New Delhi, Oct 18 (IANS): Over the last few weeks, people may have read, heard or even seen viral videos of a delivery boy being attacked by a pet dog in the lift of a housing colony or a Ghaziabad boy who had to get 150 stitches on his face after being attacked by his neighbour's Pitbull dog. In another horrifying incident, an infant was mauled by a stray dog in a housing society in Noida resulting in his death on Monday.

After hundreds of complaints about stray and pet dogs were received over the last 3 years, LocalCircles decided to conduct a national survey to gather citizen pulse on the subject.

The survey has found that six in 10 Indians feel that stray or pet dog attacks are common in their area.

In the survey, 56 per cent respondents said stray dog attacks were common while 31 per cent said pet dog attacks were also common in their area, district or city. In contrast, 28 per cent respondents stated that "such attacks by both stray and pet dogs are nonexistent or rare" while 11 per cent gave no clear response.

Only 32 per cent of the respondents felt that most of the pet owners train and restrain their dogs so that they don't cause harm to others.

The survey received over 31,000 responses from citizens located in 303 districts of India. 66 per cent respondents were men while 34 per cent were women. 47 per cent respondents were from Tier 1 cities, 36 per cent from Tier 2 while 17 per cent respondents were from Tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

According to feedback received, most people who keep pets do not spend the time and resources to train them and effectively restrain them when they are in public places. Complaints like big pet dogs with long leashes being walked by someone who cannot effectively control them are common and lead to risk for others in public spaces.