When love for man's best friend goes on trial!
The first time my adopted street pup padded behind me, he wasn’t pedigreed or polished, just a scrappy ball of fur with eyes that asked the kind of questions governments never do, “Can you see me? Can you love me?”
Fast forward to today, and the Supreme Court’s order lands like an eviction notice:
“Remove all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR. Capture, sterilise, shelter. No release. Obstruction equals punishment.”
For someone who has lived the magic of adopting many strays, this verdict feels like heartbreak wrapped in legal robes. And I know many of you reading this will feel that sting too.
Love on a leash vs law with a stick
Stray dogs aren’t just populating Delhi’s streets. They’re midnight guards for paan-shop uncles, walking partners for lonely seniors, and unofficial therapists for stressed delivery boys.
They’re stitched into the city’s fabric, but not many see that. One isolated incident here or there, and the generalisation of "All stray dogs are..." begins.
Yes! Safety is highly important, and rabies is real. Dog bites are a danger, of course! Human lives matter, but a six-week bulldozing of coexistence into cages? That’s not justice; that’s panic in a black robe.
Why shelters aren’t a silver bullet
I’ve seen shelters firsthand. They're usually a combination of the following: overcrowded, underfunded, and heartbreaking.
Love doesn’t thrive under CCTV cameras or government helplines. It’s built over years, when you feed, when you heal, when you choose patience over pepper spray.
My dog isn’t a “case number” or “potential threat”. He’s living proof that street souls transform with compassion. If we can’t manage something as trivial as potholes, how will we suddenly manage lakhs of frightened, restless dogs locked in shelters?
When "barking poor" hurts more than "barking rich"
Let’s be blunt. Strays bite slum kids more often than SUV owners. Yet outrage grows loudest when gated colonies complain. This isn’t dogs versus humans; it’s privilege versus neglect. The ruling soothes the fears of the privileged, while silencing the struggles of the unseen.
India: The land of contradictions
Only here can a dog be worshipped during Bhairava pooja, celebrated in Kukur Tihar, and then branded a “nuisance” by Monday morning. If strays had lawyers, our courts would run out of tissues.
Smarter solutions exist (and other countries proved it).
1. Turkey built feeding stations and microchipped strays.
2. Singapore cracked down on backyard breeding.
3. Technology (yes, even AI) can map sterilisation drives, track vaccinations, and reduce chaos.
Because fear isn’t cured with cages. It’s cured with science, community, and a pinch of common sense.
Coach’s checklist: Real things we can do
1. Adopt the block, not just the dog.
Communities can act as guardians: map, vaccinate, feed responsibly, and build a relationship with them. I have three strays that act as our neighbourhood's "Paw Patrol" and are highly intelligent about who's who and protect us.
2. Sterilise + Track Smart
Chips, tags, or QR collars make sterilisation visible and scalable. Even neighbourhoods can voluntarily pitch in and manage.
3. Stray-to-Service pipelines
Trains stray as therapy dogs, campus watchdogs, or companions for public spaces. This is highly possible, and I've done it to an extent.
4. Change the conversation
Teach coexistence in schools and communities; fear fades when knowledge grows. Also, in a majority of cases, if you don't panic or show fear, they don't react either. For us to reach this phase, education is definitely the first step!
My Soch
This isn’t about being a “dog lover”. It’s about being human enough to believe that safety and compassion can share the same street. Strays aren’t symbols of menace. They’re reminders of governance gaps, class divides, and most importantly, our humanity.
So here’s my plea to you all with folded hands: don’t criminalise emotions. Don’t bulldoze bonds. Don’t turn Delhi’s streets or anywhere else in the country into sterile, soulless silence.
Because if love could bark louder than fear, maybe the Court would hear it too, and if loyalty were currency, dogs would own the Supreme Court.
With regards,
Adarsh Benakappa Basavaraj
Your coach who believes that empathy is the best "leash"
