Heed to Forlorn Canines

“Those who teach the most about humanity aren’t always human”-Donald L. Hicks

Yet another piece of writing dedicated to our furry friends on this special month when the International Dog Day is celebrated. Just like the quote conveys, dogs are found to be more humane than most humans.

The love and companionship expressed by a dog is a unique feeling and experience.

Are these benevolent creatures leading a happy healthy life they deserve? That’s wholly questionable, especially in Sri Lanka. Take a walk down the street, most of the time you will catch sight of at least one stray dog roaming around in a pathetic state. A study says that there are over 3 million stray dogs in Sri Lanka, which is a staggering number.

These dogs suffer from lack of food, shelter and are often subjected to violence by the locals, which is very much disheartening to all animal lovers.

Rabies, a disease that could be fatal, is found to be mainly spread through dog bites in Sri Lanka, which has caused fear and concern among the people. The same fear has demonized pooches and has made their lives harder.

This is the answer for the previous blog. The situation of dogs is not as lighthearted as it appears to be. One of the key reasons to dedicate a whole month of a year annually is to create awareness and support man’s best friend to have a better existence.

International Dog Day was initially started as National Dog Day in the United States by Colleen Paige, who is a pet and family lifestyle expert and animal rescue advocate, in 2004. She chose to commemorate on the 26th of August as it was the date that their family had adopted their first dog from an animal shelter home. Over the course of time this is now being observed around the world and the month of August is exclusively dedicated for our dear buddies.

Around the world we can see many non-governmental organizations, national and international institutions striving hard for the betterment of street dogs. Even in Sri Lanka, there are some really good initiatives taking place through various organizations, clubs and societies of institutions and schools etc. Embark is one such organization which has made so many dogs’ lives better through rescue and rehome initiatives, vaccination and sterilization programs and conducting campaigns to raise awareness regarding this matter and many more. They even have a fashion chain from which the profits are used for the benefit of street dogs.

‘Woof Roof’, an ongoing project of Rotaract Mora, is also based on a similar motive. Here we endeavor to protect street dogs from neglect and abandonment. This project too focuses on rescue and finding a suitable home, and also providing the necessary vaccinations and healthcare for the doggos’ betterment.

Though the project team had planned to conduct adoption days during the Rotaract year 2020-2021, the plan was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that everything is returning to normalcy, we hope to ardently continue the project again.

We, as individuals, can also be a part of this movement by showing a basic dosage of benignity to our four-legged fellas in various ways; we can feed them, get them vaccinated, neutered if required, help if they are injured or at least spend some time patting their beautiful heads and loving them because we humans owe them a lot.

Let’s celebrate this year’s Dog Day not just by sharing memes and wishes but by getting on the floor to make at least one doggo’s life beautiful.