MANGALURU: You find pups everywhere yelping, barking and wagging their tails nineteen to the dozen and kittens meowing away. It is their home, the Animal Care Trust.
Occasionally the volunteers in uniforms appear in big malls of Mangaluru city, holding the puppies and cats in cages, looking out for prospective adopters of the animals. While it appears a usual drive, the difference is the animals for adoption are local breeds of cats and dogs.
Sensing the plight of these abandoned animals, a group of animal lovers came together for a cause 20 years ago and started Vatsalya, the ‘Animal Care Trust’, which is the only shelter for abandoned and injured animals, birds and reptiles in Dakshina Kannada district.
Suma R Naik, one of the trustees, says, “Every year we hold adoption camps where healthy vaccinated kittens and pups are up for adoption. Apart from these camps, animal lovers can walk in for adoption of puppies and kittens at our centre in Shaktinagar.”
Says Maithri J Kashyap, an animal lover, from Yekkur, Mangaluru, “I have seen both foreign breeds and desi dogs. And i found no difference other than looks. Desi dogs too wag their tails just like foreign breeds do. Desi dogs too love you just like foreign breeds do. Desi dogs are no less than any foreign breeds. It’s all in our mindset. We need to adopt desi animals more and more, because these animals are neglected. And the Animal Care Trust is teaching people that desi dogs too have feelings. And adopting a female dog from them made me happy and it helped one homeless puppy too.”
The shelter has several wards. Garuda is exclusively a rescue and rehabilitation area for the sick and injured birds and it’s hand-painted artistically by the ACT members. ‘Lassy’ is a ward in memory of one of the pet dogs ‘Lassy’, housing as many as 75 dogs. At present, it houses street dogs which have undergone ABC/ARV and pregnant female dogs. The ward has an operation theatre, post-operative wards, staff quarters, outpatient department and a kitchen.
Another ward ‘Sneha’ houses abused or dogs injured in accidents leaving them permanently handicapped. Ward ‘Misty’ has abandoned old and sick dogs put up for adoption. Another ward ‘Dayakara’ is dedicated to helpless dogs with terminal diseases like canine distemper and rabies.
Dhruv Tara is a cattery, which houses injured, sick and abandoned kittens.
Ward ‘Mathrachaya’ opened in 2012 on Mother’s Day, is one of its kind for pregnant animals be it dogs, cats, cattle. Here these animals can deliver and raise their young ones under constant care of the members of ACT.
The new ward ‘Darsh Chaya’ is the puppy run area. At present, the shelter houses badly wounded, sick, malnourished animals. There are over 300 dogs, 15 cats, 45 puppies, 20 black kites, 2 heads of cattle and one pigeon.
In the last twenty years, the trust has rescued more than 10,000 abandoned dogs, cats, cattle, rabbits, pigs, monkeys, birds, snakes and tortoises. Following calls from animal lovers in the city, the rescue van of the shelter goes around and rescues stray animals. Those rescued animals are sterilized and injured ones are treated. Animals with incurable diseases are provided medical care at the shelter.
ACT receives no aid from the state and central governments.
Donors can contribute to the NGO monetarily or by sponsoring a pet or their day’s meal. One can serve the NGO being a volunteer or a member too, according to the Trust.The NGO members have come up with a unique idea to protect stray dogs from accidents. “Recently we have put reflective belts on 200 dogs in the city. These belts, got from Indore, have a lock and cannot be removed easily,” says Suma.
Vivian, a resident of Derebail who has adopted a puppy during an adoption camp, says, “We need to keep Indian breeds as pets. These desi pups are often neglected. Cruel trade of foreign breeds must stop.”
Plans to introduce Animal-Assisted Therapy
The trust has plans to introduce Animal Assisted Therapy(AAT) with the help of Anirvedha, a full-fledged centre for psychological assessment, therapy and training. Many of the specially-abled children react positively to animals and this therapy helps them cope with stress, enhances self-worth. It can also be used for old and sick people, Suma, one of the trustees, says.