Pet dog handed over to Mangaluru sanitation workers to abandon at garbage processing site, video sparks outrage on social media

A pet dog being dragged towards the garbag etransporting truck of Mangaluru City Corporation at Bhoja Rao Lane Cross under Dongarakery Ward, on September 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Unable to tolerate the presence of a pet dog, a few residents of a PG accommodation in Mangaluru handed over the canine to sanitation workers of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) to dump it alive at the civic body’s solid waste processing site at Pachchandy on the outskirts of the city.

Incidentally, the dog, mid-way on its journey to the site aboard the garbage truck, reportedly jumped off and fled.

After video clippings of the dog being dragged to the MCC’s garbage transporting vehicle went viral on social media sparking outrage, the Zilla Prani Daya Sangha, under the government, issued a show-cause notice to the MCC on Wednesday (September 11, 2024).

Owner away from city

Jayashree Kudva, Councillor, Dongarakery Ward No. 42 said that the incident took place on Saturday (September 7, 2024) at Bhoja Rao Lane Cross Road in her ward. “I came to know about the incident on September 10 (Tuesday) evening,” she said.

Ms. Kudva said she learnt that the dog belonged to the owner of a paying guest accommodation. However, the owner was not in the city when the incident took place. A few residents of the accommodation handed over the dog to sanitation workers.

The councillor said she was not sure why the dog was handed over. “Some say it was aggressive and had bitten some people. But it is not confirmed,” Ms. Kudva said.

Truck driver warned

Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur told press persons that he summoned the driver of the garbage truck on September 10 evening and warned him. The driver, who hails from Gadag, told the Mayor that he agreed to transport the dog on the request of some people. But, the dog jumped off the truck mid-way and fled even before reaching Pachchanady.

The Mayor said that he will examine if there is any legal provision within the MCC to impose fine on the driver. “Such an incident took place under the jurisdiction of the city corporation for the first time,” the Mayor said.

N. Arun Kumar Shetty, Deputy Director, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dakshina Kannada who is also the Member Secretary of the Zilla Prani Daya Sangha said that the Sangha would await the reply of the MCC to the notice served before taking any decision on the matter.