Abandoned Stray Dogs Find Home In A Shelter In Gurugram

Dog getting abandoned by their owners is getting quite common these days. To help those abandoned stray dogs, a couple from Gurugram has opened a dog shelter in Behrampur village near Golf Course Extension Road in Gurugram.

Abandoned dog – Harley

“Harley is a handsome Great Dane, who’s very docile in nature. He’s just very shy and quiet, and a little scared,” says Nadir Khan, who runs the shelter.

Harley was found abandoned a few months back, and is one of many such dogs that Nadir has adopted.

Shelter for abandoned and other stray dogs

One-and-a-half acres big, the dog shelter has been up and running for four years now. It has enclosures and roomy kennels that separate the quiet dogs from the confrontational ones. This is home for Harley, as well as for Buddy, a German shepherd, and Tree-pie, a boxer, so called because (says Nadir’s wife Pia), “he made a funny, bird-like sound when he first came here!”

Batman another stray dog

Batman’s an Indian street dog who ended up here because no one was interested in adopting him. What is more, this reservation also doubles up as an old-age home for canines, while at its back is a burial ground for dogs. The owners of the shelter believe that dogs deserve a respectful adieu too.

Founders of the dog shelter

Dog shelter is run by a sweet couple – Nadir Khan and his wife Pia Sethi. They have given these stray dogs a home and heaps of love. Both are working; he is a logistics professional, and she’s an environmentalist. They don’t have any children. But they do have dogs, upwards of 30 at the shelter, and around 25 at their house.

Gurgaonites are fond of the good life, and so are their pets. But for every 10 ‘parents’ who love to keep dogs (the more exotic the breed, the better), there are five who find the burdens too much, and who end up abandoning their ‘kids’.

“They might leave them because they’ve got a new dog, or because they can’t afford the cost of looking after them, or because it’s just too much of a hassle owning a dog,” Nadir says.

Approx. maintenance cost for keeping foreign dog breeds

“It’s not cheap keeping a dog. It can cost anywhere between Rs. 8,000 and Rs 24,000 to buy one, and around Rs 5,000 monthly to look after it,” he revealed.

About a 15-minute walk from the shelter is ‘Nadir’s Ark’, a two-acre dog farm that’s like a weekend retreat for pooches. The ‘ark’ opened five months back, and every weekend these two acres of tranquil space transform into a pretty party of happy pooches. The farm has enough room for the dogs to roam around, in air that’s fresh and an environment that’s welcoming.

Swimming pool for dogs

“I’m not doing anything great,” says Nadir, self-effacingly. “The dogs are paying themselves – actually, the well-off dogs help look after the other dogs.”

Nadir is able to pay the rent at the shelter and farm by letting his house out for boarding – for owners who’re going out of station, or for a holiday – and charging for the burial ground. But for him and Pia, this is far from being a business. It’s a passion.

It hasn’t always been a smooth ride, and the couple has often come up against suspicion and superstition. Still, rural folk, admits Nadir, show more compassion for the four-legged creatures than their urban counterparts.

And it’s not a life either Nadir or Pia would swap. “We’ve spent a lot of time, money and effort, but it’s been so worth it,” he says. Meanwhile, Harley is looking for an owner. And he’s not the only one.

Reference: The Times Of India

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