Navi Mumbai: Angry denizens of Twitter slammed the Navi Mumbai Police after a dog died as the owner could not take him to a veterinary clinic in time. The police rejected the e-pass application thrice and termed the demand as ‘irrelevant and needless’.
The pet Joey passed away on Friday morning as he could not get medical treatment in time and he collapsed due to cardiac arrest. The insensitiveness and lackadaisical attitude of Navi Mumbai police came to the fore as treatment of animals did not seem as important as a human being.
Harish Iyer, a neighbour of pet owner, told FPJ: “The application was rejected thrice in two days. And, the police termed, taking a pet to the doctor was an irrelevant and needless.”
He added that Joey could have been saved if he had been taken to the doctor in time. “The owner Subha is grief-stricken and unable to speak at the moment due to loss of the pet,” said Iyer.
Iyer said that the seven-year-old Joey was unwell for the past two days and he was feeling breathless.
Due to lockdown, they could not take Joey to a veterinary clinic, they shared the video of Joey’s condition with a veterinary doctor. The doctor asked them to bring Joey to the clinic immediately as the condition of the pet was not looking good.
“The doctor warned Joey may face cardiac arrest and he needs immediate medical support. But we could not take Joey to the clinic as the police rejected e-pass despite we provided relevant documents online,” said Iyer.
The Navi Mumbai police expressed its sympathy via Twitter. It said: “Extending deepest sympathy for you in your loss. We are sensitive in such situations. We are always there our citizens to serve our best in extreme emergencies.”
However, Twitter flooded with messages and questioned the insensitiveness towards the animal. A few suggested that instead of waiting for police permission, they should have taken Joey to the clinic during the golden hour. However, another section said that police are doing their hard job to save everyone, and they might have not issued a pass to prevent the owner from contacting the virus.
Meanwhile, Iyer said that the Indian Veterinary Association and Animal Welfare Board of India had already clarified that dog and cat are not carriers of COVID-19 and no one inflict cruelty due to COVID-19. “The Kerala High Court asked police to issue vehicle pass to a cat owner to buy ‘Meo-Persian’ biscuit from a distance place during the lockdown,” said Iyer
