Guardian of stray dogs

CANINE-Friendly

At Rakesh Shukla’s VoSD Sanctuary, the canine care wheel comes full circle – that of rescue, rehabilitation and subsequent release, observes Sandhya Iyengar

   
Rakesh Shukla's life has, quite literally, gone to the dogs. Visit him at home and you will see dogs lounging around his living spaces. Drop in at his office, where he is the CEO of an IT start-up, and you’ll come across strays running around the cubicles or crawling out from under his spacious work desk.

Finally, if you make that weekend trip to his farm, on the outskirts of the city, there are more than a hundred dogs sprawling about the property in apparent bliss and harmony. Hard to tell that these very same dogs were rescued in trying circumstances, in varying states of very poor health and were, almost always, severely traumatised.

An engineer by education and now a telecommunications professional, Shukla is the founder of the NGO, Voice of Stray Dogs (VoSD), which is arguably one of
India's biggest stray dog rescue operatives with over 4,000 complex rescues and
subsequent treatments. In the last two years, about 500 resident dogs passed through the VoSD Sanctuary’s gates for rehabilitation and care.

Unbreakable bonds

It’s hard to believe that Shukla never ever had a pet dog! His first real encounter with a dog was when he rescued ‘Kavya’, as he named her, from the streets, when she was in bad shape.

Bringing her home was what sowed the seeds for a long and committed
involvement with street strays. Subsequent rescues established the bond Shukla shared with these animals. But it was ‘Chammak Challo’ who died on the operating table just months after her rescue, who really left her soul and spirit behind to found VoSD.

Committed helpline

The 1-800 helpline is always buzzing with calls. You would be pleasantly surprised to find that it is immediately answered by a voice which holds the promise of
action. No being put on hold here or worse, left unanswered.
VoSD has a very strong no-refusal policy and every cry for help is followed up. There is a special GPS tracking system to trail down the dog and VoSD is armed with four ambulances, one of which is fully equipped to deal with spot medical emergencies, a group of vets and facilities like X-ray and MRI units, along with long-term cardiac and cancer care.

Canine education

VoSD is a well-researched organisation with an informative website. Ranging from neutering to dog euthanasia, all facts and answers are comprehensively explained and educates the reader on every aspect of canine care.

Promoting dog adoptions to inform-ation on legal procedures and assisting in areas of birth control to rabies vaccinations, VoSD has a comprehensive web presence.
It is a virtual online repository of information and legal procedures to help any dog lover find their way through the maze of doggie lives.

Complete care

The VoSD sanctuary, which is actually Shukla's farmhouse, is completely dog-friendly.

Built specifically to house rescued strays, it has double fencing with ten
enclosures, each with double gates and water bodies.
Visiting the sanctuary and seeing all the myriad strays living in such harmony is a far cry from what one sees in the city.

Territorial and aggressive, city dogs form their own little groups to protect their food security and when this is threatened, they turn belligerent.

But at the Sanctuary, the wheel comes full circle – that of rescue, rehabilitation and subsequent release. Every dog certainly has its day at VoSD.

Dogs’ day out

Running through the months of January and February this year, VoSD has lined up a series of events to raise funds. Top confectioneries in the city are going to have a Bake-a-Thon. A doggy day out on the farm, with lunch thrown in, will cost your dog nothing; of course, the dog’s owner or human companion will need to pay up. Sales of doggy tees and fun visits to the VoSD Sanctuary will all come at a cost, but isn't that better than feeding Parle biscuits to that stray near the store?