It was a veritable Tower of Babel, except that the cacophony of human voices was interspersed with a few excited woofs and some frenzied mewling. A young girl was cuddling a slumbering puppy while another was earnestly trying to convince someone (presumably an irate parent) that she was fully capable of looking after a puppy. A little boy gazed in absolute delight at a yellow carrier that housed his new pet kittens while a tall man bade a tearful goodbye to the puppy he had fostered before reluctantly handing her to the new owner.
The thirteenth edition of the Chennai Adoption Drive which was held on Sunday at Chetpet was a great success with 29 of the 33 animals adopted, according to Sushmita Jadhav, a volunteer. “We opened at 10 a.m. and by 12:30, twelve animals had already found homes,” said Siddhart, another volunteer. The animals were not given away to just anyone. “We got the address and ID proof of every person who adopted a puppy or kitten and will check on them after they have been adopted,” said Siddhart. “And, the in case of children, we speak to their parents before allowing them to adopt an animal.”
The drive was the brain-child of Jennifer Murali-Anand who initiated the event because of the difficulty individuals faced in finding good homes for young animals. “We have found 450 homes so far,” said Jennifer. “All the animals that we put up for adoption have been vaccinated and are well cared for. The warmth and affection that they get in a foster home beats the environment in any shelter, hands-down,” she added.
Nirmiti who regularly fosters puppies for CAD, holds up her own foster puppy and says-“She is very cuddly and loving. We want her to find a family who preferably has had dogs before and are willing to love her very much.” And love, often, more than makes up for lack of experience. “We could never have a dog before, since we lived in a flat. However we have just moved into a house and since we love dogs, we decided to pick up one from this drive,” said Rekha.
For those who simply can’t get enough, there were also goodies such as calendars and bookmarks emblazoned with pictures of animal stories and quotations on sale. Shiv, who mans the counter at the entrance that sells these CAD products explained: “People have really been very supportive of us. It is their support that allows us to continue doing what we do, resulting in more success stories.”
