Encirclement and arrest on "hot spot" routes
At 7 am, at the headquarters of Hiep Binh Ward People's Committee, the preparation atmosphere was very urgent. Lao Dong Newspaper reporters followed the specialized patrol team to record the task of surrounded and catching stray dogs. The team consisted of four core members, equipped with specialized tools such as nets, walkie-talkies and trucks to transport livestock to the temporary detention area.
The working group began their mission in the old National Highway 13 area - one of the roads with high traffic density. Here, in less than 30 minutes, the first 3 stray dogs without muzzles were caught by the team while running and jumping on the sidewalk.
Leaving old National Highway 13, the delegation continued to go deep into alley 104. This is an area that people reflect as a "hot spot", where dogs running around chasing passersby often occur, causing danger to children and the elderly. "Stop it, tie it up!", Mr. Long, a member of the team, said as soon as he finished speaking, a large dog running along the alley was neatly placed in a specialized tie.
Witnessing the launching ceremony, Ms. Nguyen Thi Muoi (resident of Hiep Binh ward) shared: "Walking around the alleys, every time you encounter about 10 dogs, only about 2 dogs get muzzled. Not only worrying about being bitten, the situation of dog owners leading their dogs to litter indiscriminately occurs frequently, causing the environment to be smelly and unsanitary. I support strict punishment to raise people's awareness.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Van Long (resident of Hiep Binh ward), a person who is also raising dogs, affirmed that releasing pets without muzzles is a reprehensible act. Mr. Long shared his personal experience: "Raising pets is a hobby but must ensure safety for the community". He also assessed that since the dog catching team launched, the situation of violations has decreased significantly and hopes that this model will soon be replicated throughout the city.
After nearly 4 hours of drastic work, a total of 26 stray dogs were successfully surrounded and captured by the team. All these pets were taken to temporary shelters at 135 Street 18, Quarter 47, Hiep Binh Ward to wait for handling.
Strict and practically effective handling process
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, a representative of Hiep Binh Ward People's Committee said that the unit regularly receives reflections and petitions from people about the situation of stray dogs, not muzzling, causing insecurity and environmental sanitation. The model of the ward's stray dog and animal catching team showing signs of rabies was implemented from July 1, 2025, inheriting and developing from the model of Hiep Binh Chanh Ward before (established in 2022). The deployment schedule is maintained periodically weekly or unexpectedly when there are hot reports.
Regarding the handling process, after the dogs are caught, the Ward People's Committee will notify the launching area, the number of dogs (with images) and the breeding location on social networking sites such as Zalo, Facebook of the ward and neighborhood security and order groups for pet owners to grasp.
Within 48 hours, if the pet owner comes to contact, the ward will make a record of administrative violation and issue a penalty decision according to regulations. After completing the fine payment to the budget, registering for keeping and committing to comply with safety regulations, the owner will be allowed to receive the pet again. For cases where no one comes to receive it after 48 hours, the ward will handle them according to legal regulations. Statistics show that from July 1, 2025 to now, the ward has implemented 13 cases of penalties according to old regulations with a total amount of 18.7 million VND and 5 cases of penalties according to new regulations with a total amount of 11.25 million VND. The effectiveness of the campaign is very clear, many park areas and roads that were "black spots" for stray dogs and defecation have now stopped.
