Diana, a purebred Great Dane, sits curled up in a cage in the BSPCA Hospital’s general dog ward. Rendered immobile by a ligament contraction in her right hind leg, Diana was admitted by her owner on November 28, after paying a fee of Rs 500.

Hospital staff say the owner has not contacted them since. Diana’s prognosis card states he could not be contacted on the telephone on December 12, 17 and 18.

Two cages away, a female black Labrador (name unknown) stares wistfully. Recently, she was diagnosed with genital cancer. “She’s probably just a year old, and needs to be operated on immediately. However, on December 2, when we tried to contact her owner on the phone number he has registered with us, we learnt that it was a wrong number,” said Lt Colonel (Retd) J C Khanna, secretary of the hospital.

Khanna said the owner paid Rs 1,400 while admitting the dog on November 28 but hasn’t returned since. “We urgently need to operate on the Lab but can’t do so without her owner’s consent.”

While the city is dogged with a problem of strays, several purebred pet dogs are becoming strays each month too, with owners abandoning them on roads, highways and beaches or leaving them chained at animal shelters. Some dogs are lucky to make it to shelters but, Khanna estimates, at least five or six dogs every month may end up becoming a stray or perish. “For a while now, I have been admitting at least three breed dogs in our shelter monthly, with owners who are either not contactable, want to put their pet up for adoption, or simply abandon them on the street. Usually, some animal lover finds these dogs and brings them to us. But I am sure many become strays, breed and multiply, adding to the stray dog problem.”

Shirin Merchant, dog behaviorist and editor of the Woof magazine, said dogs are abandoned for reasons such as aggression, cost and time factors and travel plans. “Often when people get pups, they don’t realise the responsibility that comes with it. After six months, the dog may become too large, aggressive or noisy to keep.”

Fizzah Shah, secretary of In Defence of Animals, added that often an ill dog is abandoned because the owner can’t afford medication. “Besides lack of knowledge about the breed and proper planning while buying a dog causes the dog to become a burden on the family,” she said.