By Shivani Singh:
Thinking of adopting a dog? Think wisely this time; here’s something you might want to know. The first thing that comes to our mind when we go for adoption of dogs is the dilemma of “which breed to adopt”. We usually go in for the most common pets in households around the country — like Labradors, German shepherds, Dobermans, Pomeranian, and the likes. We go for the so called “pure breed” dogs because we believe that they are better than the rest.
Did you ever give a thought to adopt a Pariah? They are the dogs on the streets, in our neighbourhood, the “stray” dogs. Stray does not refer to a breed but the legal status of a dog. Even a Labrador who has been abandoned by his owners is a stray. The Indian streets dogs are gaining a lot of popularity these days because according to researches they too are pure breeds. An ancient pure breed line of “Pariahs” found in the Indian subcontinent and they are not supposed to be the second class position and treatment that they get.
Adoption camps are being held around the clock by the Animal Welfare Organizations to give these dogs the treatment and position that they deserve. People too are rapidly changing their choices over to these Pariah dogs because of the never ending qualities which they possess. The INDog, as they are now called, are extremely alert, modest eaters and rarely over eat. They are good-looking and well-proportioned. They require very less grooming and are highly intelligent along with being independent and wont trouble the owners to play with them the entire time. If given something to occupy their mind, they happily sit in a corner and enjoy their own company. They are very particular about their territorial extent and hence are extremely good watch dogs. They are also very social, adaptable and have a friendly nature and high trainability. It has been proved that they are more loyal then the European breeds. If vaccinated, cared for properly and fed a well balanced diet they will rarely need to see a vet, and will look like healthy groomed dogs.
They have evolved over the years to suit the climatic conditions and hence are more suitable than the European breeds who fall ill and face a lot of problems because of the prevailing weather conditions. Great Dane, Labradors, German shepherds have hip dysplasia , tail injuries, grooming problems inherent in them. More than half of the dalmations are born deaf. The Pariah doesn’t face any such problem.
Pariah dogs are usually called primitive dogs but they are superior to most dogs in many ways as they are perfectly adapted for survival, and are hardy dogs. The oldest breeds of all the Pariah also was the last companion of Lord Yuddhishtir (Hindu mythology) . Many times people who adopt stray dogs face many problems from neighbours.
The Animal Welfare Board of India and Municipal Authorities protect these individuals and their pets from anything of threat since these families are doing a great service to humanity. So, these kind of adoption programmes are encouraged by the authorities as well as provided protection.
Smart, affectionate and loyal — the Pariah dogs are the ones you should adopt now. They need us and you definitely need a new best friend! Animal Welfare Organizations holds many adoption camps details of which can be found on its website, in which many strays dogs are put up for adoption, vaccinated and given a good home. Contribute to this good cause today and adopt.
To know more about adopting a Pariah, visit http://www.wsdindia.org/pets.htm, http://indianpariahdog.blogspot.com/
The writer is a Correspondent of Youth Ki Awaaz and a Media Trainee at Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication.