The bow-wow cruise patrol

When you adopt a puppy, you may be giving it a home, but when you take in a senior dog, what you probably didn’t know is that you’re saving its life. For Bengaluru couple, Mayank and Akshi Kinger, it was love at first sight when they met the raven-coloured, eight-year-old labrador, Abby, at CARE, an animal shelter in the city. Their lives changed for the better when they brought her home earlier this year. Now, the duo is embarking on an 8,000 km journey with their dog to raise awareness about animal welfare across the country!

For the engineering graduates, a trip to Rajasthan for the festivities was inevitable. “We take a month off this time every year, and unlike other times, we had to think about Abby,” shares 31-year-old Akshi. Having adopted Abby earlier this year and not convinced about leaving her behind at a boarding shelter, the road trip-loving couple decided to make the most of it along with their outdoor-adoring pooch.

The Abby Unleashed campaign, as they are calling it will kick start from the city this week and the rally will travel across 20 cities covering Goa, Pune, Indore, Ratlam, Jaipur, Sri ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Pushkar, Ajmer, Gurugram, Delhi, Noida,  Udaipur, Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Mumbai and Kolhapur.

Collaborating with a welfare partner, IUFA (India Unites For Animals) and their volunteers across these cities, Mayank tells us that the whole idea behind this self-funded trip is to talk to people about how animals may be voiceless, but are still living, sentient beings with rights too.

“Most puppies are bought impulsively since they look cute. Once adulthood strikes, people find it hard to manage and abandon them. Having a pet is a lifetime commitment just like human kids. Since we already have so many senior dogs (pedigreed and Indian pariah) who are looking for loving homes, ‘buying’ them should never be an option. This could automatically put a stop on the breeding industry which is a living hell for animals,” says the 31-year-old entrepreneur. This is not the first time Mayank has forayed into a social cause. He also heads a platform called Share a Smile, an organisation of youngsters coming together in an attempt to change the world with one act of kindness at a time and encourage others to do so as well. This campaign was however, close to his heart.

“We hope to create awareness, while telling people how having a pet can change your life for the better,” he says. Educating people when it comes to animal cruelty and the laws around it is also on the agenda. “Being a superior species it is our moral duty to make sure we treat other animals as equals,” says Mayank.