8 puppies drowned in Ishwardi, officer asked to vacate quarter

Eight newborn puppies were drowned in a pond on the Ishwardi Upazila Parishad premises in Pabna, prompting the administration to order the official near whose home the incident occurred to vacate his government residence within a day.

The incident took place on Monday on the premises of the upazila parishad auditorium.

Hasnur Rahman Nayon, Ishwardi upazila officer of the Small Farmers Development Foundation, had been living with his family in a government quarter on the parishad premises. 

According to locals and parishad employees, about a week ago, a stray mother dog gave birth to eight puppies in the yard of Nayon's government residence, and had been living there with her newborns.

Yesterday, the dog was seen running around the parishad grounds, crying and drawing the attention of people nearby. It was later learned that the puppies had been thrown into the nearby pond where they drowned.

When locals recovered the carcasses from the water and brought them near the parishad office, the mother dog sat beside them, crying continuously. The puppies were buried later.

Confirming the incident, Nayon told The Daily Star, "My wife told me to remove the puppies thinking of our children's safety. But I did not imagine they would be killed this way. I am ashamed and saddened by what has happened. I have no words to express my sorrow."

Photos and videos of the dog crying beside her dead puppies circulated widely on social media, drawing heavy public outrage.

Speaking to the media, Nayon's wife Nishi Begum said, "I would never hurt animals. I was only trying to protect my children from diseases. Someone came and told me keeping the dogs was harmful and I asked them to help me gather them in a sack so that I could remove them. I kept the sack near a tree. Maybe the puppies moved inside the sack and fell into the nearby pond. But I did not throw them."

Ishwardi Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Moniruzzaman said, "This is an extremely inhumane and cruel act. As punishment, the officer has been instructed to leave the government quarter within a day."

He added that the Department of Livestock has been tasked with providing treatment to the mother dog, as the sudden loss of her litter has raised health concerns due to her retained milk.