Call it the horns of a dilemma. The BMC cannot decide whether to keep male and female dogs together or separately in the two proposed shelters for canines in Palghar and Thane. The problem will be highlighted in an affidavit the civic body will submit to the Bombay high court during a hearing scheduled for Friday. The court had ordered the BMC to set up two shelters for the city's strays on the outskirts of Mumbai. But the BMC, while going about the task, has come across several points that it cannot make up its mind about. "NGOs may say we are denying the animals their rights if we keep dogs and bitches separately. But at the same time, we cannot keep the males and females together as then there may be fights over mating rights," BMC commissioner Jairaj Phatak said on Thursday. The civic agency has acquired two 43-acre plots at Palghar and Thane to develop two townships for dogs. But civic officials have another problem besides the dogs' "mating rights"; the cost of feeding the strays will be Rs 10 crore annually. "Who will feed these dogs? In a city like Mumbai, where nobody feeds the poor, will it be wise to spend crores on feeding dogs?" Phatak questioned. All these points are being raised in the BMC affidavit. The BMC has also completed its stray dog census, which pegs the city's stray population at 70,182 and pet dog count at 26,900. But the numbers are interesting; in three wards