Coronavirus | No barricades for canine patients

A father-daughter duo cross A.P.-T.N. border thrice for treatment of dogs in distress

April 15, 2020 11:56 pm | Updated 11:56 pm IST - CHITTOOR

Emergency squad:  Yesupadam and Priya with Roja and Rosy at their ashram.

Emergency squad: Yesupadam and Priya with Roja and Rosy at their ashram.

They were pitted against a deadline, but 63-year-old Yesupadam and his daughter Priya had not anticipated that when they urgently brought Raja and Rosy to the Veterinary Hospital at Vepery in Chennai from across the border in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Yesupadam and his 25-year-old daughter run Bhairava Ashram, a retreat for dogs at Rajulakandriga in Chittoor district. They were back in the evening after the canine duo underwent surgery.

Returning the same day was crucial, as they could have been stranded in Chennai during the COVID-19 Janata Curfew. But when the 21-day lockdown started, the two were worried. The vets in Chennai had scheduled the next post-surgical visit on March 27. Mr. Yesupadam, referred to as Bhairava Swami, cares for 49 canines, mostly strays rescued with injuries, besides abandoned and old animals. Six-month-old Rosy had eye swelling, while Raja, six years old, was in agony due to a spine tumour.

Mr. Yesupadam calls the inmates ‘bhairavas’ and feels hurt if anyone calls them dogs. With COVID-19 cases spiking, the inter-State border was sealed. On March 27, Mr. Yesupadam and Ms. Priya decided to cross the border at Uthukottai in Tamil Nadu. Deputy SP (Puttur) D. Murali Dhar ordered the Chittoor check-post to allow the duo with their dogs. The Tamil Nadu police, too, were kind to the canines. After treatment, the group returned to the ashram.

But on March 31, Raja developed puss in the wound, while Rosy had eye complications. The vets advised a consultation and Mr. Yesupadam and Ms. Priya were back in Chennai.

“Raja and Rosy stopped groaning and whining after the visit. On each trip, we travel 130 km. The specially-designed van for dogs is allowed to pass through the deserted roads when we show the papers. We cleared police posts at Nagalapuram, Surutupalle (Chittoor district), and Uthukottai, Periyapalayam and Red Hills (T.N.). We and our ‘bhairavas’ are thankful to the police. The vet surgeons told us that Raja would not have survived without help on March 31. Rosy’s vision was also at risk,” said Mr. Yesupadam.

“During the last fortnight, we were constantly in touch with the Chennai vets,” Ms. Priya said. Raja’s sutures were to be removed early in April. “The surgeons asked us not to risk the lockdown again. We applied ointments and administered drugs. Rosy, too, is fine,” Ms. Priya said.

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