When we said we were coming to India, lots of people warned us to avoid the dogs as they could be feral and aggressive, and also because rabies is still endemic in many parts of India. However, the truth is you can’t avoid them as they’re everywhere!
In Mumbai thousands of dogs live on the street and every pavement has it’s canine resident. For the most part they don’t seem too aggressive and although some are a bit scabby and a few only have 3 legs, on the whole they are less threatening and disease ridden than we were led to believe. They generally minded their own business and ignored passers by.
The beaches in Goa also seem to have a healthy dog population. Here there are at least 10 apparently beach dwelling dogs. They are docile and quite cute and will wag a tail if you even glance their way. They continually seek the limited shade available under your sunbed, but don’t mind too much when you move and turf them out of their cool spot. Locals must feed and water them as they are not too thin and seem quite lazy and contented.
Having researched, we are happy to report that there is no rabies in Goa due to a state wide programme of education, inoculation and neutering. However our our next state (Karnataka) has the second highest incidence of rabies in India, so we’ll be giving any dogs a wide berth there!
Take a look a few of the dog residents of Bogmalo beach
