Kochi: Real-life heroes are those who help animals in times of crisis unlike those in reel life.
These selfless people derive tremendous pleasure and satisfaction in helping animals in distress.
Recently a stray dog, suffering from severe infection, was causing a lot of problems to the people in Manganam in the suburban Kottayam near the ancestral house of former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
The dog kept wailing for a few days in pain day and night due to the pain triggered by the infection and finally took shelter in a house.
The dog went immobile causing concern for the inmates of the house.
When approached for help, an official of the Animal Husbandry Department passed on the buck to the Local SelfGovernment Department saying that it was the responsibility of the panchayats to deal with such situations.
Contacting a member of the Vijayapuram panchayat for help did not make any difference as he expressed helplessness by saying that there was no system in the panchayat to deal with the situation.
It was at this time, a Kottayam-based Love & Care Animal Shelter headed by Sumitha surfaced as a saviour and sent a person to fetch the dog from the affected home.
The well trained staff came in a vehicle and deftly took away the dog to the shelter where it died hours after.
Speaking to the newsskerala.com, Sumitha said that she was doing it out of love for animals and it was a tough job to find money to fund the project founder about six months back.
It was a tough job as the budget is in the red as finding finance to pay remuneration to the staff is very difficult, she said.
She said that efforts are being made to get support from the government. She said that the government agencies should help her outfit by providing land for setting up shelters for stray dogs.
She thanked the good samaritans for supporting her mission financially.
Another NGO, People For Animals, is also doing outstanding work in this sector at the National level.
Photo Credit: Love & Care: Animal Shelter
