Love For Strays

“It takes nothing from a human to be kind to an animal.”

‘Love for Strays’ is a movement undertaken by Khushi Agarwal, a student of HLC Grade 8, as a small attempt to spread awareness about the importance of kindness towards stray dogs and other animals. She is joined in this initiative by a group of her friends who after watching her love wanted to contribute as well. So, together they ventured out on a journey to find and take care of strays in their residential community.

They feed these dogs, take them to the vet, give medicines and strive to provide a better living environment for them. Whenever she finds any dog in distress, she immediately calls her father or a couple of other volunteering adults. They help her arrange for vet visits and care thereafter.

Khushi loves to name her strays which gives them an identity of their own. Her pack of strays, as she fondly refers to them as,’ is around 50-60 dogs and it’s ever-growing.
“Let’s face it, a vast majority of people run for the hills when they hear about stray dogs; have you ever wondered why they do so? It’s because they don’t think these dogs can be tamed or they fear they would get bitten. The fact is that strays can be just as sweet and loving as pet dogs. So whosoever can save them from getting neglected /abused, should try to be kind towards them.” – Khushi Agarwal

RILEY’s STORY:
In August Khushi and her friends found a little puppy screaming under a car. They struggled for 30 minutes to get her out and then realized that she was Riley, a 4-month-old pup. They noticed that her shoulder had a big wound on it.
She was whimpering in pain and was unable to walk. Immediately they took her to a safe place earmarked for wounded dogs. Khushi then called her friend Mansi who said that she may have parvovirus. This meant she had to be isolated from other dogs. So Khushi brought her dog crate and settled Riley in it with food and water. Unfortunately, no vet visit/appointment could be arranged at the time.

After 5 days of careful observation, they noticed a hole in her prior wound. It was filled with pus and blood. She and her friend bandaged it up and wiped it regularly to prevent further infection. Two days later they noticed another hole on her neck. She was in a lot of pain which was heartbreaking to watch. Khushi spoke to her parents and her father managed to get a Vet Appointment that night.
Upon examination, the doctor told them that Riley in fact did not have parvovirus but another disease that was causing further infection. He also pointed out that she was a classic case of animal abuse!!! Someone had beaten her with a stick causing a broken bone and the cut had become infected. He prescribed some meds and ointment for her.

With the love, care, kindness, and attention given to her by 11 people, she recovered in a week. Today Riley is a happy and jumpy dog, always up for an adventure. She comes running towards them playfully and for them, it’s a joy to watch her.
They are now trying to get her adopted by a loving family which will pamper her and take care of her as she deserves it all.

Since the first lockdown, Khushi’s parents and another friend-couple of theirs have taken it upon themselves to feed the strays every night. They are now seeing more and more people contributing to the cause in many different ways and it’s truly heartwarming for a DOG LOVER like Khushi!
“Dogs too talk but only to those who listen.”