An injured stray canine and her kindhearted minder

She looks benignly and even if her limbs had been functional, the gentleness and warmth in her eyes would not have changed. Each day, on her special wheel chair, she takes a stroll around Jorbagh Metro Station.

She doesn’t look at people but they do stop to stare at her in amazement. This hardly comes as surprise to her or the lady who accompanies her. For Champa, life would have ended the day she was crushed by an autorickshaw, but for the kindhearted Rini, who adopted her and decided to this street dog a second chance in life.

“Champu,” Rini shouts like a caring mother as Champa is encouraged to walk on special wheels. “It was four months back when the accident happened,” says Rini.

Like others, she too used to give food to Champa. But when the accident happened it was Rini who came forward with the healing touch as if Champa was her own kin.

Rini and her brother, like a concerned parent, took Champa to the nearby clinic. An X-ray revealed that Champa’s spine had been crushed.

“For almost a month we continued with the treatment but there wasn’t any change in her condition,” says Rini. She could have left the stray in a crippling condition or she could have opted for a lethal injection to put her out of her misery.  
“If it had been my mother, brother or my own son, would I have ever done it? It was impossible for me to even think so,” says Rini resting her gaze on Champa.

Her decision to get the grievously injured canine examined by another doctor was like a ray of hope. “I was surprised when the doctor said Champa still has sensation in her lower limbs and can walk. He suggested we go for spine accessory for Champa,” says Rini. For this she had to visit a factory in Ghaziabad, specialising in dog accessories. 

“They tied a sort of an iron to support in Champa’s lower half of the body. We asked them to provide some discount, but they charged us Rs 3,000,” says Rini, her desire to see Champa walk properly overriding financial constraints. The iron support only worsened Champa’s condition.  

“It wounded her back more. So our doctor suggested we visit another veterinary in Tilak Nagar  specialising in wheelchair for dogs,” recounts Rini.

This time Champa got special equipment, which supported her non-functional limbs. However, this was not the end of her sufferings as the distressed canine developed bed sores. But help was at hand in the form of Rini.

Today, Champa’s legs are wrapped in white cotton and bandage. Since the accident, Rini has given the stray shelter in her two-room flat despite the fact that she herself owns a Labrador.  

“I have made a proper bed with plastic sheets and have diapers for Champa. Since she couldn’t change her position, bed sores were expected to happen,” laments Rini. 

Every day she takes Champa to the clinic, and besides medication, Rini ensures that Champa is fed a proper diet for speedy recovery. “She takes boiled eggs, milk and bread in the morning. Later in the evening we give her chicken soup with lot of vegetables,” says Rini. 

So far, the kindly lady, herself a homemaker, has spent more than Rs 50,000 on Champa’s treatment from her own modest resources, uncomplainingly and with a smile. 

“I cannot explain what I feel for her or any other dog. There is a heart to heart connect with them. Every morning I wake up with the hope that Champa will soon be back on her feet. And, I know it will happen one day.”