Making the world a better place for stray dogs

Bengaluru: They may be living a dog’s  life, but it’s not a bad one  for over  140 strays in Whitefield, which receive all the attention that pets  in homes do, thanks to Bismi Anil and  her organisation, Duma's Animal Welfare Trust, which has been  taking care of their  food, vaccination, deworming and treatment for injuries , if any, for the last two years.

So familiar are the dogs in her neighbourhood  with the trust’s vehicle that they look forward  to its visits, aware,  just like household pets often are, that  they are about to be petted and cared for. While most fear packs of stray dogs, which have mauled children to death in the city in the past,  Bismi’s trust  hopes to change people’s perception of  these  street dogs and become more  accepting of their presence in their midst.  “Our primary aim is to remove people’s fear of streets dogs and have them treated as community animals. In villages you see them living among people and that is what we want to propagate. We want people to understand how to co-exist with them,” she says.

Taking care not to disturb the neighbourhood, her organisation feeds the dogs after midnight as they tend get a wee aggressive on seeing the food. “They have a habit of getting a little frisky when served food and  so we prefer to do it when there are no people or traffic around. We serve them mostly between 1.30 am and 4.30 am. Their food consists of rice, chicken bones and mutton fat,” she  explains.

Besides feeding the dogs, the trust sterilises them, and even tries to give them some amount of training. It also helps orphaned streets puppies and dogs find a home. “Currently, we do not have a shelter home, so in case of rescues we take the help of other organisations,” Bismi adds, revealing that  Duma's Animal Welfare Trust was set up in memory of a fighter community dog in Whitefield.

“It all started when I got a dog which  had certain health issues and  was a very fussy eater. All the food that I  got her, I began to give to other dogs in our locality too.  We started with five dogs initially. The first one had a fracture in one leg and needed care, the second  had a cataract  and the third, some skin problem. We realised  they needed at least one nutritious meal  a day. And that’s how it   began,” she recounts.,

Today, the trust has two groups to identify injured dogs in the neighbourhoods of Whitefield and Kadugodi.  So far  Bismi and her team have been spending largely    from their own pockets  on  the food and care of the dogs, but   animal lovers too  chip in at times with funds to help the trust do  its work.  “We are able to feed them, but we need help for additional things like rescue or sterilisation. Fortunately we get donations. Sometimes people donate to us to mark the death anniversary of their pet dogs or on their birthdays,” Bismi says,adding that the number  of   donors has been growing seeing the dedicated work her team puts into the welfare of these strays.                       .

Pained by the injuries the dogs suffer when hit by vehicles, she has now come up with   a novel idea  to  prevent this.   “We are planning to apply reflecting colour around the necks of these dogs, which will help motorists see them in the dark, when most accidents take place,” says Bismi. Luckily for the trust it has got a  sponsor to help it with its new project, which, it hopes, will give the dogs a fighting chance of survival on busy roads.