It’s chilly for the strays, too! Lend some warmth to them, this season Order warm pillows
It’s peak winter and while we all love to snuggle ourselves in blankets or quilts, there are strays out on the roads looking for a warm nook. A number of animal lovers in Delhi-NCR have been helping strays, and you, too, can help make a difference. Here’s how:
Lay mattresses outside
Ineka Tewari, a Delhi-based animal activist, says, “In winters, one can put mattresses or a cardboard outside the house, so that the strays don’t sit on a cold floor. For those dogs you are friendly with, get sweaters and clothes and build small houses with bricks to protect them from chilly wind. Try to give them more proteinrich foods and some supplements for strength, during the winter months.”
Offer coats only if you can monitor
Amritika Phool, another animal activist, says, “Lay out gunny sacks (bori) which strays can use as beds to sleep. One can even fill boxes with plastic bedding to make a cosy shelter. But, make dogs wear coats only if you can monitor them, and remove the coat daily, because they often get snagged in barbed wires and get wet, that can lead them to getting trapped or sick. For cats, give them covered boxes with lots of bedding,
Vrinda Sharma, from the Faridabad-based NGO Me and My Human, says, “One can prepare waterproof pillows for dogs using plastic sheets and waste clothes. We also take orders to prepare them, as part of an initiative taken with Faridabad Police, and call it ‘Laddo ka bichona’. Headlight collars can also be used to keep strays safe from accidents during foggy days.”
One meal, for survival
“Anyone can provide shelter to stray dogs in one’s locality. In an isolated place, make a roof with cardboards and warm up the space with old blankets, bedsheets and other clothes. Strays can use this space to sleep during the night. You can also involve gatekeepers to help you make such temporary shelters, which are better than providing coats for dogs. Also, if nothing else, at least give one meal a day to the strays, which will help them survive harsh winters,” says Nidhi Mishra from the Noida-based NGO, Posh Foundation.