(IN): Despite lack of funds, elderly couple keep animal shelter going

[Guest guest]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/19011/masks-run-stock.html

Despite lack of funds, elderly couple keep animal shelter going

Priya M Menon, TNN 8 August 2009, 03:32am IST

 

<http://www.deccanherald.com/content/19011/masks-run-stock.html>CHENNAI: The

merciless killing of stray dogs in the city spurred this couple to give a

structure to their animal welfare activities and establish the Animal

Welfare Protection Trust in 1998. More than a decade later, C Padmavathi and

her husband Narasimhamoorthy are still fighting for the cause, refusing to

let either age or lack of funds slow them down.

 

" Our aim is to help any animal in distress, " says 71-year-old

Narasimhamoorthy who, along with his wife, has come to the aid of countless

animals. And that's evident when you pay a visit to their home in

Santhoshapuram. A couple of dogs are stretched out on the walkway. Close by

a monkey, its eyes badly infected, fiddles with the bars of his cage.

Indoors, cats and kittens are everywhere on the sofa, perched atop

cupboards.

 

" We had been working with animals for more than 20 years, but registered the

trust only in 1998 to receive recognition from the Animal Welfare Board of

India and the TN government, " says Padmavathi. " It helped us implement the

Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme in 14 panchayats. "

 

Today, the programme is suffering from a lack of funds. " The funds come

late, are not regular and cover only a fraction of our cost, " says

Narasimhamoorthy, a retired bank official. " We have covered only eight

panchayats and done 3,575 surgeries this year, our target was 9,000, " says

Padmavathi.

 

This has not deterred the couple from coming to the aid of helpless animals.

Their home shelters about 45 cats and kittens, while the AWPT shelter in

Medambakkam houses at least 120 dogs. " Many people abandon pedigreed dogs

when they become old. Once children leave home, elderly parents who cannot

cope abandon the dogs, " says Padmavathi. Rescued animals are given for

adoption.

 

The monkey in their front yard was found about five months ago in an

apartment complex in Velachery. " He couldn't see but with treatment the

vision in one eye has improved. Right now he cannot survive in natural

surroundings but we hope to give him to Vandalur zoo eventually, " says

Padmavathi, as her husband feeds it peanuts.

 

Whether it is to tend to deer mauled by stray dogs or rescue monkeys that

enter apartment complexes, the couple never turn down a call for help. " One

of us goes with the rescue van, " says Padmavathi, who is just recovering

from typhoid and hobbles around with a crutch.

 

But what continues to concern them is the plight of street dogs. " Many

residents' associations pay narikoravas to kill stray dogs and cats, " says

Padmavathi. " There have been instances of kittens' legs being broken and the

mothers maimed and gathered in sacks, " says Padmavathi, whose trust

advocates CNVR, Catch Neuter Vaccinate and Release.

 

There is a lot people can do to fight the stray dog problem, she says, like

sponsoring ABC surgery for a dog, which costs just Rs 350. " Stray dogs are

aggressive because they are hungry and thirsty, " she says. Children should

also be taught not to approach a strange dog, adds Padmavathi.

 

The couple dreams of setting up a veterinary hospital. " We want to be able

to reach out and care for all the helpless animals. There is no greater joy

in life, " says Padmavathi.

 

Contact AWPT at 22781381 or mail awptrust

 

--

http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui