When it comes to animals, Vidhya Valhothil always feels things deeply. She rejoices in their loyalty, gets fiercely protective when they are bullied or abused, and worries like a parent if they fall ill. “I have four kids at home,” she says of the dogs that she and her mother share a blissful life with.
The school teacher, who is currently on sabbatical, is a gentle but powerful influence on her students who have lapped up her lessons on kindness. “Kids don’t like animals being treated badly,” she says of their inherent compassion. She talks to them about adopting pets from rescue organisations, and the importance of speaking up against cruelty by informing authorities. And like any good teacher, she doesn’t preach, and prefers to lead by example.
Vidhya adopted her dog Tammy, an Indian mongrel, after she saw him take refuge near a construction site. “He was all skin and bones. I don’t have a ‘before’ picture to show the transformation,” she says. “He used to sit in front of our gate, and we started giving him food and water”. She arranged for a veterinarian to come and vaccinate him, and watched the fearful, emaciated dog quickly blossom into a healthy, hopeful being who then joined her brood at home.
She adopted her other mongrel Tiger after finding he was orphaned. Her most recent adoption was Britto, an adult labrador who had been found on the street, and was taken in by the Humane Animal Society (HAS) Coimbatore shelter. She remembers her visit to the organisation vividly. “The volunteers were saying ‘Britto! Don’t do it!’ because he was running alongside them,” she laughs, referring to how people at the shelter were trying to summon a resident rescued horse, with Britto adding merrily to the chaos. She learnt that Britto had been waiting a whole year for a home. When she decided to adopt him, the volunteers held the boisterous dog close and took a selfie, bidding him a bittersweet farewell. His wait had been worthwhile, for he now spends his days lost in conversation with her oldest dog Bruno.
Vidhya feels that breed biases are superficial, and finds that all dogs have something in common — their intuition. “They can feel sadness. They come near you and ask what’s wrong, even though they can’t talk,” she says. “People won’t understand this unless they have lived with animals.” She foregoes Diwali and Onam celebrations when any of her pets pass away, and also offers prayers for her canine companions when they get sick. “I pray: they have already undergone a lot. For as long as they are on earth, let them be okay”, she says.
Although taking care of them comes with a lot of responsibility, Vidhya doesn’t see it as a chore. “If we think it’s a burden, we shouldn’t take up the responsibility,” she concludes. “If you love someone, you’ll never complain.”
