India’s Street Dogs are Being Given Jobs on a Special Security Task Force

India is a crowded place. Crowded not just with people, but with street dogs as well. These dogs are homeless and often starving. But now there’s a new program instituted by The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to train these homeless animals for a much needed job.

The street dogs will be trained to become, of all things, a crime fighting squad. They are calling it the “May I Help You Force.” Jalaj Sirvastava, chairman for the NDMC told Life With Dogs, “Our trucks pick up hundreds of dogs every day only to leave them back on the streets. We thought an adoption program will help us provide security to people and also reduce the dog menace.”

The dogs to be trained for the “May I Help You Force,” will come from a variety of places, but all of them will receive a full check up, get much needed vaccinations, and get any medical treatment they need before beginning training. NDMC is seeking help from the Delhi police, who have experience training dogs, to aid in the training of the new recruits. The chosen dogs will work closely with human handlers to help provide an extra layer of security for public places like markets and parks.

“We do not expect street dogs to preform high-end security activities like the Delhi Police’s trained dogs do. The idea, however, is to control them so that instead of running after a litter on the streets, they can be a friendly guide to market users,” said Sirvastava.

“Hundreds of dogs die every day and their bodies decay on the roads. This will engage the street dogs with the society and will also benefit people,” Radha Unnikrishnan, an Animal rights activist, told Life With Dogs.

We here at One Green Planet are certainly excited about the new program. Street dogs are often ignored or treated harshly. But now, someone has found a way to harness their un-tapped potential to do good. The dogs will be given a better life, and will help provide a safer, better life for the whole population in return.

Image source: Columbo 222/Wikimedia