Sushant Ajnikar wasn’t allowed to keep pets when he was growing up, so he took a liking for the Indian dogs in his colony. He began feeding the dogs, playing and taking care of them. He never brought them home. When he grew up, married and moved to Bangalore, the young web designer came across an Indian dog that immediately connected with him.
“Zombie was barely nine-months-old when he came to us. He was skinny and would not have survived if we hadn’t taken him in. Two years later we found Lulu in our office building. She came home too, but Zombie was territorial and didn’t welcome her at first. I spent a weekend helping them break the ice and now the two of them are the best of friends,” says Sushant on day one of his biking trip to Leh.
After clocking in 630 km in a single day from Bangalore to Kolhapur, Sushant has a mammoth journey ahead of him. But all for a noble purpose – to raise awareness about Indian dogs. “Biking is a hobby and I’ve been dying to get out of the city. At the same time I wanted to do more for Indian dogs. My goal is to start a dog shelter and this is the first step.”
Riding his Royal Enfield all the way to Leh, Sushant will be travelling through Kolhapur, Nasik, Mandsaur, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Chandigarh and Shimla meeting and educating people about the Indian dog. On his way he will befriend the dogs he meets, name them and document the moments he shares with them on Facebook. Sushant sees the naming of these dogs as an important step towards giving them an identity. His message will be ‘Adopt and don’t buy.’
He will also be riding for Let’s Live Together, a Bangalore-based NGO that works for the adoption and well-being of Indian dogs. “Let’s Live together has made a great impression on me. I am amazed by the work they do and this is my way of spreading their message as well.”
Not wasting any time, Sushant’s Facebook page – Paws of India – is already brimming with updates. The picture of a little puppy, barely a few months old, has the most number of ‘likes’. “This little guy was feasting on a dead cat and was so engrossed in his meal that he didn’t even realise when I walked up to him.”
But highways are not full of happy dog tales. Buses, trucks and cars travelling at high speeds often hit and kill free-roaming dogs. “Yes, the highway is not a safe place for dogs or any animal. At one place, three other dogs sat around a dead dog as if in mourning. his loss. I advice people not to drive at night as it is then that most accidents occur.”
Set to complete the trip in a month’s time, Sushant will be joined by his friends in Gurgaon before making his way to Leh. “If the Kaza Pass doesn’t open (the pass was recently closed again) by the time I make it to Gurgaon, I will have to spend some time in Manali waiting for the pass to open, where I am sure to make more doggie friends,” he says gleefully.
If you would like to follow Sushant’s canine escapade across the country, >like his Facebook page , where he will also accept suggestions on how to make his trip more fruitful. Monetary support to Sushant for his trip will be forwarded to Let’s Live Together, so that more Indie dogs find forever homes.
