“The condition of the dogs was a nightmare,” said a member of one of the dog care agencies. “There were no feeding troughs for food and water and the rice was thrown on muddy ground. There was no health treatment and dogs were starving and eating one other.”

The member, who requested anonymity for fear of potential strained relationship with the city corporation, added that there was no proper shelter in winter and some had died of hypothermia. The dog pound in Memelakha was located inside a thick jungle where there was “hardly any sunshine”. The member, however, added that the present TCC leadership was not solely to be blamed and that it was a plan of earlier heads gone awry.

Before the pounding in 2007, it was agreed that the national animal hospital under the department of livestock would look after the health of the dogs, RSPCA, the welfare of the dogs, the health ministry would take care of vaccines for dog handlers, and TCC would round up the dogs.

“Unfortunately when impounding did start, none of the stakeholders were informed and, in fact, we were barred from visiting the pound,” said one of the stakeholders. “After much appeals and, with the new executive secretary taking office in the city corporation, they decided to hand over the welfare of the dogs to RSPCA and JANGSA.”

By when things have reached a pretty pass.

According to a source, during the impounding rounds, city officials caught too many strays, around 2,000. Due to limited space at the pound, they were set free near Yusipang and, to prevent them from returning to the city, city officials bought meat and scattered it in the forest. Yusipang residents complained that they were attacked by the dogs.

The agriculture minister, Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho, said that the cabinet had decided to solve the problem through a committee led by RSPCA. He added that, henceforth, only sick dogs would be taken to the shelter in Serbithang, whenever there was space, and after treatment they would be released in their own territory.

There are others who say that impounding of dogs was cruel and also an unscientific method to solve the dog problem. A 13-member team from Humane Society International, Gujarat, had recently come to carry out mass a sterilization campaign, targeting about 1,200 dogs in Thimphu. The team leader, Dr Rahul Sehgal, said that Thimphu dogs had become frightened because of impounding. He added that dogs were territorial in nature and, on losing their territory, they become unfriendly.

“The dog problem can be solved through legislation, education and sterilization (LES)”, he said. Laws should be implemented through legislation to prevent irresponsible pet-owners, people should be educated on the importance of dogs, and sterilization should be carried out from time to time to control the dog population.

Meanwhile, about 200 dogs have been transferred from Memelakha to Serbithang.