Katarina Havlova with a dog she rescued from the street (thehindu.com)
Katarina Havlova moved to Chennai from central Europe three years ago. She remembers seeing the dogs in the street fending for themselves dirty, sick, and feral. She could not believe the dog overpopulation problem she was witnessing and felt helpless. At first she would take in very young puppies off the street clean them up, get them vetted, and find them homes with the people in her community all on her own. But that was not enough because the problem is so overwhelming all over India. Together with a friend she met in the community who was also taking puppies off of the streets and finding them homes they co-founded Chennai Adoption Drive and began monthly adoption days so that families could come from all over Chennai to look at the dogs available for adoption. They felt that this would bring more attention to the dogs by holding big adoption events then allowed people to stop by to see the dogs.
Taking care of these dogs and getting them in off the street requires a lot of compassion from the volunteers but also compassion for the people in Chennai who need to be educated that these dogs do make wonderful pets. That they do not need to live on the streets and fight for scraps of food. They can live in a house with children without showing aggression, they can be vaccinated against diseases when treated with respect will not try to bite anyone. In a country where Rabies is still a significant problem in order to even get these dog rescued is a challenge they have to educate the local population that all the things they have grown up believing about dogs does not have to be true. The adoption day allows people to come and visit with the dogs and see that they re friendly and want to be around people without hurting them or passing on the Rabies Virus.
“One puppy we helped with adoption was deaf but we didn’t know at the time. The family called us later and told us this. We were a bit worried about whether they would want to keep it or give it back. But they told us that they loved the puppy so much, after just a few days and that they would keep it.”
She signs off with a message on behalf of the city’s homeless puppies: “If you are thinking of having a pet, please consider those pups that are on the street. They have feelings too.”
