Residents sniff out missing stray dog after frantic search

Tuesday, July 14, 2009, Page 11 . City
Kept hearing her howls but were only able to locate their ‘adopted’ stray four hours later – trapped on terrace of neighbouring building

My little dog, a heartbeat at my feet- Edith Wharton, American author

Most dog owners would agree. Especially residents of a housing society in Thane, who spent over four hours recently, looking for a beloved ‘missing’ dog. But not any particular family’s pet, a stray all of them had ‘adopted’. The bitch they named Vini had made Highland Annex in Balkumbh area her home when she wandered into it over two years ago.

On Sunday evening, residents of the society panicked when they kept hearing Vini’s howls, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“The children were especially fond of her and her puppies, and would feed them biscuits. No one noticed she was missing till the evening,” said Shyam Giri, one of the residents.
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Giri launched a hunt for her with a few other residents. “We looked on the terrace and in the compound. We even checked whether she had fallen into a gutter or a pit.”

The children also began to look for Vini and soon spotted her. “Our watchman sometimes shoos Vini away and she wanders around nearby. So she probably ran into the building across the street and went up to the terrace. We noticed her when we went to our terrace to look for her,” said Rohit, Giri’s son.

According to the residents, Vini had entered the building through a corporator’s ground floor office. She got trapped when the office was locked in the evening.

They tried to call the office bearers on their cellphones but could not get through. When contacted, the NGO Plant and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sent some of their staff with an ambulance to free the dog.

“We went there at night. As the dog was trapped on someone’s property, we did not want to barge in or break open the door. So we began asking around if someone had keys to the office. It was then that a woman came forward saying she knew someone who had a spare key and that she could get it. We opened the door and freed the dog. The residents gleefully took her back to the society,” said Sunish Subramaniam, secretary of PAWS.

Vini was reunited with her two puppies.

‘Rare owls? Who gives a hoot’

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Cops arrest three men for trying to sell Eurasian Eagle Owls worth lakhs. If the birds hadn’t been rescued, they would’ve been sacrificed on Holi
About Pics : Accused: Shantaram Nisal alias baba, Chetan Gole and Pranesh Patil

As recession slowly takes its toll on people and the levels of desperation soar perilously high, those in the thick of it are willing to go to any extent to cheat their way out of bankruptcy. And the latest scapegoats were three rare and protected Eurasian Eagle Owls, who were nearly sold for sacrifice on Holi, in keeping with a superstition that the blood of an owl would shower the believer with riches.

The Anti-Extortion Cell on Monday arrested three men at Bhiwandi, who were trying to sell the owls. Senior police inspector Chandrakant Joshi, who headed the team, said: “Our plainclothesmen spotted Pranesh Patil and Chetan Gole on a bike outside Kirti Hotel; the two were carrying a plastic bag. The officers, who were on the lookout following a tipoff, noticed movement inside the bag and nabbed the duo,” senior police inspector Chandrakant Joshi.

Shantaram Nisal alias Baba, 56, was arrested later. “The three men had planned to sell these owls for sacrifice on Holi,” added Joshi.

Bird lovers say the practice of sacrificing owls has long been prevalent. “It is a superstition that sacrificing owls showers the one who performs this ritual with money. And this superstition has only grown among business communities or those who deal in Commerce following recession,” says activist Adesh Shivkar. “Those who sell these owls cash in on this superstition as they know believers will shell out any amount of cash - the bigger the owl, the higher the rate. And the Eurasian Eagle owls are among the largest.”

Another activist, Sunish Subramaniam, reasons that the superstition is baseless: “On the contrary, the owl should be protected as it is the vehicle of Goddess Lakshmi. Owls eat rodents, protect our grains and, as a result, increase productivity.”

The three owls, each over two feet tall, are in the care of a veterinarian at the moment, and will soon be released at Borivli National Park.

Meanwhile, the accused have been charged under Sections 38, 39, 48, 49, 50 and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act. They will remain in police custody till April 12.

About Pics : Eurasian Eagle owls