"Killer" pitbull returned to its owner with conditions

The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has returned a pitbull to its owner Amit Tripathi, whose mother was mauled to death by the canine earlier this month, but with conditions.

The LMC officials took the decision after Tripathi gave a written consent to take care of the dog.

A Corporation official told IANS on Friday: "The owner has promised to take the pitbull to a trainer daily and also take him to a behavioural specialist to assess its behaviour. If found violating the conditions, the dog will be seized by the LMC again."

He said that the owner was approaching officials almost daily with the request to handover the dog as the 14 day-period of keeping the dog under observation was over.

Arvind Rao, director animal welfare, LMC, said: "We got the health status of the pitbull checked at Jarhara Animal Birth Control Centre. After the advice of LMC trainers we have returned the dog to its owner with conditions and for a limited period of time. If the owner is found taking care of the dog as per directions, then he would be allowed to keep the Pitbull for a longer period. Initially, we have handed over the dog to him for the next 14 days."

He said that LMC had received more than 20 applications for adoption of the killer dog. "But we thought of giving it back to its owner instead of giving the dog to someone else," he added.

Abhinav Varma, chief veterinary officer, LMC, said that the team and trainers will keep on visiting the dog. The LMC will ensure the dog is not used for commercial purposes like dog fighting or intimidating others.

It will also ensure that the dog is kept in a clean, spacious place and given a proper diet at a fixed time. Some of Tripathi's neighbours had opposed to the dog being kept there and had expressed concern over their safety.