Jaffna street dogs have something to wag their tails about
A slight tug on its leash and a firm whisper “Blackey!” is all it takes for the four-month -old pup to release its sister’s tail and fall back into line. Sitting with commendable poise despite being the littlest of the lot, Blackey is among the rows of dogs lined up by their handlers’ preparing to greet a special guest.
Cute and cuddly armful: Otara meets the service dogs at the Pooneryn Army Camp. Pix by Nilan Maligaspe
They may lack a pedigree but they are all service dogs of the Pooneryn Army Camp, proudly owned and trained by the Sri Lanka Army.
“Even during the war, the forces trained these ‘common’ dogs,” Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe tells his guest, Odel CEO and founder of the brand Embark, Otara Gunewardene. Each bunker had what they fondly called a “bunker-balla”, he smiles – a stray dog that would happily follow the troops around for a few scraps of food and even mimic them when going into a staged ambush.
The team from Embark was in Jaffna at the invitation of the Jaffna Municipality to help with the stray dogs in the region. Not in need of any convincing of what these ‘common’ dogs are capable of, Otara and the Embark team with Head of Operations-Embark, Ashani Gopallawa visited the Pooneryn camp to meet the service dogs and their handlers. A slight detour from the main purpose of their 
presence in the North, the trip left the team encouraged and motivated to include the camp in their many projects.
“Our dogs too can jump like the fancy dogs at other camps,” smiled Private U. G. C. Bandara. Having been trained to take part in an annual parade he said his dog, two- year- old Toga had taken part in the past two parades. In fact, Blackey’s handler Lance Corporal Dissanayake believes these dogs are in fact better suited for the terrain in the region.
With the capacity to house about 500 such dogs, currently the Pooneryn Army Camp has around 300 well trained canines deployed in the Kilinochchi region in various capacities from accompanying sentry guards to even scouting the area.
The Embark team was in Jaffna on a mission to help the stray dog population in Jaffna that has been the cause of many motor accidents. Due to the threat to both their wellbeing and that of motorists due to improper supervision of pet dogs and the large number of strays, the Jaffna Municipal Council invited Embark to step in.
Having grown up with animals ever since she was a child Otara shared that Embark was inspired by the opening of both her heart and 
home to a street pooch she named Niko. Speaking at the launch of the Jaffna Animal Protection Project she said co-existence of humans and animals was not too difficult if the right attitude is adopted. Sharing that yet another addition to her family, Rozzy was a dog she saw running away from stones hurled at her down Rosmead Place, Otara stressed that humane treatment of animals at all instances is of paramount importance.
Finding it remarkable that Jaffna is capable of being mindful of the welfare of its animals as well as its people in the context of rapid development she said, “Those whose lives are enriched with the love animals have to give, must share with those who don’t know the values of co-existence.”
Grateful that Otara and the team had stepped in to help the Jaffna Municipal Council, Mayor of Jaffna Yogeswary Patgunaraja too felt that apt and humane ways of dealing with these dogs was the need of the hour.
This was Embark’s first project outside Colombo, said Ashani, explaining that the Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate and Release programme, the first under the Jaffna Animal Protection Project will commence by carrying out surgical sterilizations and vaccinations free of charge. The bright red Embark van has already started making its rounds and they hope to carry out 3500 surgeries and over 4000 vaccinations. Although the project is directed towards homeless dogs in the area “we aren’t going to refuse any pet dogs brought to us for vaccinations or surgery,” Ashani smiled.
Carrying out a survey in sample blocks, she said about 4300 stray dogs have been reported within the Jaffna city limits. “Our target is to vaccinate and sterilize 70 percent of this number.”
| Friends of the four-legged in joint partnership
Working closely with the Jaffna Municipal Council, the primary team of vets for the project is from the Tsunami Animal-People Alliance. The Dogstar Foundation is to promote awareness on everything from responsible pet ownership to rabies prevention and control in schools. Partial funding for the project is from the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in France. |