Illustration by Trịnh Lập

Thu Trang

A five-year-old girl in the central province of Quảng Trị has been bitten by a fierce dog raised by her neighbour.

She suffered a number of serious injuries all over her body.

Doctors had to put in 50 stitches on her face.

Everyone seeing her wounds cannot help feeling pity.

Her condition will gradually stabilise with the special care of doctors at Huế Central Hospital. However, the physical and mental trauma will remain for the rest of her life.

The case once again rings the alarm bell about safety while raising dogs.

This is only one of numerous unfortunate incidents related to dogs.

Over the past eight years, a household living at No 190 Hoàng Diệu Street in Ward 9, District 4 in HCM City has kept more than 100 dogs in a house less than 3m wide and about 10m long.

Raising dogs in such large numbers caused a bad smell, environmental and noise pollution as they did not clean up after the dogs' feces.

People living in the surrounding area reported the issue to local authorities, but it remains unresolved, leading to public anger.

During the past years, the Ministry of Health has repeatedly sent letters to localities urging stricter management on dogs.

Recently, last Thursday it issued a warning to the public regarding the rising number of deaths from rabies in the country.

There has been a significant increase in rabies-related deaths, with 22 cases reported in the first two months of the year, a spike from the same period last year, according to a report by the ministry’s Department of Preventive Medicine.

Provinces that have seen a high number of deaths include Gia Lai (14 cases), Nghệ An (7), Bình Phước (7), Điện Biên (6), Bến Tre (5), Đắk Lắk (4) and Bình Thuận (4).

The ministry stressed the importance of seeking proper medical care rather than relying on self-treatment or traditional healers.

On the same day, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính issued Directive 22/CĐ-TTg regarding the concentrated implementation of rabies prevention and control measures.

To mitigate the risk of escalating rabies cases and ensure the safety of the population, the PM urged provincial people's committees and agencies to diligently enforce rabies prevention and control measures.

Efforts should particularly target the elimination of wild animals, notably feral dogs and cats, which pose a significant threat to public safety.

All instructions of leaders are timely and right, but to make the guidance practical and effective requires the cooperation and high awareness of each individual, and then the whole community.

Nguyễn Quỳnh Anh, a student at the Hà Nội-based Academy of Finance, said: "I raise both dogs and cats in my apartment in Bắc Từ Liêm District, but I have never received any complaints from my neighbours.”

Anh does not let her dog go to the common areas of the building such as flower gardens and children’s playing yards.

Her dogs are trained to go to the toilet in the apartment, then she cleans up immediately to avoid bad smells affecting her life and that of her neighbours.

“In my opinion, that is the civilised and responsible way to raise pets," said Anh.

With the same view, Phùng Minh Thắng, a resident of the Vinhomes Riverside urban area, said: "Dogs and cats have even become friends to heal mental wounds and loneliness for the elderly, lonely people and people with depression. If they lack pets, they would certainly be very sad, so I support raising dogs, but owners must maintain environmental hygiene and safety for neighbours.”

Nguyễn Văn Hưng, director of the Hưng Phát Law Co Ltd, said that regulations on raising animals were very clear and detailed.

Dogs and cats are not prohibited, so people have the full right to keep them.

But to have a safe environment, Hưng proposed widespread guidance and norms to the community on how to raise dogs and cats.

“For instance, we can promulgate a set of standards on good behaviour for dog and cat owners to set up safe zones to reduce the risk of incidents,” he said.

Love and passion for animals is reasonable. Raising pets can be seen as a hobby and worthy of respect. But, keeping pets requires maintaining certain conditions to avoid trouble or danger to the community.

In every situation, human rights of safety must always come first, and collective interests need to be given top priority.

To harmonise the two needs of wanting to raise cats and dogs and wanting to maintain a quiet and peaceful space, the joint effort of everyone is needed.

Tạ Viết Thiều, head of the Hoàng Diệu Commune Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Division in Chương Mỹ District, Hà Nội, said that since 2021, the division assigned seven veterinary workers to cover seven villages in the commune.

They have elementary qualifications in animal husbandry, and are dedicated and responsible to their profession. They help disseminate information to locals so that they can strictly comply with regulations in the field.

“I highly appreciate this force because instructing people must be done regularly, continuously and persistently. Thanks to that, in recent years, the commune has no cases of dog bites or rabies. The village roads and alleys are also cleaner and more beautiful because there is no dog and cat feces like before,” he said.

The awareness of pet owners is very important, and can be considered the best vaccine for pets, besides rabies vaccine. Together, we work to build a happy and safe place for ourselves first and for the future generation, so that they will grow up without any painful memories of injuries caused by animals. — VNS