Mumbai: First Time Ever Stray Dogs Get Aadhar Card With QR Codes; Here's How It Will Help

The Aadhar card has become a very important document of identification for the citizens in the nation.

However, in an unusual sight, a group of excited people outside Mumbai Airport decorated 20 stray dogs with individual identification cards that resembled "Aadhaar cards.” A QR code has been attached to their neckband. The QR code contains all the details like their names, contact details of their feeders, vaccination records, sterilization status, and medical history.

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This step will make the reunion of lost dogs with their families. This initiative is named ‘pawfriend. in’ and was led by Akshay Ridlan, an engineer from Sion. The scanner which is attached to the dogs, was designed by Akshay. Akshay and his team worked hard to attach the QR code tags and administer vaccinations to the neckbands of dogs.

The goals of pawfriend.in are to create a centralised database of strays in the city, facilitating better care and management of stray animals. BMC vaccinated these stray dogs outside terminal 1 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Sahar.

They started around 8.30 am and were chasing the dogs to fix the QR code tags and to vaccinate them. If a pet is lost or is relocated, the QR code tag can help reunite it with its family. It can also help BMC maintain a centralized database of strays in the city, said the team leader.

The fact that there were so many humans approaching them, though, originally alarmed the stray animals. The team only needed a couple of hours to tag 20 dogs. A resident from Bandra, Sonia Shelar, feeds 300 stray dogs daily and played a significant role in this initiative taken up by Akshay and his team. She helped get the dogs close to the team for vaccinations and tagging. Airport officials, BMC veterinarians, and dog catchers from Yoda were all part of the attempt.

The director of BMC's veterinary health services, Dr. Kalim Pathan, stated that all canines that were apprehended had undergone sterilization as well as routine health examinations and immunisations. The success of the QR code tagging pilot project will determine the next steps in this endeavor.

The QR code tagging was done for dogs outside the airport as a pilot project and they will see how this can be taken forward.

A spokeswoman from the Mumbai airport stated that the airport staff joined the program to "ensure the safety of passengers and the furry companions".

Earlier, the pioneering 'Yard Guards Project' in Navi Mumbai was established to demonstrate the usefulness of Indian street dogs as security guards. This admirable project, led by canine expert Garima Tomar and carried out by behaviourist Calvin Godinho, attempts to teach a pack of rescued independent dogs to patrol a stockyard, bark at anything odd, and notify the on-site security personnel to take the appropriate action.

Four extraordinary dogs that made up the Yard Guard squad were carefully chosen from a pool of 40 candidates based on their natural protective instincts, adaptability, and temperament. The chosen canines were then progressively relocated to the yard, where they were placed in roomy, customised kennels. The crew has made every effort to provide the dogs with a good quality of life, from a diet that has been authorized by experts to regular health checks, biweekly grooming schedules, daily playtime, and more.