Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (SP)

Beltangady, Jan 11: In a strange incident, a street dog found by the roadside at Dharmasthala was taken care of after a union minister contacted the district administration.

A street dog, which was ill, was found to be writhing in pain on account of illness near Vaishali guest house at Dharmasthala in the taluk on Wednesday January 10. A mass of flesh was seen jutting out of its rectum. Passersby either changed their course or felt pity about its condition but did nothing to take care of the dog.

Maneka Gandhi

A woman living in the guest house since the last couple of days noticed the condition of the dog and conveyed information to People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) at New Delhi along with a photograph of the dog. This information reached union minster for women and child welfare, Maneka Gandhi, who also happens to be an animal rights activist. She contacted Dakshina Kannada district administration, asking it to provide treatment to this dog. The administration passed on this instruction to the taluk administration as well as district director of animal husbandry department. The assistant director of animal husbandry department received this information thereafter.

Assistant director in the department, Dr Ratnakar Mallya, deputed veterinary inspector, Jayakeerti Jain along with assistants, and took steps to treat the dog. The dog was provided preliminary care before being shifted to Animal Care Trust's shelter at Mangaluru by an ambulance with help from local administration. With this, the tribulations of the street dog finally came to an end.