The Supreme Court seems to be chasing its own tail in the matter of stray dogs. While calling out municipal authorities for failing to implement animal birth control (ABC) rules, a three-judge Bench stated on Wednesday, “The only thing missing is providing counselling to the dogs as well. So that he doesn’t bite when released back.” On Thursday, it said, “A dog can always smell a human who is afraid of dogs. It will always attack when it senses that.” While the first comment can be seen as a moment of levity, the second one strays into an imperfect scientific territory. What pet lovers—and even those not particularly fond of them—need is clarity on rules and the effective implementation of ABC.