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| Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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'Colombo going to the dogs' Light Refractions by Lucien Rajakarunanayake
Obviously the Chief Veterinary Surgeon of the CMC is no lover of dogs, known through the ages as Man's Best Friend. Having painted an unreal fear about stray dogs and the threat of rabies, he fears that very soon the country would go to the dogs. Is it his worry that the country will go to the stray dogs or pedigreed dogs the registered types that participate in the canine fashion shows and modeling events of kennel clubs? He has no qualms that the Chair of the Committee that recommended new legislation against stray dogs, without approval of the Committee, is also a prominent member of a kennel club in addition to being a vestige of Sri Lanka's feudal landowners, who are all for "high caste" in people and pedigree in dogs. Obviously such pedigreed Obeysekera's are not the stray dog loving types, while veterinarian Eleyaperuma is no "Apeysekera", as a stray dog would say. Why is this CVS of the CMC worried about the country going to the dogs? Will it lead to anything worse than what happens in the city of Colombo today and other municipalities too? Is it dogs or humans, either not fit for their jobs or readily giving in to political or other profitable pressures or inducements, that are responsible for the crisis in garbage removal in the major cities of the country? Are the dogs in the municipalities of Colombo, Dehiwela-Mt. Lavinia and Moratuwa, responsible for the mountains of garbage gathering all over posing a major threat of outbreaks of several diseases, apart from rabies? Should not the blame for this be placed on elected Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors as well as the officials who are paid by the public to do such work efficiently, and with proper forward planning? Can the blame for the lack of surface drainage in Colombo, causing filthy floods in the major streets after ten minutes of heavy rain, be placed on dogs or the humans who are in charge of such engineering and maintenance work in the city, and also paid for such work by the public? Was it a decision of stray dogs in the city or a sub-human elected to the office of Deputy Mayor, as well as stooge and subservient officials in charge of the Colombo Municipal Council's veterinary department, to permit a dog seizing vehicle and crew of the CMC to be used to catch stray dogs to be paraded at the Hyde Park meeting of the UNP's campaign to free S. B. Dissanayake from jail soon after his imprisonment? Did Dr. Eleyaperuma, in his capacity as Chief Veterinary Surgeon, not have the guts to object to such use of stray dogs in a crowded place, especially in view of his strong fears about stray dogs and the spread of rabies? To say that the country will soon go to the dogs is a catchy phrase, readily picked up by reporters who cover media events without bothering to ask the relevant questions about claims made by public officials. But catch-phrases of that type can only be satisfying to those who say them and the headline writers in the media. Veterinarian Eleyaperuma and his anti-stray dog colleagues, as well as the Walawwe Hamuduruvo from the Maligawa at Colombo 7, who were in obvious cahoots in preparing this new report on rabies and the fear of the country going to the dogs, are obviously unaware of the fact that the dog is best known for its faithfulness, especially to those who feed and care for it. The problem we have today is that not even an iota of such faithfulness is shown by the officials to the public who pay their salaries and help maintain them in the comfort that they live in. If they had even a touch of canine faithfulness to one's provider, the situation in our administrations, at the local government, provincial and central government levels will certainly not be so bad and unproductive. Similarly, it is not in the least because the country has gone to the dogs that there is so much corruption, favouritism and nepotism in society and governance, and a total lack of political will to put country before party and self in the important political decisions we take; and also the decisions such as those seeming to target the entire stray dog population of the country for elimination. Looking at it from a stray dog's point of view there seems to be a conspiracy hatched by the kennel club types, the importers of exotic dogs totally unsuited to our climes and the breeders of pedigreed dogs, together with municipal veterinarians to make this a paradise for pedigreed dogs only, in the absence of all stray dogs, most of whom are today considered by public health authorities in modern democracies and by the WHO too, as community dogs. The obvious fear is that the country will be taken over by these community dogs and not by the pedigreed dogs, with their licence tags and pedigree records. Looking at what the humans, including those such as veterinarian Eleyaperuma have done to our country today, one can be justified in feeling that given a chance the dogs may do better. At least they will be faithful in service to those who pay for their upkeep. They will certainly be good watch dogs for the people, doing their work even better than the media that claims to be the watchdogs of freedom. It is time that Eleyaperuma and all other stray dog haters, and fear-mongers without cause, realize that the dog is very much a part of our people and culture. Elimination of community dogs is contrary to our over-arching Buddhist culture. This country may not go to the dogs but our people will always want their own Dadoriyas and Kaluwas kept safe from rabies, as well as the machinations of mendacious municipal veterinarians who promote pedigreed canines. Whether the country goes to the dogs or not, it is good to remember that
there was a dog present at the very beginnings of our recorded history. It
is not described in the Mahavamsa as a pedigreed dog. |
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'There were over 25,000 or more stray dogs roaming the city and unless
action was taken to reduce these numbers there was a possibility of the
country going to the dogs', Dr. Dananjaya Eleyaperuma, Chief Veterinary
Surgeon Colombo Municipal Council. Not contradicted.