Street dogs are a fixture of nearly every neighbourhood in Delhi, in most cases fed and cared for by residents. So when a child’s apparent rabies death sparked a court order that all dogs must be rounded up and confined to non-existent ‘shelters’,

Dholu, an energetic young male with a noticeable limp; Oldie, the greying elder who loves a belly rub; and Snoopy, a golden-eyed boy who patiently waits his turn.

Delhi's stray dog population is estimated at one million, with suburban Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram also seeing a rise, municipal sources say. India has millions of stray dogs and the country accounts for 36% of the total rabies-related deaths in the world, according to the World Health Organization.