These photos of pet INDogs were taken by Rohan Mukerjee on our recent trip to Nagaon to vaccinate village dogs against rabies. As Rohan is a professional (and obsessive!!) photographer, our vaccination drive was punctuated by frequent photo sessions, some of the results of which I am posting here. Many of the villagers keep INDogs as pets, but like all village dogs they are free to roam as they please. The two females in the second picture appear to be INDog-mix - this hybridization is getting increasingly common in the Alibag area, which is touristy and is also full of city people's weekend bungalows.
Coming to rabies, this is a very real threat in rural areas. Last year a rabid dog entered the village and bit several dogs, some of whom got the disease. My aunt's dog Lucy was also bitten but I immediately brought her to Mumbai for a post-bite course of injections.
On March 26, Rohan and I went from house to house immunizing all the dogs we could catch. I am hoping to vaccinate more dogs with his help, over one or two more trips. Rabies is incurable and victims, human and non-human, die a horrifying death as their central nervous system degenerates. Canine victims are almost always clubbed to death by locals, while humans suffer from hallucinations, agitation and hydrophobia and die without a shred of dignity in hospital isolation wards.
All this tragedy can be easily prevented by vaccinating dogs, the main vector of the disease in our part of the world. What a shame that rabies eradication is so completely neglected in India. South American countries have done a great job of controlling this disease through dog vaccinations - why can't we do the same?
Photos: Rohan Mukerjee
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