Sheltering pooches

A dog's feces are a remarkable insight into the general overall health of a dog. All dog owners should familiarize themselves with the "normal" appearance of their dog's feces and should inspect them regularly for any unusual features. The presence of blood or mucus, a substantial change in consistency, or unusual colour can all indicate that the dog may be unwell. However, the appearance of your dog's stools is also subject to his diet and any medication he is on.

Any abrupt change in diet or various prescription drugs can radically change the appearance of a dog's feces. If your dog has recently been put on a new medication, consult with your vet or the manufacturer as to the possible side effects and if you should discontinue use. White, chalky stools are often an indication of a high level of calcium in the diet, such as eating bones or having a wholly raw diet.

In these cases, the white feces are not a cause for concern. If you are not sure, you can adjust his diet and see if this helps solve the problem. If you are sure that your dog's diet or medication is not responsible, it is worth having your dog thoroughly examined by a vet to rule out any underlying health problems. Feces do not normally turn white in response to a worm infection - normally dog owners will notice a little blood or mucus instead - but you can give your dog an affordable over-the-counter worming treatment to be sure.

A.There is a high court order in Chennai against breeders. You can file a complaint with your RWA and ask for the man either to stop or to leave the premises. According to the law , you cannot conduct business from your house. Breeding dogs is as much a business as any , even though it is illegal because the man has not registered himself as a businessman, pays no income tax and sells the dogs through cash transactions. You can actually report him to the Income Tax officials as well.

There is no point in rescuing healthy dogs. You should feed them and look after them in your alley itself. It is cruelty to expose them to the illness of a shelter or to have them locked up for no reason. If they were ill enough to be taken to a shelter then you should be paying for their treatment and not hiding behind the excuse that they're not your personal dogs. All shelters are overcrowded and underfunded. You should've given them money for the treatment and food and once they are well you should take them back. Shelters are communal resources and shouldn't be taken advantage of to salvage your conscience or to make you feel good. They are all run by small NGOs who get no funding from institutions or government and if they are used simply as dumping grounds they will shut down.

You can ask the servant if you can keep the dog with you. If he doesn't agree , then get the email id of this couple and write to them about keeping the dog. You should inform them that what they are doing to the dog amounts to cruelty and that the law doesn't permit cruelty of this kind. Should they persist, they are likely to have a case against them and the dog taken away.