No straying

An effort to give a comfortable life to a sick stray puppy three years ago has culminated in this first-of-its-kind adoption event for stray pups and kittens. The event,to be held at Bandra Hindu Association Hall on September 25,will see at least 60 pups and kittens picked from the streets and treated in foster homes.

Nadkarni,23,had found Angel,all of two months,in a malnourished condition in an Andheri street. She fed her,got her treated by a veterinarian and nursed her into a healthy puppy besides creating a Facebook page for her adoption. Angel,now a healthy three-year-old,found a Powai family that wanted to make her a part of it. “Angel’s successful adoption encouraged us to start doing the same for more strays and we did not even realise before our FB page had 8,000 members. We then decided to register ourselves as an NGO — World for All – Animal Care and Adoption,” says Nadkarni,who had done a six-month para-veterinary first aid course in the US besides academics.

Adoptathon will also provide counselling to adopters and check their homes and background. Also,20 individuals who have adopted strays in extremely bad conditions will be felicitated at the event.

The organisation introduced foster homes for strays for the first time in the city. Bulsara says they have networked so well over the past few years that they get at least 15 calls a month about sick or injured strays needing help. “We get calls about dogs and cats that have met with an accident,or been injured by other animals or people,or are in serious condition in shelters,orphaned or abandoned. We also get blind animals,amputees or paralysed. We rescue,vaccinate and sterilise them in foster homes,which are nothing but normal households of animal lovers.”

Nheza,one of his two stray-turned-pets,was one of the sickliest pups that he had found in the street. She was six weeks’ old with gastric problems,blood stools,kennel cough,tick-infested,malnourished and a stomach full of worms. His family had adopted her when she failed to find any adopters. She had to undergo treatment for three months and now,10 months on,she is a healthy dog,full of life.

Adoptathon is being funded by the Lioness Club. The organisation,otherwise,is funded by donations and sale of merchandise such as calendars,coasters and T-shirts with the same theme. It has so far treated and got about 1,600 strays adopted,90 per cent of which were Indian strays and the remaining abandoned pedigree pets. It has a Facebook group now — World for All/Save the helpless animals of Mumbai.