When Vikram and his friends found Betty, she was in a pitiable state. The three-year-old St. Bernard had lost almost all of the prepossessing features associated with the breed.
It took Vikram and his friends, who are part of INCARE (Indian Center for Animal Rights and Education), a voluntary organisation in the field of animal welfare, close to one-and-a-half years to find Betty a permanent home. But when they did, it was a perfect match. It seemed that Betty was born just for this family in Kodaikanal, which took her in.
Betty’s story is one of 200-plus successful rescue operations that INCARE has carried out since its inception in September 2013. Vikram V., one of the primary members of the NGO, heads the rescue team along with Muralidharan Sivalingam, founder of Incare.
“We are a group of individual volunteers who have contributed towards animal welfare, to the fullest of our abilities. When we noticed that we shared a passion for animal welfare, we came together to make an impact. Now, we have many school and college-going student volunteers too,” said Vikram, who used to take photographs for Blue Cross and PETA, previously.
The organisation, which started with a handful of volunteers, now has 30 members with almost all of them being full-time working professionals. Their work primarily revolves around rescuing abandoned dogs, treating and taking in injured and sick animals.
“We also focus on on-site treatment of stray animals. When we encounter sick dogs that have skin aliments like mange, fungal infection or maggot infestation, we provide medication and clean the wounds right at the spot. In extreme cases, there is a high possibility that the dog will die if we try to transport it to the hospital,” said Nitin Chandan, a Cognizant employee who takes care of marketing for INCARE.
Currently, Incare has around 20 dogs at its shelter located in Manapakkam, near Porur. “Regular expenditure, which includes vaccination, medication, food and rent, comes up to ₹60,000 a month,” says Nitin.
“We make it a point that we don’t board more than 25 dogs as each one of them requires personal assistance on a daily basis. Most of them are on thyroid medication and we have just enough volunteers to bathe them and take care of the shelter,” says Nitin, a resident of Kotturpuram.
The INCARE team that recently conducted a health camp for animals on the Kalakshetra campus, treated around 70 dogs, 10 cats and two cattle. Most of them had to be vaccinated. Two senior veterinarians from a pet clinic called The Ark were present to handle the animals which were checked separately for their weight, temperature and tic infestation.
“We plan to make it a monthly exercise, having it on Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. As we have many software engineers on board, INCARE works like a corporate set-up. Due to this approach, managing events is easier. Also, the students on the campus are more than eager to help us out. During our Humane programme where we taught the basics of animal welfare such as how to pet an animal and administer first-aid to it, they surprised us with their enthusiastic replies,” said 26-year-old Maitreyi Vasudevan, a resident of Palavakkam.
To volunteer, visit their Facebook page. Or, call 95666 56363
