Amidst all the finger pointing, and the bickering, it is easy to lose sight of the real victim here: the human-dog relationship.
Animal welfare activists and veterinarians say that people in Kerala do not have a friendly relationship with dogs in general, and keep them at a distance. "Here, even pet dogs are mostly kept in kennels or caged or tied up for the entire day. Rarely do people let their dogs inside their homes," said animal welfare advocate Sally Varma to the BBC.
Is it any wonder though?
We have failed as a society, to come together and take any meaningful action to ensure peaceful co-existence of humans and animals. Every time there is an incident, we are quick to raise the finger at the easiest target - our community dogs, and start lynching them or murdering them in large numbers. Our media outlets and news agencies have been quick to sensationalize without bothering to go into the details of any of the incident. Our local governments have failed at multiple levels to implement clear guidelines, and resorted to knee jerk reactions at the last moment. Worst of all, our education system has failed us in not equipping us with basic empathy for these voiceless animals who, when given the choice, never intend to cause harm to any human being.
Kerala is one of the only states in India where pet dog population declined from 2012-2019. This is in an era where pet dog adoption is booming across the country, with people benefitting from the company of our best friend. Something has gone terribly wrong here.
Things need to change, quickly.