CHENNAI: Hulk, an eight-year-old Great Dane, was abandoned on the streets. He was severely dehydrated and malnourished when I rescued him. He had a huge, and deep maggot wound on his nose. He was weak, and was dying due to the negligence and irresponsibility of his owner. But with rehabilitation and care, he survived,” shares Dinesh Baba Paneerselvam, founder, Cloud 9 Animal Care & Rehabilitation. This is just one among the thousands of successful rescue operations that propelled him to work towards building an old-age home and a geriatric shelter for dogs and other animals in Chennai.
All lives matter
Dinesh and his team have been rescuing, treating and caring for stray animals out of their 3,000-sq-ft facility in Iyyappanthangal since 2016. The rental agreement of the current facility has expired and their landlord has extended the grace period till the end of January 2022. Cloud 9, with the help of crowdfunding platform Impact Guru, has started a fundraiser to raise `60 lakh. They have raised `4.5 lakh so far.
Explaining what the initiative hopes to achieve, Dinesh says, “The current statistics reveal that around 20 pet animals are abandoned every day as there is no venue to accommodate them. We want to open a 10,000-sq-ft open facility for all the bruised, maimed and defenseless animals in their old age. A home for strays isn’t just about a building but a convergence of facilities to accommodate their needs. To maximise efficiency, the animal shelter needs at least an acre of land to ensure good fostering facilities and medical emergency attendance.”
By building a shelter, they hope to reduce the stray population, mainly the aged animals, significantly. “For wounded old animals, suffering is a dubious consequence of survival. These animals might not even have the energy to fend for themselves. A shelter will make their lives seem better than how it would be in the open. Also, as there is no other shelter like this in India, ours will be the one of a kind,” he says.
A new lease of life
In all the years of their animal welfare work, Cloud 9 has been offering emergency response solutions for animals by rescuing them from wells and crevices. It has taken care of food distribution for street animals, conflict resolution, training, and vaccination drives. “We have rescue and rehabilitation services, operation theatre, postoperative care, out patient ward and ambulance services. Currently, there are about 60 animals in the facility and I have a team of ten who tirelessly work for their well-being,” notes Dinesh.
The team of crusaders have been doing a commendable job particularly during calamities and unprecedented crises like the Chennai floods of 2015, cyclone Vardah of 2016, Cyclone Nivar of 2020, the Kerala Floods of 2018-19, with the pandemic being the latest. “We prepared 200-300 kg of food almost every day during lockdown to feed over 1,000 dogs. A lot of pets were abandoned by parents fearing the spread of the virus in parks, beaches and other commercial places and starved to death. A few good Samaritans were extending their help through donations and food. But to continue our work, we definitely need financial support,” says Dinesh.
After years of relentless service and life-changing experiences, the team at Cloud 9 is optimistic about the numerous purposes their mission of building a shelter can serve. “We human beings have already made it difficult for animals. It might not ideally be possible for us to co-exist with our surroundings and other creatures like we used to, but what if there was a sustainable solution? They don’t deserve to go through all the pain and suffering. We hope animal lovers will make our dream come true in making this planet a better place for strays and old animals,” he says. Meanwhile, we can all be a part of the larger cause by chipping in funds.
Contribution to animal welfare
Distribution of over 10,000 water bowls to save animals from dehydration since 2012.
Provision of over 15,000 reflective collars for cattle, goats, and dogs to protect them from accidents Since 2015.
Facilitation of over 1,800 animal birth control (ABC) surgeries for cats and dogs.
For details, visit: impactguru.com/fundraiser/help-cloud-9,Or call: 9841588852