stray dogs from biting and spreading the disease amongst dogs and humans. You can get the dog a 7in1 injection along with an Anti-rabies shot to ensure you cover everything. Contact a nearby vet or NGO to get the dog vaccine.
4. Sterilise:
There are many questions about the ethics of having stray animals sterilised. However, considering the atrocious situations they have to put up with like bad weather, cruelty, lack of food and water, and so on, the decision is a stern one. Sterilising stray dogs can prevent constant birth to puppies who have to go through the same, tough situations.
Multiple pregnancies can also seriously affect the mother, especially if they are not well fed and properly cared for. Ensure that you can manage a place to take care of the dog and monitor postoperative care cautiously. Leave the dog back to the same location after the caring process is done.
5. Put them up for adoption:
Take as many photographs of the stray dog and try putting them up for adoption. Ensure that the first few steps are followed before you do to attract more candidates. Taking pictures also helps in looking for the animal in case if it goes missing. You can place the dog under NGO care and add them to adoption run programs or take them to social media as a platform to help spread the word.
6. Get a reflective collar:
Buy reflective collars for glow-in-the-dark street dogs. This can help avoid road accidents by making them more visible in the dark and can also help you look for them if they go missing. Write down your contact details on the collar so people can contact you if something happens. This also helps prevent other people from trying and medicating or vaccinating the animal after you have already done so.
Apart from these steps, there are other things you can do to help rescue street dogs. You can adopt, donate, volunteer, make creative ads and posters to help find a loving home, and more. As long as every dog lover can contribute in their unique way of helping these animals, they can be treated with love, care, and compassion. The world can be a better place for these little ones if you take conscious steps towards protecting them.
