The dogs at Love-n-Care. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Doted on while healthy, abandoned when unwell. Are Calcuttans turning fair-weather friends for our four-legged pals?

Two Dobermans were found abandoned and ailing on the streets of Salt Lake last weekend. Bodies covered with ulcers and severe wounds, the animals left to die were saved only by the timely intervention of a few. But doctors say the male would lose its hind paws while the female?s stomach wounds would take a long time to heal.

The pair was found ? by some night guards ? huddled together on a stretch near the AC-AD blocks on Sunday evening. ?We were shocked when we found them in such a state and gave them some milk and bread,? said a resident of AC block. ?They ate hungrily. They seemed to have been starving for days.?

After the initial concern, there was some debate about what was to be done. Though the dogs were looking ?scared?, some believed they could easily turn aggressive.

Police were contacted, as was Love-n-Care for Animals, a voluntary organisation that runs a hospital for strays. The Bidhannagar (North) police station also contacted the NGO, with its report stating the animals displayed ?a tendency to bite, which may cause danger to the public?.

?We asked the local residents to lodge a police diary and keep the dogs for a claimant to come forward,? said Sushmita Roy, secretary, Love-n-Care for Animals. ?But when residents and police said the dogs were in very poor health, we stepped in.?

The dogs were probably abandoned by the owner due to a skin disease they were suffering from, felt NGO officials.

An ambulance was sent to Salt Lake to pick up the Dobermans around 1 pm on Monday.

At the Jagannathpur hospital - a 45-minute drive from Behala Chowrasta - they were put on a diet of milk and biscuits and were administered antibiotic injections.

"Both the dogs are now being treated at our hospital. They are on drip," Roy added.

But the prognosis is grim. Two of the hind paws of the male dog will have to be amputated, as the legs have been affected by gangrene, said doctors.

Deep wounds on the stomach and other parts of his partner's body might be the result of long hours in chains, they added.

The dogs are not suffering from rabies. They have, however, developed worms toximia. "For a long period of time, they did not get proper food and were fed an unhealthy diet that may have resulted in this disease," said hospital officials.

The two dogs are now convalescing, but cases of animal abandonment are on the rise in the city.

"Every year, around 50 dogs are abandoned by their owners in Salt Lake and along the EM Bypass alone," claimed Roy. These are generally Dobermans or German Shepherds. "As the maintenance costs go up, some owners abandon their pets," she added.