In the memory of her beloved dog, Chennai’s Kirthana Raamsukaesh started Vetri’s Pet Food Bank to feed hungry stray dogs. Located in Thiruvanmiyur, she runs a fully-equipped kitchen where her team prepares food for the street animals. The bank distributes over 500 kg of food every day to about 5,000 stray cats and dogs through 56 registered feeders. It is said to be India’s first pet food bank. Kirthana ensures that the meals are balanced and provide optimum nutrition to hungry stray animals who are left to fend for themselves. The food bank also provides dry food for animals. Her team also co ..read more

Growing up in a family that cared deeply for animals, Bhargsetu Sharma from Gujarat always had compassion for animals. However, an event in 2012 turned her passion into her life’s mission. “A few puppies were thrown away from my society because they used to poop or litter around. We brought them back and realised that they have a right to live on this planet, which belongs to all of us,” says Bhargsetu, who is now in her 20s. Soon after, her friends joined her cause and they started receiving multiple calls for animal rescue. To expand the work, she started a Facebook page called ‘Humans with ..read more

On one dark night in 2011, a sweeper was cleaning the streets near the army attachment camp in Punjab’s Ferozepur city.  Manjit Singh, a former drawing teacher, had brought 50 children along with a non-profit organisation from Chandigarh to the camp to show them how the Indian Army functions. On stepping out for dinner, he noticed something strange among all the waste that the sweeper had collected.  Going a little closer to the bin, he realised that it was a dead pigeon! “I asked the sweeper why she was throwing the body in a dustbin. I even inquired how it died. She informed me tha ..read more

Embarking on a journey to discover India on foot has meant that every day is one full of learning for 26-year-old Yati Gaur, who lives in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.  With his rescue Indie pup Buttercup, Yati aims to cover every nook and corner of the country. His goal is simple, he says — he only wants to know his country and its people. “I was not always the travel enthusiast that I am today. I like to explore new things and am very interested in art. I wanted to study and make films but as it seems, life had different plans for me,” he says.  “India is so diverse. It is a country where ..read more

Trigger warning: Animal abuse  A stray dog lay whimpering on the streets of Kancheepuram. It was stuck on the pavement, unable to get up or move out. After a long time, some kind people got the dog some help by calling a shelter nearby. More than 2,000 km away in Ghaziabad, the death of a beloved stray dog inspired a young girl to feed more than 100 dogs in the city.  In Kochi, a puppy was thrown over a compound of an NGO working for animal welfare. He was badly hurt and was unable to see for a few days. Nursing him back to life inspired yet another young girl to dedicate her life to ..read more

When Vedhapriya Ganesan was just three years old, she found a newborn shrew (moonjur eli in Tamil) behind her anganwadi, and the mother was missing. Disturbed by the animal’s plight, she found a tailor nearby and asked him to stitch a small swing for the animal. Then, she rocked him in it like one would a human baby! “Every day, I would go and see the moonjur to ensure it was doing well,” she says. That was Vedhapriya’s beginning of a lifelong tryst with animals. As she grew older, her love for animals grew into compassion and a need to protect them. A school trip to the snake park ignited a p ..read more

Trigger warning: Animal abuse  Aditi Nair has been able to do what many of us can only dream of — marrying her passion and profession.  In 2010, while she was pursuing her MBA degree, she was challenged by her professor to find something she was passionate about. She recalls, “Dr Kaustubh Dhargalkar, who is also my mentor, would always ask me to look for my passion and what I could do about it. Meanwhile, I was deeply interested in animal welfare. However, I didn’t know how I could actually help animals.”  To find her answer, she set out on a journey across the country. In April ..read more

Ever planned a vacation enthusiastically only to realise your beloved pooch can’t accompany you because the place isn’t pet friendly? That ends here. You can now undertake every touristy escapade you’re looking for whilst having your baby experience it all. We’ve put together a list of homestays across the country which not only go the extra mile to welcome pets but make the trip fun for them! What are you waiting for? Go ahead and book!  1. Casa Cottage, Bengaluru  Casa Cottage is a pet-friendly homestay in Bengaluru that is immersed in nature and greenery, Picture source: Casa Cott ..read more

Dr Meghana Pemmaiah, a veterinarian from Mangaluru, cares for a wide range of animals. She helps not only beloved pets but also injured wildlife like jackals, birds, and snakes. Her dedication to treating their ailments is unwavering. However, in her daily routine, the 32-year-old sometimes experiences unique days when the Karnataka Forest Department contacts her for rescue missions. She helps ensure that the wild cats of Karnataka are safely returned to their natural habitat in healthy condition. “It is not about just work for me but also the love and passion I have for these animals. Humans ..read more

In the first part, we discussed the growing menace of free-ranging (‘stray’) dogs in Indian cities, experts’ view on the inability of the ABC (animal birth control) programme to manage their growing population, and why feeding them in groups and leaving them on the street exacerbates the problem.      Globally, the view on street (stray or free-ranging) dogs is very different to that of India. On the one hand, there are countries in Asia and Africa that consume dog meat. One estimate states that approximately 30 million dogs are killed for human consumption annually in ..read more