SRINAGAR, India | Feroz Ahmed does not leave home for his early-morning walk without a stick. Now in his 60s, he is wary of stray dogs that live nearby, on the outskirts of Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

“I carry a stick to protect myself from dogs,” he says.

While Ahmed has never been attacked by a stray before, others have.

A stray dog bit Rehmat Ashraf, 6, on the face outside her house in Srinagar. Plastic surgery has so far been unsuccessful in helping her fix her scar. Fazi, a 60-year-old resident of the nearby Surasyar village — who goes by one name — was attacked by stray dogs near her house. She survived but suffered multiple injuries to her neck, arms, legs and abdomen.

Many big cities in India are grappling with a stray dog problem. Estimates put their number in the

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