Page 54 - Buddy Life

suffers from diabetes and complains of joint pain,
her day starts early. She wakes up at 5 am every
day and straightway rushes to the market to buy
cooking items for the dogs. “My age has failed to
come in my way in serving them. I wake up early
in the morning and head to the local market to
buy food for them. I then come back and cook
in my kitchen. Around 50 stray dogs are served
with vegetarian and non-vegetarian food twice
a day. We (she and Mamoni) have often carried
the ailing dogs in our arms and rushed them to
hospitals but it feels sad when some of them
can’t survive despite our best efoorts,” she says,
sharing her deep bond with the dogs.
She admits that the expenses burn a hole in
her pocket because often it becomes difficult
to balance between buying medicines and their
food. “I also suffer from joint pain which worsens
during winters but still I continue with my work
and go out to distribute food. I have to manage
everything within my meagre pension and it
becomes difficult to balance everything,” says
Anju. Mamoni, who has been like her assistant for
the past 15 years, says that she was moved by
the plight of the animals on streets and decided
to work for them. “I was appalled when I saw
innocent animals being abused and hurt by some
of my own neighbours. I started by feeding dogs
and then slowly it became a routine,” she informs.
The 35-year-old hails from a poor family and can
hardly arrange two square meals a day. She says
that sometimes she has to work as a domestic
maid and do odd jobs to arrange money for
buying food for the dogs. “I have to work very
hard to arrange money because I belong to a
poor family and don’t have a source of income.
Sometimes it becomes too tough. I have to do
odd jobs and even work as a domestic maid
for money,” she says. Mamoni makes it clear
that she doesn’t have any plans to get married
in life. “I will never change my mind and remain
remember when exactly I took the decision of unmarried. I have been scolded a numerous
remaining unmarried, but serving them regularly times by my family but I have refused to yield to
made me realize that they needed my regular their pressure. My decision is final,” she adds.
attention as I apprehended that my in-laws The duo admits that financial constraints often
might not be animal lovers. I was also moved prevent them to send dogs for birth control
by ill-treatment of the neighbours towards the surgeries. “We can hardly afford sending three
strays. So I decided to dedicate my life to them,” to four dogs for surgeries every year because of
says the septuagenarian taking a trip down the shortage of money. We strongly request people
memory lane.The retired government employee to come forward and help us in our noble cause,”
says that she was pressurized by her parents and says Anju.
her two sisters to get married and settle down in Dr Samir Shil, secretary, Calcutta Society for
life, but she had made up her mind and remained the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA),
determined in her decision. Her parents died in praised their initiative. “We normally send
the late 1970s and since then she took up the ambulances in their locality for picking up
cudgels to look after the homeless dogs. “I have the wounded dogs and also for birth control
been looking after the dogs on streets because surgeries. It is really a commendable initiative by
pets are a pampered lot who stay in the cozy the two women who have dedicated their life to
environs of the houses, but nobody cares for the welfare of dogs. It is rare to see somebody
those living on streets,” says Anju, while showing so passionate for the cause. They need constant
the medicines she administers to canines with support of the society to carry on with their
minor injuries while the serious cases are sent initiative,” he says. True, the society needs more
to the veterinary hospital. Though she herself people like them.

54 BUDDY LIFE Jan - March, 2018