MUMBAI: A pack of 20 stray dogs outside the city airport got their identification cards Saturday morning. The ‘Aadhaar’ cards that were strung around the scruff of their necks have a QR code which, when scanned, reels out the dog’s information – name, a feeder’s contact with details of vaccination, sterilization and medical nuggets if the dog is lost.
The garlanding of the identity cards was done animatedly amid much excitement by a team. A regular feeder known to the dogs wooed them, but the canines were wary at the sight of others trooping towards them. A couple of hours and some huffing-and-puffing later, the team tagged 20 dogs. BMC seized the opportunity to vaccinate the dogs outside terminal 1 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Sahar.
“We started around 8.30 am and were chasing the dogs to fix the QR code tags and to vaccinate them,” said Akshay Ridlan, an engineer from Sion who has devised the unique identification tags for dogs through an initiative titled ‘pawfriend.in’. “If a pet is lost or is relocated, the QR code tag can help reunite it with its family. It can also help BMC maintain a centralised database of strays in the city.”
Bandra resident Sonia Shelar who feeds around 300 stray dogs daily, including those outside the airport, said her task was to get the dogs close while a vet from BMC administered the vaccine and a member from pawfriend put the tag. Dog-catchers from Yoda, vets from BMC and airport officials were part of the troupe.
The dogs were also vaccinated and a basic health check done, said Dr Kalim Pathan, head of BMC’s veterinary health services. He said all the dogs they caught were sterilised. “The QR code tagging done for dogs outside the airport is a pilot project and we will see how this can be taken forward,” he added.
TOI reported in its edition dated July 12 about dogs being relocated from outside the airport. A Marine Lines resident, Karl Mistry, had shot a video of dogs outside terminal 2 of the airport being netted and taken away in a van recently.
A spokesperson of the airport said on Saturday that they partnered in the initiative to “ensure safety of passengers and the furry companions in the vicinity”.