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.
