Bhubaneswar: How about making the saying, “Dog is a man’s best friend”, come true by celebrating Friendship Day with them.
This is exactly what Purabi Patra, founder of the Animal Welfare Trust Ekamra (AWTE) had in mind when she said, “We want that people should come and play with them here and celebrate Friendship Day. I know visitors will surely enjoy the moment and so will the dogs.”
The shelter is located on the outskirts of the city, near Ocean World in Phulnakhara.
“The trust was started in 2015. Initially, the shelter was at Bhubaneswar. But with the growing number of animals, we had to shift it to the outskirts of the city. We took a big area, so they can play and roam around freely,” said Purabi
“I am an animal lover. I used to see animals in distress but did not know where to take them. There was no such place in Bhubaneswar. Then it occurred to me to open a shelter of my own. It took a lot of planning and discussions with friends and family members. In the end, everything fell into place,” said Purabi.
Purabi was an Assistant Professor in Management in Delhi. She quit her job for her love of animals.
“There are many hurdles. We have been facing a lot of problems, mainly of lack of manpower. One has to spend a lot of time with sick and injured animals. One has to be mentally strong to be able to take care of animals in distress,” said Purabi.
“In all, we are taking care of 60 animals. These include 40 dogs, cats, birds and monkeys,” she added.
“My family took its own time to accept my decision. Now, the trust is running with the help of public funding. Animal lovers donate money. This enables us to provide the animals with food and treatment,” she said.
The trust has now around 15 trustees and volunteers.
“We bring injured animals to the shelter. Sometimes, people also call us to help animals in distress,” said Purabi.
“It is strange that people have started abandoning their pet dogs, especially if they are sick. Such pets undergo a lot of trauma. We bring them to the shelter and give them love and care,” said Purabi.
“Animal lovers can adopt pets from our shelter free of cost,” she informed.
“My aim is to open a bigger shelter for these animals. I also want to create awareness among the people about not abandoning their pet dogs,” she said.
“Awareness on animal-related issues should be created among the people. We should conduct programmes in schools and colleges. I want to raise voice against animal cruelty,” said Purabi.
