A few days back news of a pit bull killing an 80 year old lady spread like fire in India. People got scared of pit bull breed. Some even started abandoning their pit bull dogs and those who were contemplating to adopt a pit bull have now become reluctant to adopt one.
The incident took place in a posh locality of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. According to a national newspaper the dog Brownie was adopted 3 years ago by the Tripathis Amit Tripathi and his mother. They have three pets: two pit bulls and one Labrador. On the unfortunate day the dog mauled the mother. The mother had deep wounds on the stomach and neck. The son Amit was not in the house at the time when the dog attacked the mother. When he returned he rushed his mother to the hospital but due to huge blood loss the mother could not survive.
Well if we go on the link above and read the entire report Brownie has been declared a killer of his owner' s mother already. They have put a Pic of a pit bull which is not Brownie's. The pic of the dog looks ferocious. Also at the end the report says that the pit bull breed is a ferocious one therefore many countries have banned this breed for adoption. A list of countries is also given.
The reporter it seems didn't do his homework well. Firstly the Pic used in the report was not Brownie's and second the Tripathis have only two dogs. One Brownie a pit bull and another a Labrador.
Anyhow the ordeal of Brownie and his owner began thereafter. The neighbours who already were anti Brownie started blaming the dog for the death of the mother. They wanted the dog removed from their colony for security reasons. They started calling her man eater. Amit the owner who was already in deep pain and was mourning the death of his mother was completely heartbroken. He was being accused of loving dog the killer of his mother more than his mother. He was being criticized. Majority of the Indians draw a line between humans and pets. For them pet is not a family, only humans are family. These people keep pets for amusement, guarding, business or for status. And once their purpose is accomplished and the pet becomes old and sick they abandon him.
It was hard for the neighbours to digest the love of Amit for his dog Brownie. Brownie on the other hand was in shock. Had gone in silence may be at what had happened to the lady of the house and may be because of guilt. Dog is a highly intelligent animal. It can sense when it has done something wrong and just like humans it feels all emotions including guilt and sorrow of separation.
Amit was mentally being harassed by media and the influential neighbours of his colony who wanted Brownie to leave the colony.
So Amit handed Brownie to the Municipal Corporation.
Brownie was kept in a cage for 14 days under the observation of the Animal Welfare officers. For the first 24 hours in the cage Brownie sat on a corner without barking. She was absolutely silent as if in trauma and she also didn't eat anything. After 24 hours she ate few chicken pieces. There were no signs of her being ferocious and aggressive. She spent 14 days in the cage sitting calmly without any aggression unlike what was reported of her in the media. To watch the first 24 hours of Brownie in the cage kindly go on the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/quinthindi/videos/3202801453301729/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/376516153177730/permalink/1256984451797558/
To watch the agony and pain of Amit and Brownie kindly go on the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/100004393395194/videos/1159422087951126/
These 14 days were not easy for Amit. He was in pain of losing his mother and his best friend Brownie and on top of it the constant mental harassment by his neighbours, general public and media. Everyone was coming out with their own stories and in all the stories Amit and Brownie were the villain.
Jeev Aashraya an animal welfare NGO gave Amit a chance to tell the world the truth. The truth about his mother's death and Brownie.
According to Amit his mother loved Brownie and vice versa. She used to feed Brownie like a child with her own hands. His mother was fond of dogs and animals and Amit has grown up amongst animals. Amit cannot believe that Brownie could have attacked his mother. He says that what happened was an accident and something must have triggered Brownie. The neigbourhood where they live is not dog friendly. The children often used to throw stones and sticks at Brownie. On that Brownie used to bark. Many times they used to unnecessarily ring the door bell. On hearing the bell Brownie used run to the door and start barking. This is a natural sign in dogs. They are by nature guards. They guard their house and owners and sometimes may bark and attack to protect them.
Something similar may have happened on the fateful day. Brownie may have been triggered and may be the mother tried to restrict her from going to the door. So in aggression she bit her. Or may be his mother fell down and became unconscious and Brownie tried to wake her by biting her.
Amit and his mother were vegetarian so they gave Brownie vegetarian food. She used to eat raw vegetables and fruit. Also Amit never took Brownie out as the neighborhood is not friendly. He has a huge terrace where his dogs poop. To listen to the interview kindly go on the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/376516153177730/permalink/1258014871694516/
Yesterday on 28th July 2022 Amit got back the custody of Brownie. Thank God for the sensible and humane animal welfare officers who took right decision and handed over Brownie to Amit. Amit always wanted to have Brownie back home but due to his neighbours and public pressure he may not be able to keep Brownie with him in his house. So he will be handing over Brownie to a family who will keep Brownie with them.
Why should a bunch of highly influential and powerful dog haters who do not know how to treat a dog and nor teach their children how to treat them decide the fate of Brownie? Is India succumbing to mob culture where majority is authority?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/612656689078051/permalink/1748817182128657/
Brownie deserves to stay with Amit and no one should have the right to separate them. What happened was an accident.
Update of the case as on 29th July 2022:
It has been reported that the municipal corporation ordered Amit to take the dog Brownie to a trainer to get him trained. It did not give clean chit to Brownie nor gave permission to Amit to take Brownie home. Thereafter only when the trainer orders, approves and certifies Brownie to be fine only then Amit shall be able to take Brownie home. This is absolutely ridiculous. Hasnt Amit and Brownie already gone through hell? Wasn't 14 days enough for animal welfare officers to observe Brownie and give their fitness certificate for her? Do these govt officials and veterinarians find themselves less competent to a private trainer whose certificate will ultimately decide the fate of Brownie? For more details kindly see the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/sgacc/permalink/5353943121338208/
What if the boy who recently killed his mother in the same city Lucknow for a trivial reason is sent in jail or reform homes as punishment. And once released will his neighbors stop him from staying in their colony? Will the neighbours mentally torture and harass the relatives of the boys and ask them to not keep the boy with them? And will the relatives succumb to their pressure?
The 16 year old boy killed his mother in Lucknow for not letting him play online games. After killing his mother he hid her body for two days:
Then why is Brownie being denied her home and her owner's company? And why is Amit succumbing to their pressure? Earlier it was coming that he got custody of Brownie and he shall be putting Brownie with some family. And now reports are saying that the corporation has forced Amit to send Brownie to a trainer.
Pit bull isn't a dangerous breed for humans as being claimed by media. There have been many instances where Pitt bulls have saved their owners life. A pregnant pitbull gave her life to protect her owner's child life from a snake.
In the previous post one of our staunch petition supporter Elke Winkler from Berlin shared a link of an article titled " The link between Animal Cruelty and Human Violence". The article not only shows a strong relationship between animal abuse and human abuse but also talks about the pit bull breed. This is what it said
"Dogfighting is one of the most serious forms of animal cruelty that occurs throughout the country. An average dogfight lasts 1 to 2 hours, ending when one of the dogs is not able to continue. Most of the dogs used in fighting are pit bull terriers, which can be bred for their stamina and ability to fight with dogs, compared to the majority of breeds that stop fighting once they reach exhaustion. In addition, this breed is not prone to aggression against humans and is intensely loyal, which contributes to their willingness to withstand abuse and neglect from their owners"
To read the entire article kindly go on the link below:
https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/the-link-between-animal-cruelty-and-human-violence
Unfortunately India is an unfriendly country to dogs. Both foreign breed and Indian breed dogs have harrowing stories to tell. If dogs could speak India would probably be declared as one of the top most anti dogs country.
Brownie needs a home. The way she is being tossed from the animal welfare centre to a trainer and God knows what next she may develop hostility towards human. A dog who was friendly may turn into an aggressive and hostile dog. And it is we humans who will be responsible for it. But we as usual will deny our negative and hostile attitude towards dogs and Blame them for their hostility towards us.
It's time colony people where Brownie lives are taught right behaviour towards dogs. Majority of the Indians are scared of dogs and often throw stones and bricks and sticks at them. Beat them and kill them in the most violent and barbaric manner.
Both adults and children need counseling for dogs in India.
No one knows exactly what happened that unfortunate morning but people have already accused Brownie of killing her owner. The owner who loved her like her own child. Dog is a loyal animal and Brownie would have deliberately never harmed her.
Let's hope the trainer is a kind soul who understands the psyche of Brownie. It's easy to train a dog when it's young (less than 1 year). Brownie is already 3 years old so getting her trained may not be easy. And the biggest question is what kind of training? Training a dog how not to kill its owner. And if the job of the trainer is just to observe Brownie then werent 14 days observation by animal welfare officers enough to declare Brownie normal and safe for humans?
1 UP chief Minister
Twitter: @myogiadityanath
Email id: cmup@nic.in
2 Minister of animal husbandry
Twitter: @PRupala
Email id: p.rupala@sansad.nic.in
3 Animal welfare board of India
Email id: animalwelfareboard@gmail.com
Twitter:
4 Lucknow Municipal Corporation
Twtter: @LMC_IECofficial
Email id: nnlko@nic.in