Mumbai: Indie pups given for adoption sold illegally as 'beagle breed' after dyeing

MUMBAI: Two 45-day-old Indie puppies that were recently given for adoption were illegally sold to a third party as 'beagle breed' dogs after dyeing their light brown fur with a darker colour.
Horrified city based animal activist, Swapna Gupta, has now lodged an FIR against two persons at the NM Joshi Marg police station.
"I recently posted photos of two Indian street pups (a male and a female) in order to find a good forever home for them through adoption.I was contacted by a college going youngster stating that Pratik Tambe is interested in adopting these two puppies. I had agreed to give them up for adoption on the condition that I would do house checks in order to ensure that the puppies are kept properly after adoption. But, after that, both these persons started avoiding my calls, so I suspected something amiss," said animal activist Swapna Gupta.
She further added, "Only after I warned the youngster of dire consequences if I did not get back the pups which were given for adoption, did he admit that he will bring them back, but their light brown fur coat had been 'accidentally' dyed with a darker colour. I was shocked to see the condition of the puppies who are currently in my custody now. I later got to know that they had been sold for Rs 10,000 to a gullible buyer as beagle breed dogs. I have also given the details of the buyer to the police in my FIR statement."
The honorary district animal welfare officer (AWBI), Mitesh Jain, who assisted Gupta in lodging the FIR, told TOI: "This particular case should alert all animal lovers and dog feeders of being very careful while finding forever homes for their community dogs. There are several animal rackets where some people are illegally selling animals up for adoption, after looking at various photos and animal profiles that are freely displayed on social networking sites."
Jain further added, "The FIR was lodged on July 15, and the police are now questioning the persons whose names and details have been provided in the complaint. There could be a bigger racket behind this." The investigating officer for this case is sub-inspector R Jog.
Police informed that the FIR has been lodged under section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. More sections under the Indian Penal Code are likely to be added as the inquiry proceeds further.