Mumbai: Seven newborn pups rescued from dustbin near JJ Hospital

Couple of weeks after video of a dog being thrown off a roof by two medical students in Chennai went viral, Mumbai too witnessed its own instance of animal cruelty on Tuesday.

This time around, seven newborn stray puppies — packed in a white sack and dumped in a dustbin near JJ Hospital — were miraculously rescued by an animal lovers. After spotting the puppies in the sack, the locals immediately contacted animal rescuer Uma Shetty and sought help for the puppies.

Without wasting any time, the 22-year-old reached the spot only to see the innocent puppies briskly moving inside the sack. "The puppies have not even opened their eyes yet, so they must be only 10-15 days old. I traced their mother who happened to be only two buildings away — Haji residency at Umerkhadi. Upon taking the puppies back to their mother, I noticed injury marks on her nose, back and hind limbs. I immediately realised that it was unsafe to leave the puppies back in that area. So, I took them with me along with their mother and called for a private ambulance and moved them to 'HELP animals & birds' hospital in Masjid Bunder for immediate care and shelter," said Shetty.

The puppies and their mother are currently at a kennel in Jayesh Shah's animal hospital and have been put out for adoption. "Their mother is very aggressive at the moment because of the separation with her pups, so we will let her spend time with them until she gets comfortable and less aggressive. She also has to be treated for injuries on her body but we can only initiate it once she settles down here," said Shah.

The hospital has a facility to accommodate 40 stray dogs and provides free treatment to injured stray animals and birds. If found guilty of trying to kill an animal, a case can be registered under section 428/429 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and also under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.