Care home gives a new lease of life to stray, abandoned dogs
noida — They surround Preeti Singh, yapping and snapping at each other’s heels, trying to get her attention, unmindful of the stick she brandishes as she threatens to hit them if they don’t behave themselves.
Matru, Jabda, Nashedi and some 30 of their friends, many named after the sidekicks of villains that were such a staple of 80s style Bollywood films, know she won’t hurt them. They know she loves them too much.
The stray, abandoned and outcast dogs have found not just a home at the Pam-Posh Canine Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy Unit in Noida, which opened last week, but also playmates and caregivers who shower them with affection.
Singh, a senior director in a leading multinational company, is one of the several volunteers whose support, financial and otherwise, has helped the NGO Posh Foundation start the unit for dogs unable to walk due to a paralytic attack or other issues affecting motor function.
The treatment includes acupuncture, massage, orthotics and prosthetics along with physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, says Posh founder Aditi Badam. Also part of the therapy is book reading sessions!
Nestled between farmlands in Sector 126 of Noida, adjoining the
There have been incidents when people abandon their pets saying they found them on the road, but then they have the entire medical record and even the date of birth. People who cannot take care of a pet should not get one. Aditi Badam, founder of Posh Foundation
national capital, the unit is a refuge far from the madding crowd for man’s best friend.
You can hear the dogs before you see them. The dirt road leading to the main gate is not for the fainthearted and should be taken only by those who can bear the incessant barking of 50-odd dogs.
Founded by Badam in 2013, the animal care NGO, which runs another home for dogs, is funded entirely by the public and volunteers. A skeletal staff of about five, including a full— time doctor, mans each of the two shelters.
Badam, who spent several years volunteering for the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre, says she was moved to open the physiotherapy unit because the only option for most of these dogs is euthanasia.
“It is a sad situation for dogs in India, especially stray dogs. Without any physiotherapy for dogs that have motor issues, most of them are killed,” Badam, who left a fulltime job as a professional physiotherapist at Fortis hospital, said.
Before opening the new unit, the NGO focused its efforts on the Nirvana Shelter-Canine Rescue & Recovery Unit, also in Noida, where injured dogs are taken to recuperate. With around 50 dogs at PamPosh and some 80-odd dogs at Nirvana, Badam and her team find little time to do anything else.
Pam-Posh has 23 kennels, most of which are sponsored by dog lovers in memory of their pets or someone in the family.
All dogs under treatment are kept in the kennels and join their brethren out in the yard once they are fit.
Although the NGO runs adoption campaigns throughout the year, some of them never find a home. “Some parents drop their pets here and never come back.
“There have been incidents when people abandon their pets saying they found them on the road, but then they have the entire medical record and even the date of birth. People who cannot take care of a pet should not get one,” Badam said.
Posh Foundation runs camps to train volunteers in first aid and emergency care.
“When we have a school visit, we bring the dogs out of the kennel. Children are asked to read stories to them or take them for a walk in the compound. The dogs don’t understand the words but they do understand when someone is talking to them,” she said.
All the facilities provided are free. People who bring in a dog only need to fill a form with their IDs. Medicines are mostly donated by doctors and food and equipment by volunteers. “We even have two ambulances entirely funded by people,” Badam said.
Amongst those who devote their time to tend to the dogs is Poonam, a mother of two married daughters, who has spent over a year with Posh Foundation.
“When I see dogs I see kids,” she said, while petting Anny in her lap.” — PTI