This bond is true, very real

A group of stray dogs congregates outside the small Virugambakkam house of Narmadha Thiagarajan every morning at exactly 7:30 am. With her 86-year-old neighbor Sundarajan at her side, Narmadha leaves her house carrying a tray that will feed around 70 dogs. Instantly, a well-known scene appears. Her dogs leap about and surround her, some of them snuffling her legs and waving their tails.

The Virugambakkam canines consider the 43-year-old social science teacher to be their godmother. She gives a lot of animals food and ensures that most of them get vaccinations and sterilisation. “I only work part-time in a neighborhood that is dog-serving oriented. We just post information on which dog needs assistance in a certain location on our Facebook group, the spokesperson adds.

As the dogs are having their morning meal, Sundarajan makes sure that there are no fights and that each dog receives their fair amount. “I used to keep around twenty to twenty-five dogs, but until Narmadha taught me about sterilization, I was unaware of it. I quickly gave them to her so she could take care of them. Narmadha would take care of most of the street’s furry residents from that point on.

When asked what motivated her to start the cause, Narmadha responds, “I grew up in a farmhouse in Thammampatti village in Salem. We had a large number of pets that were never dangerous to anybody. I saw personally the difficulties they encountered. They were often hurt and abandoned in traffic accidents.

After moving to Chennai in 2000 to finish her education, she kept up her animal rescue work and became a member of the Blue Cross.

“I used to worry about who would feed all the stray dogs. I used my own money at first. More dogs eventually came to visit my house. My neighbors sometimes provide a helping hand, and some volunteers bring meals,” she continues.

For the last ten years, she has also raised awareness among her pupils about animal protection. Several kids come to her for medical attention, which is given with the assistance of veterinarians. Fear is often ingrained in children’s minds by society and their parents. They are willing to assist if we can mentor their developing brains. However, I take matters into my own hands if their parents refuse,” she explains.

She talks about a really traumatic experience that made her goal stronger. “One day, in the sweltering summer heat, I saw a stray dog laying in the middle of the road as I was heading to school. Its tongue protruded from its mouth, giving it the appearance of a sack of bones from thirst. After telling her pupils about this, she began filling water bowls and storing them on school property so that dogs might have access to clean water.

According to Sheridan Rozario, a city activist, “India is endemic for rabies and accounts for 39.9% of the world’s rabies deaths.” Using his 25 years of experience as an animal activist, Rozario emphasized the value of citizen involvement in India, a country with 140 million people and an estimated six crore dogs. He urged people to adopt pets and to volunteer to spay and neuter neighborhood dogs.

Regarding the human-animal conflict, Narmadha notes that the problems have emerged as a result of the proliferation of structures, which has destroyed the ecosystems of dogs and other animals. Sterilizing them and collaborating with business leaders to lower their numbers is one method of addressing this.

She suggested looking for a notch hole in the dog’s ear, which is a permanent identifying mark that indicates the stray has been sterilised, if you come across one. If not, it must be trapped and disinfected. But the dog has to be taken by a person it knows well, preferably someone who feeds it on a regular basis. Additionally, it is important to release them back into their original habitat following sterilization, since failure to do so may cause them to get agitated, engage in dog fights, and contract rabies.

She feeding the dogs, meanwhile, has prompted objections from the majority of the community. “The majority of them have changed their minds,” she adds, recalling how one neighbor who used to scowl at her for giving dogs attention eventually came up to her about a frail puppy. “People will come around if we take away their fear. After seeing my persistent efforts, a whole street that previously attempted to stop me has now come around to support me,” she says.