PUDUCHERRY: While taking an evening walk at Lawspet in Puducherry, you see a puppy writhing in pain on the roadside and quickly wrap it up in your hands. If you ask around for a rehabilitation centre nearby, locals will give you the phone number of Sakthi, a 32-year-old transgender veterinary doctor, who will come to the spot to help the injured canine. Sakthi runs a rehabilitation centre for injured and disabled animals, especially dogs, in her house for over a decade, after completing her undergraduate degree in veterinary science.
“My parents wanted me to become a doctor, but even though I had got selected to pursue MBBS, I decided to pursue my degree in veterinary science due to my affection for animals. After completing my graduation in 2014, I started working as a veterinary doctor for some NGOs in Puducherry,” Sakthi says.“I used to bring the injured strays to my home and treat them. I also started bringing disabled dogs and keeping them in my house, as they need frequent support,” she explains.
She says that she has 50 dogs in her house currently. When asked if she faces any difficulty in taking care of the dogs, she explains, “It is not easy to take care of so many dogs. Apart from caring about the dogs, there are external issues as well. One of the major external issues are the neighbours. They object to keeping so many dogs in the house, as they fear the dogs will disturb them by barking. But, one of the characteristics of my dogs is that they usually don’t disturb anyone. Due to this issue, I had to change four houses. I was inquired by the police, as one of the neighbours had lodged a complaint.”
Sakhti says that her parents, K Selvam and S Kalaiselvi, have acted as a major pillar of support for her, especially financially. “We cook 8-10 kg of rice and 15 kg of meat for not only the dogs in our house, but also for the dogs in and around Lawspet,” Kalaiselvi says, adding that as some people hesitate to come to take care of dogs, they take care of the dogs themselves. “We also ensure that the dog shelter is clean and food is served to the canines on time, even when Sakthi goes out for work,” she says Sakthi travels to various places for her work as a veterinary doctor, but she limits her travels to under a week due to the dogs. “The dogs start missing me and some dogs even refuse to eat food if they don’t see me. My bond with dogs is like young parents’ bond with their newborns,” she says, chuckling.
She also gives up the dogs for adoption, but she explains that she checks the background of the people coming for adopting the dogs. “Dogs are not toys; they are also like human beings and need proper care and attention. After giving up a dog for adoption, I keep in touch with the person who has adopted it and take regular updates about the dog from them. I particularly avoid people who want to adopt a specific breed of dog,” she explains.
She registered a trust ‘Bluebell Animal Welfare Trust’ in 2021, based on advice from her friends, for supporting rehabilitation of animals. She has also postponed her gender-affirming surgery as she is spending her income to take care of the animals.
Her dream is to set up a dedicated rehabilitation centre for animals in Puducherry, where both wild and pet animals can be treated with care. “This is one of the things I look forward to doing in the future. Had such a centre existed, the life of elephant Lakshmi from Manakula Vinayakar temple, which died recently, could have been saved,” she signs off.