The VOSD Sanctuary is a magical place – it is home to 900+ dogs. Additionally, VOSD is an open, clean and green environment where no dogs are chained or caged. As much as we want everyone to have access to it and see it for themselves, we can’t.
There is a reason why the VOSD Standard Operating Procedure 3.1 — which is a public document and that binds the handover of EVERY inbound dog – prohibits visitation rights to these dogs. There are actually three reasons and none of them are about the ego of any VOSD office bearer.
(1) MANAGING LOGISTICS: The VOSD Sanctuary is in a remote area 60 km from downtown Bangalore. There is no phone access. Should anyone be visiting, there is no way of telling the staff who they are, when they are coming, how and why. We can’t also give you Google Maps directions because there is no data. Any visitation is, therefore, possible only on prior information and then someone has to wait in data range area on the highway 7 km from the sanctuary. It is a huge load on everyone concerned and simply not manageable for us.
(2) EFFORT & TIME OF STAFF: Managing those many animals is tight affair – that includes cooking and service 2 tons of wet weight in food every day in 2 servings – food has to be carried over several acres, cleaning ALL enclosures, medicating dogs as required, maintenance including pumping water to over 15 overhead and underground tanks each day, ensuring the supply of rice, chicken, kibble, medical supplies & firewood required every day. It is hardly possible for any staff to be assigned to show any visitors around and answer queries. We simply do not have the bandwidth.
(3) LEGAL PROBLEMS: VOSD has been a subject of multiple attacks – legal & physical. There are 2 criminal FIRs against VOSD / VOSD’s Founder, several civil cases and 3 arrest warrants against him at different times. We have 2 high court petitions to keep us operational. 7 different government administrative orders / showcase notices have been passed to close VOSD or surrender the land; 3 different incidents where our staff has been thrashed (including once inside the sanctuary after the fence was breached); 3 of our vehicles have been vandalised to a point they had to be scrapped; 4 incidents of poisoning of our dogs in which a total of 15+ dogs have died.
The local police station maintains a register for the VOSD Sanctuary and does a daily check to check everyone is safe inside. It is to a point that there is a curfew on our staff – nobody can go in or out after the lights come on. Our Founder does not move without being armed. Under no circumstances are the gates opened for anyone 24 hrs a day. Almost all of this that VOSD has been subjected to, has come through self-professed dog lovers and other well-wishers.
While you may think that your or your dogs’ circumstance is special, please understand we manage a tightly run and a tense operation. Exceptions simply can’t be made any more since the cost of these is very high. If an exception is made for you, it will have to be made for anyone else who asks. Most of all – we are not in the business of running a background check on who does not have our best interests in mind. So we keep everyone away.
Please understand that we are just trying to keep our dogs and our staff safe. We reiterate that there was, and is, no access to VOSD Sanctuary directly. All dogs that come in the future will only be via one of our 2 partner NGOs in Bangalore, which you learn as your requests to surrender a dog comes in.
However, this does not mean that there is no visitation at all. From time to time, we announce Open Farm Days where we not only request you to come, but actually get you some nice local food as well. Please wait for the next such day.
If you wish volunteer or intern and have any questions, contact us at info@vosd.in. You can also always keep up with our latest updates from the VOSD Sanctuary on social media (links included below).
Thank you for your understanding!
Follow VOSD Sanctuary and Hospital for more updates and open day announcements:
