Caring for and protecting our forests and wildlife is part of the duties of an Indian Forest Service officer. However, going beyond the call of duty, IFS officer Niveditha Bojarajan, posted as Conservator of Forests (Research and Training) Haryana, is also taking care of stray dogs.
It is a known fact that these dogs lead a terrible life on the streets fraught with the danger of being hit by people or cars, not to mention the daily struggle of rummaging through garbage to find morsels of food to chew on and searching for little water in dirty potholes to quench their thirst.
Moved by their sorry plight, Ms. Bojarajan started taking care of these helpless and voiceless souls and even opened a shelter for them, calling it ‘Hachi and Hachi Homes’. Indian Masterminds decided to explore this empathetic side of the officer and requested her to share her experiences of being a dog rescuer with us.
AN EYE-OPENING INCIDENT
Ms. Bojarajan was not always a dog lover, but her brother was. Living around him while growing up, she started sympathizing with the mute creatures but never to the extent of actually doing something for them, until one day when she came across two puppies who couldn’t move at all on a street.
“The puppies could not move, and we assumed that they must have been in a car accident or something. My brother picked them up and took them to the nearby veterinary hospital where we came to know that they were suffering from a disease called ‘canine distemper’. Since we were not well versed with stray animals and their diseases, we didn’t really know what to do.”
Unfortunately, both the puppies succumbed to the disease, which could have been avoided had they been vaccinated. Something moved inside the officer that day and, thus, began her journey of dog rescuing.
OBSERVING THE PLIGHT OF STRAYS
She started researching on the topic and observed that there are several organizations and NGOs that are supposed to do the basic vaccination of dogs to prevent them from dying of rabies or other viruses that the dogs catch as a result of living in unhygienic conditions.
“I started noticing car-hit animals on the roads or malnourished puppies whenever I used to go on field trips or inspections. I also observed that their population is bursting due to which there are stray animals everywhere. Proper birth control measures are not adopted for them which leads to them multiplying and ultimately dying of hunger,” she told Indian Masterminds.
HACHI AND HACHI HOMES
The officer took a life-changing decision to rescue as many dogs as she could and keep them in a safe shelter, where they would be vaccinated, neutered, fed, and will be kept in proper living conditions.
However, this was not an easy task and it required help and support, both physically and financially. Therefore, the officer gathered her friends and formed a trust for the purpose.
“I wanted a legally sound mechanism for it, which might help us with funds for the purpose. We registered the trust under Society’s Act. We are also very grateful to Reliance Industries as they have provided funds for the initial purchase of land, development of infrastructure, and the capital for taking care of the animals.”
The shelter that goes by the name ‘Hachi and Hachi Homes’, has now been functional for a year and a half and is home to 60 happy dogs.
ADOPT, DON’T SHOP
Ms. Bojarajan stressed the fact that a little love can go a long way and might change stray dogs’ life in unimaginable ways.
“Dogs should not be your status symbols in society. It doesn’t matter if you purchase a high-bred dog or adopt an indie pup. At the end of the day, all that matters is your love for the ones who have nobody to take care of them.”
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi’s famous lines, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”, the officer hoped that people will sympathize more with the stray animals.
“Not everybody can adopt or rescue animals, but the least that we can do is sympathize with them, show them a little love and care, and feed them, instead of shooing them away or hitting them with sticks and stones. If you can’t love them, please don’t hurt them, at least.”
