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Diwali turns out to be a torture fest for animals

But, Canines Can Care, a canine welfare organisation, has taken it upon itself to make the streets a little safer for dogs this Diwali.

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Imagine loud bombs are going off everywhere around you. You panic and run around blindly. Suddenly you’re caught, and a string of firecrackers is tied to you. The crackers start going off burning the skin right off your sweating torso.

Every Diwali, the city turns into an apocalyptic nightmare for animals, especially stray dogs. According to the BMC census, there are 70,000 dogs in the city, most of them strays.

But, Canines Can Care, a canine welfare organisation, has taken it upon itself to make the streets a little safer for dogs this Diwali.

They have started a campaign, Festival of Kindness, which aims to spread awareness in schools and firms about the havoc that crackers wreck on dogs. They are also counselling people on how to take care of their pets during the festival.

“We want to make sure that the festival is a happy time for all, animals included,” says Madhvi Tangella, 33, a counsellor with Canines Can Care.

Such initiatives are very essential, said Sudnya Patkar, 64, who is the founder of In Defence of Animals. “The cruelty towards animals during Diwali is shocking. People tie crackers on the tails of dogs and donkeys and watch them run around in pain and fear.

They burst crackers in front of bullocks and horses,” said Patkar.
A dog’s hearing ability is seven times that of humans. Certain frequencies of sound register 40 times more loudly in dogs than they would in humans.

Veterinarian cardiologist Sangeeta Vensarkar Shah said: “Every Diwali, you see scared stray dogs running on the streets. There is no one to comfort or look after them.” The bang of a bomb is so loud that it can cause a heart attack among dogs, even if they are in the safety of a house.

“I once had a woman call me up frantically screaming that her dog dropped dead after a bomb went off in front of their house,” said Shah.

Sunish Subramanian, secretary of the Plants and Animal Welfare Society of Mumbai, said that even birds and rodents are affected during Diwali. “Can we not celebrate without being cruel to the creatures around us? If a dog or a cat or a pigeon takes refuge in your building, don’t drive them away they’re just looking for a place to hide because they’re scared,” he said.

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