Nagpur: In a shocking incident, a suspected rabid dog reportedly attacked eight puppies that were sheltered at the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) temporary animal shelter in Bhandewadi. The dog, that according to onlookers showed symptoms of rabies, was inside the garbage dumping ground and jumped the wall on Friday morning to enter the shelter.Though it cannot be ascertained if the dog was rabid or not as there was no medical test conducted, the presence of such aggressive dogs surely increases public health threat. Animal activists said the "random and illegal dumping" of problematic dogs in the area by NMC is a big nuisance.On September 11, 2015, TOI had exposed how NMC, under the garb of shifting of the dogs, was engaged in large-scale dumping of dogs at the garbage dumping ground. Hundreds of dogs were scattered around and many of them seemed aggressive in nature.NMC workers informed that many times, aggressive dogs climb the heaps of garbage and enter the animal shelter which shares a common wall with the dumping ground. The same thing happened on Friday morning."The dog entered the shelter and violently attacked the eight puppies by biting them on their necks. The puppies were mostly abandoned and rescued from different places," sources said. They added that previously too, such dogs had entered the shelter many times and even tried to attack the workers.NMC veterinary officer Dr Ganjendra Mahalle said that he will look into the matter. Experts said that such suspected cases of rabies should be kept in isolation as per the rules.According to Animal Birth Control (ABC) Dog Rules, 2001, dogs suspected to be rabid should be kept confined in an isolation ward."Rabid dogs normally dies within ten days but it has to be strictly kept isolated till its natural death. Sometimes, even non-rabid dogs can get aggressive due to multiple reasons. However NMC is simply dumping problematic dogs inside the garbage dump yard. Even if one of the dogs has rabies, it will spread to others as well as humans," said Dr Ela Kulkarni, an animal welfare activist.Human habitation is hardly few metres away from Bhandewadi dumping ground and animal shelter. "Apart from ragpickers, kids from nearby illegal slum areas also go inside the ground frequently. The diseases can easily spread among humans," said animal activist Aparna Modak.Kulkarni added that in absence of proper facilities, NMC workers who are capturing dogs are also at risk.NMC does not have the infrastructure to test suspected rabid dogs, said animal activist Ankita Shah. "Replying to an RTI query I had filed two years back, NMC said there were no rabid dogs in the city. But there are no tests being conducted on suspected cases," she said, adding that even after 16 years of formation of rules, the local body does not have an effective anti-rabies programme.LURKING DANGERAnimal Birth Control (ABC) Dog Rules, 2001, for furious or rabid dogs* On receipt of complaints, suspected rabid dogs to be captured and kept in an isolation ward* A panel consisting of a veterinary surgeon and a representative of an animal welfare organization to inspect the dog* If dog found to have high probability of rabies, it should be kept isolated till it dies natural death

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