I adopted a pup, Lisa, in December of 2019, two weeks before returning to Canada for studies. When the pandemic brought the whole world to a halt and forced all of us indoors, the only thing I could think of was seeing Lisa again. So, as soon as I could fly home, I did. At the time, I didn’t have much experience with dogs or any animal, nor did I have much knowledge of canine behaviour. But slowly enough, Lisa taught me a great deal, not only about herself and her species, but also about myself!
India has a large number of stray dog population which has reached a point where there is much conflict between humans and dogs. Taking Lisa out for walks was difficult as the dogs outside our home wouldn’t let us pass and once surrounded the two of us from all directions. I’m not one to give up easily and I, for sure wasn’t going to carry around a stick to scare the others dogs away like many other pet parents do.
I have always believed the dogs outside have just as much right to live and go about as does my dog, and being territorial is in their nature. They’re just protecting their area, so who am I to come in and ask them to leave? I would watch Lisa stand at the window watching the dogs and bark at them like they were the enemy. I wondered how great would it be if they could be friends?
To achieve this, I decided to be the one to befriend them, and since Lisa trusted me, she would perhaps realise that the dogs outside aren’t a threat. And so began my journey into this incredible world of dogs. This was February 2021. I went from feeding these doggies every now and then, to taking full responsibility of them, and from taking care of 3 doggies to 7. I slowly formed a bond with each of them, so much so that they would follow me around but also listen to my commands. I then introduced Lisa to the pack, and they immediately submitted to her. I don’t think Lisa was expecting that because she was ready to fight. The youngest of the lot, Jackie, was the same age as Lisa, and they took to each other quite soon and enjoyed each other’s company.
I then introduced my others dogs to them and they behaved exactly the same way. Because they trusted me, they trusted whoever was with me. I adopted my second dog, Blaze, in September 2020 from the same NGO that we got Lisa from. My third dog, Fortune, was an abandoned case found in our neighbourhood in August 2021. I fostered him for a little bit before adopting him. My fourth dog, Lily, was found injured outside my home right after the festival of Diwali in November 2021. She came to me asking for help and was so polite and gentle while I got her treated. Many dogs get displaced over the weeks leading up to Diwali and the night itself. They are terrified of the loud cracker noises and the smoke and fire. Lily, I believe was a stray from another area but lost her way and got injured. Her too, I fostered for a bit trying to find a permanent home, before adopting her.
My mum looks after the four doggies at home and for the outside dogs, we have a feeder and my mum makes sure the dogs get fed. There’s a group of volunteers in our housing block who see to the wellbeing of the dogs. A very kind and strong-willed lady began this informal group which has now been formalized to minimize suffering and make sure dogs are looked after. Her goal is to have every neighbourhood in India carry out the 5 steps approach to community adoption and through this eradicate rabies from India.
We carry out vaccination drives annually. I, along with another group of volunteers, also looked after 32 resident dogs at a park near my home. Since I started, I’ve aided in the sterilization of 5 street dogs in and around my neighbourhood in picking them up, pacifying them and bringing them back to their area.
My long-term goal is to create a facility for those dogs that cannot survive on the street for whatever reason (we had a case of a very anxious dog who had begun to bite, but was so affectionate towards the ones she trusted). Some, of course, can be rehabilitated back to their area by removing them from their environment for a little while (have also seen this work).
However, the main obstacle is the attitude of the general population. People can be so cruel, and awareness raising awareness is proving to be the biggest challenge. Who would believe that animals are easier to communicate with and better understand us and our intentions than people with whom we share the same language? Animals deserve better, especially from humans. Before I began working with the stray population, I wasn’t keen on sterilizing dogs. It felt like a violation of their bodies and rights. But now that I’ve so closely seen the reality, I am an advocate of sterilization because it is the only way of reducing suffering.