Mumbai: Terrified of loud Diwali fireworks, an 11-year-old Indie dog, Raksh, who has resided inside a Parsi fire temple all his life, darted out and across the city streets in south Mumbai and was found only after three days at Oval Maidan, looking exhausted and dazed.On the evening of Nov 7, Ervad Hormuz Dadachanji, priest of the Parsi Vaccha Gandhi Fire Temple at Hughes Road, was informed that Raksh was missing. He then approached the police and lodged a missing complaint.Friends and well-wishers launched a search in south Mumbai, scanned the entire Girgaum Chowpatty, but could not find him. However, on the evening of Nov 10, someone finally spotted him near Oval Maidan at Churchgate, several kilometres away.“He was dazed and weak, and did not even have the strength to greet me,” an elated Hormuz said. Raksh is back home with his family. He has been named after the Iranian war hero, Rustam’s horse, Raksh.Likewise, several animal lovers and feeders have their own Diwali night experiences: how they went desperately searching for their dogs and cats. Some were lucky to find their animals, but others weren’t all that fortunate.Hormuz said, “We were so worried about Raksh that we had forwarded missing pet posters across several social networking sites. We even got in touch with ‘dog communicators’ who use their intuitive prowess to gauge where the missing dog could be. We were therefore relieved to finally find him at Oval Maidan, after one of our contacts saw him there.”Powai-based animal feeder, Maithili Khaire, said, “The impact of firecrackers on community animals is devastating and often overlooked. The deafening noise leaves dogs and cats terrified, disoriented and confused, causing them to run helter-skelter in search of safety. There have been several incidents of animals getting seriously injured or even losing their lives due to firecrackers. Many have been displaced from their familiar territories, while countless others are so traumatised that they retreat into hiding and refuse to come out even to eat.”Animal activist Hema Chowdhary of Bezubaan Public Welfare Trust posted a video on Facebook showing the plight of a puppy in the Lokhandwala area of suburban Mumbai where carloads of fireworks were burst throughout the night, causing sound and air pollution.“Some feeders make special arrangements prior to Diwali to keep their animals indoors. However, not all street dogs can be safeguarded like this,” said animal activist Madhavi Desai.
