Finding caring hearts for stray puppies

Hyderabad: During the day, Dr Vasil Quadri, 27, an Orthopedic Surgeon at ESI Hospital, is busy doing the rounds and tends to patients. In the evenings, he checks with volunteers of the Telangana Pet Adoption (PEA), which he founded in 2018, if anything needs to be done.Every Sunday, PEA selects an area and sets up a tent with puppies that people can adopt on the spot. Dr Vasil Quadri, along with his mother and around 20 volunteers, conduct pet adoption drives. Here, the pups are brought by citizens. Anyone can adopt them in the presence of GHMC veterinary staff. They are issued a licence for Rs 50.

“My mother, G Vijayalakshmi and I started this chore in 2018 as we could not see these stray puppies suffering. We are hence doing a bit towards the welfare of the Indian stray puppies as they are more vulnerable to infections and diseases and there are not many to take care of them,” said Dr. Vasil.The pups before being given away for adoption are taken care of by the Pet Adoption team for at least 35-40 days. They are vaccinated and medicated if wounded, as there are not many takers for diseased pups.

The next drive is on February 17 at Forum Sujana Mall, Kukatpally. A few days before the drive, the volunteers release posters on social media apps such as Instagram and Facebook. Vasil’s mother G Vijayalakshmi takes care of operations, logistics, designing posters and post-adoption checks. The volunteers follow up after adoption to make sure the puppies are given three vaccines. “When the pups turn 5-6 month old, they are taken for sterilisation as part of Animal Birth Control,” says Dr Vasil. 

The volunteers have joined from diverse fields such as medicine, IT and also school teaching staff, all of who work in their spare time on Sundays without expecting anything in return. G Vijayalakshmi says, “Dr Govardhan, Assistant Director, North zone, and P Chander have been very helpful. The GHMC has been proactive and constructive to help us in this endeavour.” Rajiv, an employee of Tech Mahindra, says, “It feels good to be a part of a novel initiative. The response has been good.”

“Altogether, The Blue Cross of Hyderabad, an animal welfare Society, and GHMC, along with other volunteers, work jointly to run Telangana Pet Adoption in a harmonious way”, says Dr Vasil. “It is an immense satisfaction to help these stray pups find new homes and families where they get lots of love and affection. The stray pups are native Indians and are more loyal to their masters than the rest like Labradors, German Shepherds, Huskies, and others,” he adds.

   -Asna Khundmiri