For the love of dogs
Dogs and cats have been childhood buddies of 22-year-old Deepika Sharma. It would be no surprise, if her first words were “doggie” as a child as it explains her affection towards animals.
Age is no barrier for this young diva as she not only takes care of homeless dogs, but also vaccinates and finds them a loving home.
“Coming from a family of animal lovers, I have always been taught to treat animals in a respectable manner and raise my voice when they are being hurt. Also, time spent with animals has been the best time of my life. Even as a child, I want to grow up and help animals living on streets and open an animal welfare organisation,” says Deepika, who’s pursuing her masters in English literature.
She feeds dogs and cats daily, and gets them sterilised. Then she trains them a bit, and finally finds them a home. “If I see a homeless puppy, I pick him up and bring him home, foster him and get him vaccinated and put him up for adoption. A lot of adoptions happen through NGOs and I have also been able to find good homes through blogs and social networking sites. It might sound easy but fostering a homeless animal and finding home is a tough task. Support from my family and friends are my strength,” she adds.
But how and when did she decide to take up her passion for animals as a mission?
It was four years back, when a reply from animal rights activist and politician Maneka Gandhi encouraged her to get involved in a more committed manner.
“I had puppies for whom I needed homes and that's when I joined People For Animals. All my puppies found loving homes, and this little success motivated me and I started volunteering with animal welfare organisations and groups. I pick up homeless puppies and then after fostering them put them up for adoption,” she informs.
“I learned that you don’t need to have your own NGO for helping animals, all you need is the will to serve,” she adds. Now, Deepika is all set to launch to her website to help her pursue her cause. “Animals love you without any discretion and their love is unconditional. Every night when I feed my the dogs in my area, they want me to pet them first,” she says. “But still working for animals, many may call a thankless job, but the tail wags and love licks from puppies are my reward,” she adds.
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