KOCHI: In an act of brutality, three pet dogs in different houses were killed after being poisoned by an unidentified person at Urulanthanni near Kuttampuzha. The pet owners alleged the involvement of anti-social elements behind the incident.
Based on their complaint, Kuttampuzha police have registered a case under various sections of the IPC and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The incidents took place in the wee hours of Monday.
“We have two Alsatian dogs; one is two years old and the other eight months old. We keep them locked inside the compound of the house. However, on Monday morning, we found the older dog dead. The other was lying down and unable to walk. When we checked the area, we found that someone had thrown poisoned meat pieces from outside to where the dogs were chained,” pet owner Eldhose Vartghese said.
Later, it was found that two more pet dogs in the neighbourhood were also killed in a similar fashion. They belonged to Sarakutty Baby and Sumathi Thankappan.
“These dogs never roamed outside the compound of their houses. No one in the vicinity has ever complained about keeping the dogs. These dogs bark when unknown people walk near the compound of houses at night. We suspect that people involved in anti-social activities eliminated the dogs, fearing the residents would be alerted by these pets. We have decided to lodge a police complaint,” Eldhose said.
The dogs were buried after a veterinary surgeon conducted their postmortem at the residence of Eldhose in the presence of police.
“We have started an attempt to trace the person behind the act. Anti-social elements or burglars are likely behind the incident. The residents are alert after the incident,” a police officer said.