**1. Introduction**

Open garbage dumps and dog bites are major public health problems in the Kashmir region. In Srinagar city, there are more than 91,000 dogs [1], or about one dog for every 12 citizens. More than 80,000 dog bites and 20 deaths due to rabies were reported in the Kashmir valley in the period 2008–2012 [2]. The area's Anti-Rabies Clinic (ARC), Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, depleted its stock of vaccine fourfold in a tenmonth period [3]. The overwhelming majority of dog bite cases (9514) occurred in Srinagar [4]. Of these cases, 80% occurred in urban spaces and 20% occurred in rural areas.
