A special veterinary centre for community dogs began its work on Saturday at the Government Veterinary Polyclinic in Thorapadi, Vellore Corporation. The centre offers vaccination and sterilization services for community dogs within city limits. It is run by the Department of Animal Husbandry and the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board, with support from the Corporation. G. Anduvan, Assistant Director, Department of Animal Husbandry (Vellore), said, "The new centre will help regulate community dogs’ population within Corporation limits. The new facility will handle only community dogs on a daily basis." Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi and Corporation Commissioner R. Lakshmanan inspected the new centre. The facility spans 8,000 sq.ft and includes a diagnosis room, surgery theatre, waiting hall, medical stores, chemical analysis unit, cabins for staff, and a vaccination room. It functions round-the-clock every day, including Sundays, with two doctors and four attendants available. The Corporation identified over 37,000 community dogs within its four zones, up from 9,000 a decade ago, covering all 60 wards. Currently, about 1,200 dogs are sterilized each year in the area. Officials said the centre will handle at least six dogs daily on average. After surgery and care, the dogs are returned to their original localities to ensure their survival, in line with ABC Rules. The polyclinic site originally began in 1907 as a bull station to improve farming. It became a district veterinary hospital by 1958-59 and was upgraded to a polyclinic in 2019.