Your support has ensured that VOSD can provide the best quality care for these 850+ dogs and give them a chance to lead a happy life.
48-year-old IT entrepreneur, Rakesh Shukla, never had a dog while growing up. “10 years ago I got my first dog and she’s the only dog that is not a rescue. I had to scramble to get the house prepared, but soon after, I found another pup — she came running to me so I took her in too,” says Rakesh.
As time progressed, he rescued many more abandoned pets and unwell stray dogs, but had to take him to his home or office due to lack of any other space. Naturally, his wife wasn’t too happy about the growing canine family at their residence, so he had to think of an alternative.
Rakesh bought land in Doddaballapur outside Bengaluru, where he built a farm to shelter all his ‘babies’. He also registered an NGO — “Voice of Stray Dogs” (VOSD) — to rescue and rehabilitate injured and abandoned dogs.
“We don’t refuse to admit any dog. However, there are guidelines on the kind of rescues we do. We don’t take pets or healthy street dogs. Otherwise, we take in almost every kind of canine that needs help. Those suffering from disease, hit by vehicles, having maggot wounds, and those with disabilities are sheltered and treated,” says Rakesh.
The farm-turned-sanctuary was made such that the dogs could run around and take a swim whenever they wanted to. Over time, he has employed a few staff, who are trained in veterinary aid to look out for the dogs.
As of today, Rakesh lives on the farm full-time along with his 850+ fur babies, who came from all across India. He also works remotely over the internet to run his IT firm in Bangalore and co-ordinates similarly with his colleagues and clients. “As long as I am available over my phone and laptop, my company can run,” says Rakesh.
From food to medical attention for the unwell ones, he spends almost ₹ 15 lakh every month on VOSD — most of which is paid from his own pocket. Despite facing financial challenges, Rakesh’s resolve made him stand firm about his love for dogs and never give up.
PAST: Initially, the dogs had to be driven 150 km (round trip) for all diagnostics and medical procedures, which was easily a 5-6 hour drive, and 2 hours of waiting/inspection time. This was highly stressful for dogs and increased the everyday dependence on vehicles, drivers and so on.
PROPOSAL: The proposed upgrade suggested that a residential vet presence would greatly benefit the dogs. It would improve quality and speed of care and reduce 8-10 trips a month — which meant a reduction in the 80-100 hours of driving time for the dogs, drivers and handlers.
PRESENT: Thanks to the support and contributions of our kind donors through this campaign, the proposed plan has now become reality. The direct cost impact has also been reduced by ₹ 75,000-80,000 per month in terms of wages and fuel costs.
PAST: When VOSD was started, even basic diagnostics such as blood samples were packed in ice packs and sent to Bangalore or the dog had to be transported for checkups. This caused the waiting time for the reports to get prolonged by a week; additionally each trip would be for eight hours to carry just a single vial of blood. On an average, 20-30 such tests were carried out each month.
PROPOSED: Blood-diagnostics should be made locally available so tests can be run immediately upon any suspicion of symptoms. These are to be be shared with the vets in Bangalore to get a diagnosis and begin treatment as early as possible.
PRESENT: By reducing the turn around time by two days per test, we have now achieved a total of 60 days worth of faster prognosis, and a reduction of ₹ 75,000-100,000 in terms of diagnosis and transportation costs per month.
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