A Pet-a-Thon to ensure that no pet has a dog's life

The Cubbon Park came alive on Sunday morning. Around 50 enthusiastic dog owners had come together in the chilly weather with their dogs for the seventh edition of Pet-A-Thon, to spread awareness on adopting street dogs among Bengalureans.

The event was organised by Rotary Bengaluru IT Corridor (RBIC) and Duma’s Animal Welfare Trust. The event was a precursor to the SBI Bengaluru Midnight Marathon on December 5.

Popular species like Huskies, Saint Bernard, Golden Retriever, Bavarian Mountain Hound, Chihuahua, Pug, Labrador, Yorkshire Terrier, Shih Tzu, Beagle and Harlequin Great Dane had caught the attention of morning walkers and picnickers.

The open space in Cubbon Park, opposite Central Library, was abuzz with activities. Dogs were seen jumping and running around while their masters were busy sharing notes about health and nature of their pets with others.

Also many pedigrees were trying to ‘get friendly’ with other breeds, and their owners were seen having a tough time ‘controlling’ them and keeping them ‘occupied’ with other activities.

Most canine participants had homes. However, there were some like ‘Helen’ (the 10-year-old female Labrador and ‘Fifty’ (eight-month-old Harlequin Great Dane), the abandoned pets which have now been adopted, said Hema Srinivas, Pet-A-Thon organiser.

Nitesh G Shah, RBIC president, said that it will be the first time when Rs 50,000 will be raised from the midnight marathon as charity to take care of abandoned pets. RBIC, along with animal lovers, will create a shelter for abandoned dogs in Hoskote on 10,000 square feet of land.

Every month, they come across at least four cases where owners abandon their dogs on the streets and migrate to other places. This is common among IT employees.
“We are creating a social networking group where people can discuss and adopt such pets. Through this event, we want to draw help for such activities,” he said.