In a move which will gladden the hearts of animal lovers;Sahid Ahmed – an animal lover of the city has installed five pet zones toprotect stray dogs from the biting cold in the winter.

Millions of stray dogs live on the streets of India. Unfortunately,fear and ignorance have led many Indian citizens and officials to see streetdogs as nothing but a nuisance and to seek eradication using inhumane methodssuch as poisoning and beating.

"Stray dogs live in tough conditions in the winters becausethey do not have designated spots to take shelter. So, this is a small steptowards giving them relief from the cold," Sahid Ahmed said.

It may be mentioned that Arpana Saikia, a Gauhati High Courtadvocate helped him to install the pet zones for stray dogs. Altogether, Rs20,000 were spent in installing them.

Ahmed, who is also a medical representative, urged people todonate materials such as mattresses and clothes to help stray dogs stay warm inwinters.