With greetings of whines and purrs, the Chennai Adoption Drive began a day for a noble cause — setting up street dogs and cats for adoption. The pure affection for the canines and the little balls of fur purring away in the arms of their foster parents was resonating off the volunteers, foster parents and even those visiting, at the sixth adoption drive. Ribboned in blue and pink signifying their gender, these adorable little animals were bundled up in cages, waiting to be picked up by a pet-lover.
Finding homes
Sporting t-shirts that read “All my children have tails”, the enthusiastic bunch of young volunteers was busy helping the animals find a home and a family that will care for them as one of their own. When asked about the process of adoption, Jennifer Jacob, a volunteer, replied, “We interview the parents before giving the pups up for adoption. They have to fill in an adoption form after which we hand over the pups to them.”
The adoption form is thorough about the details of the parent as well as the fosterers who take care and bear the medical expenses of the young animals until they find a permanent shelter. Along with other guidelines regarding the proper care of the animal adopted, mandatory conditions including sterilisation of the pups and kittens at eight months and a minimum age of 21 years of the parent are imposed.
Eager to adopt
Publicity through Facebook and Petpals, attracted several pet-lovers to the adoption drive. One such enthusiast, Dhana Sekar, a new parent of a month-old pup belonging to a litter of five others, was proud to have adopted this little fellow who had comfortably cuddled up in his arms, dozing off every five minutes.
Usha Rajramesh, the foster parent who had found these pups, stood near one of the many cages keeping the pups. She explained that due to their tender age, the pups had not been vaccinated. “I have dewormed and bathed them,” she added.
Along with continued efforts of setting up more of these monthly adoption drives, the volunteers had set up a small fund-raising counter selling bookmarks and stickers at nominal prices along with theme based calendars.
In need of constant care, by the end of the day, the pups had found a home while adding a member to their new families.
More foster parents are needed for such efforts to be a continued success. Those interested can contact, Jennifer Jacob: 9884812086
