When Manoj Rajagopal hit the streets when the lockdown began, it was traumatic for him to watch people chasing away the stray dogs. “Now it is a phase of community feeding. I can see people coming out to feed animals in their areas and some even travel to other areas for the same,” he says.
When Manoj Rajagopal hit the streets when the lockdown began, it was traumatic for him to watch people chasing away the stray dogs. “Now it is a phase of community feeding. I can see people coming out to feed animals in their areas and some even travel to other areas for the same,” he says.
Many are interested in doing their bit, but get checked by the police for stopping their vehicles by the roadside to feed the strays. Head of the West Coast Engineering Corporation, Manoj wonders if the authorities could provide such volunteers with some kind of identification.
When the lockdown began in mid-March and the stray or street dogs realised their usual haunts such as meat and chicken shops, push-carts, restaurants and messes were shut, they started moving towards the residential areas. Hunger made them howl and bark, and rummage through the trash. Residents, who initially failed to understand the behaviour, found them a nuisance. But eventually, they started feeding them.
Lakshmi Narayanan Vijay, Managing Partner, Bird on Tree, is a regular like Manoj. After providing food to more than 2,500 people every day, he takes time off to feed the strays on “being inspired by Manoj”. He sources loaves of bread from his cousin’s baking unit, to which he adds two litres of milk and 50 eggs to make a preparation that he feeds the dogs in the night. Sets of puppies are served curd rice in the afternoon and nights.
Megha Jose, the founder of The Pawsome People Project, an organisation working towards creating harmony between people and animals, is happy that “a lot of people are feeding now”.
More than 40 volunteers of Pawsome are out on the road, every day, covering various areas of the city. From dogs, the feeding now extends to cows, goats, and horses.
“Community feeding has grown to a great extent. So, we avoid areas where the residents take care of the strays and venture into areas where they do not get food. People connect with us on our website and through social media and let us know where dogs do not get food, so our volunteers target those areas,” says Megha.
She is very happy with how the city has responded to the needs of the streeties. She also points out how those who cannot go out on the street to feed them, donate in the form of money or dog feed, which helps the volunteers sustain the feed drives. She prefers the 20 kg packs of dry dog food simply for the reason it is easy to transport and will not go stale if the animals choose to eat after a few hours.
With such volunteers and generous residents, there should be a situation of no hunger for the strays. But the main concern remains lack of access to water.
Mini Vasudevan, Co-Founder, Humane Animal Society (HAS), says that people are doing whatever they can, but the month of April is the worst for animals and they get dehydrated.
“People who feed strays should ensure they place water bowls wherever possible. Also, they should refrain from feeding biscuits. It is preferable to feed them rice and curd, or chapatis mixed with something,” Mini adds.
Another major problem is the lack of adequate medical care and medicines that the strays housed at HAS face, due to the lockdown. Since the Government veterinary facilities are shut, sick animals and those requiring immediate surgery are being attended to by private doctors in private veterinary clinics. Mini says this is a huge expenditure. Also, some pet owners, driven by the fear that animals spread the virus, have abandoned their pets. Rescue and fostering of these are also a big drain on the resources, in the time of lockdown.
Another looming threat is of pet owners giving up their pets, once the lockdown is lifted, as a result of several apartment complexes banning pets in their premises, another fallout of COVID-19.
Reach out to HAS at 93661-27215; and The Pawsome People Project at 72595-24005
Many are interested in doing their bit, but get checked by the police for stopping their vehicles by the roadside to feed the strays. Head of the West Coast Engineering Corporation, Manoj wonders if the authorities could provide such volunteers with some kind of identification.
When the lockdown began in mid-March and the stray or street dogs realised their usual haunts such as meat and chicken shops, push-carts, restaurants and messes were shut, they started moving towards the residential areas. Hunger made them howl and bark, and rummage through the trash. Residents, who initially failed to understand the behaviour, found them a nuisance. But eventually, they started feeding them.
Lakshmi Narayanan Vijay, Managing Partner, Bird on Tree, is a regular like Manoj. After providing food to more than 2,500 people every day, he takes time off to feed the strays on “being inspired by Manoj”. He sources loaves of bread from his cousin’s baking unit, to which he adds two litres of milk and 50 eggs to make a preparation that he feeds the dogs in the night. Sets of puppies are served curd rice in the afternoon and nights.
Megha Jose, the founder of The Pawsome People Project, an organisation working towards creating harmony between people and animals, is happy that “a lot of people are feeding now”.
More than 40 volunteers of Pawsome are out on the road, every day, covering various areas of the city. From dogs, the feeding now extends to cows, goats, and horses.
“Community feeding has grown to a great extent. So, we avoid areas where the residents take care of the strays and venture into areas where they do not get food. People connect with us on our website and through social media and let us know where dogs do not get food, so our volunteers target those areas,” says Megha.
She is very happy with how the city has responded to the needs of the streeties. She also points out how those who cannot go out on the street to feed them, donate in the form of money or dog feed, which helps the volunteers sustain the feed drives. She prefers the 20 kg packs of dry dog food simply for the reason it is easy to transport and will not go stale if the animals choose to eat after a few hours.
With such volunteers and generous residents, there should be a situation of no hunger for the strays. But the main concern remains lack of access to water.
Mini Vasudevan, Co-Founder, Humane Animal Society (HAS), says that people are doing whatever they can, but the month of April is the worst for animals and they get dehydrated.
“People who feed strays should ensure they place water bowls wherever possible. Also, they should refrain from feeding biscuits. It is preferable to feed them rice and curd, or chapatis mixed with something,” Mini adds.
Another major problem is the lack of adequate medical care and medicines that the strays housed at HAS face, due to the lockdown. Since the Government veterinary facilities are shut, sick animals and those requiring immediate surgery are being attended to by private doctors in private veterinary clinics. Mini says this is a huge expenditure. Also, some pet owners, driven by the fear that animals spread the virus, have abandoned their pets. Rescue and fostering of these are also a big drain on the resources, in the time of lockdown.
Another looming threat is of pet owners giving up their pets, once the lockdown is lifted, as a result of several apartment complexes banning pets in their premises, another fallout of COVID-19.
Reach out to HAS at 93661-27215; and The Pawsome People Project at 72595-24005