By Aparmita Das
The strays cannot speak, but two sisters – Vanisha Gabby Wahlang and Sheetal Wahlang – can. So in June 2020, they started Shillong Happytails and set up an Instagram page. With little budget, the entire effort was mostly funded by good Samaritans who would like to see Shillong become a safer space for its many strays. “It is not easy to run an NGO with minimal manpower and finance”, says Anjali, a volunteer with the Wahlang sisters.
When the pandemic spread to Shillong, and the city was forced into a long lockdown, few considered its thousands of strays that live partially wild by hunting vermin and being fed by homeowners and shopkeepers. As the city withered with its “life” shut indoors, the strays were deserted. This prompted Happytails volunteers to organise mass food drives for creatures a city planner never considers in their blueprints – the lesser, undocumented residents.
Yet, rescuing dogs in a city is a skill and requires a different kind of compassion. One must understand the behaviour of dogs most accustomed to roaming in an urban hellscape of motor vehicles, concrete and potholes. They must hone their reflexes to catch strays, but understand them enough to know they cannot further traumatise these dogs in distress.
Many of these strays are victims of hit-and-run motor accidents that go unpunished. Others are victims of abuse. “We also lose a precious life from time to time owing either to ill-health or human cruelty… Our morale is greatly affected when we encounter such situations. However, we try to retain normality as much as possible”.
Survivors – a term we only reserve for humans – need their own special care: “We ensure that we maintain their daily routines, even increasing their walks and play times. This benefits our surviving animals as well as help elevate our moods and outlook”.
Rescuing animals has conventionally not been a priority in most Indian states. There are rarely publicly funded rescue centres available, which means concerned citizens need to take the animal to a shelter, which may not always have rescue teams. Lost and abandoned pets, though, often get more attention than strays. “It is heart-breaking to think of a stray fighting for survival on the streets while our very own pets are safe at home. We always, always try our hardest to rescue every stray in need we cross paths with”.
While there are proponents of leaving stray dogs stray because it offers them freedom more natural to their canine instincts, Vanisha disagrees. Buddha, a volunteer, says, “We wish that each stray animal finds a loving and caring home, but we also know that is a dream that is still yet to be realised.” Vanisha adds, “As these strays are, as what you say, ‘used to living on their own’, we often find ourselves leaving them in their claimed territory if they do not pose a health risk or a threat to other living beings. Until animal shelters are a reality, we have no choice but to leave our strays and let their survival instinct dictate their future”.
She is quick to add that adopting strays is important because they survive on poor-quality food, are exposed to the elements and face immense abuse from irate citizens. Adopting them means making their life more comfortable – these dogs are not wild, but domesticated breeds that mixed with other breeds long ago. Unlike pure-breds, they carry far fewer inherited disorders and diseases. More importantly, adopting strays means indirectly shutting down puppy mills, i.e. unregulated facilities where breeding bitches and sires are exploited and abused to produce puppies for sale.
“[Strays] are subjected to unspeakable and inhumane torture. When you adopt a stray dog, you’re giving it more than just a space to live in; you are making all its hardships go away”. Despite the repeated attempts of rescuers and animal lovers to soften the image of the stray, adoption trends show a different, colder reality. Everyone loves a stray, when it is rescued, from afar, but are breed-conscious when it is time to introduce a dog to their home. Indeed, an international – particularly European – breed is more prized than the Chippiparai and Mudhol hounds that were once immensely popular among South Indian royalty. “We have often found that adoptions for pure-bred dogs are much easier than our Indian breeds. People often view the breed of the dogs as a status”, say the rescuers at Happytails.
“Stray dogs have been known to display exceptional intelligence owing to their daily hardships. You would have seen how they navigate through the busy streets and how smoothly they cross traffic. Their ability to grasp things at a fast pace makes them ideal candidates for training… also, they do not have problems socializing with people”.
For instance, Vanisha notes that rescuing pet dogs is more difficult because they are “more defensive”. They are trained to distrust strangers, so they hide from rescuers and bark, whine, and howl when left alone. Lucencia, another rescuer, says strays are more disciplined in their interactions with humans. They warm up faster and are relatively less defensive. “They are just grateful to have a roof over their heads and a full belly”.
Yet no noble intention goes unpunished. In the litany of complaints against strays, few come forward for their actual medical care and homing that would reduce their numbers in the streets. Sometimes, an animal has been sick for too long to survive.
Anjali, in her early days as a rescuer, learnt the hard way that some strays could not be helped – despite Happytails establishing itself as a good rescue team, it is not humanly or economically feasible to save all strays, especially in a dog-loving country that hates strays. For now, stray dogs have taught her the true meaning of friendship, commitment, trust and loyalty, and sheer willpower and determination are enough to keep them going.