A few weeks ago, he was hacked down by some people “Oh why did they do that?”
This is how people show their anger towards me to cause me pain. Apart from being an animal welfare officer, I’m also a slaughterhouse inspector. Hence many don’t like what I do.
Q: How did you start rescuing animals?
A: Even during the time of my school days, I used to rescue dogs who got hurt due to road accidents. I used to take care of them and find homes for them.
Could you share a rescue-story that has deeply impacted you?”
“Once I got a call to kill a dog. The caller said that the dog is in critical condition and it would be best to end its life rather than making it suffer from the pain. I was on my way to Kochi from Thrissur that time, so I told him to wait and not to do anything with the dog. I was in touch with him throughout my drive to ensure that the dog was not killed before I reach there. Finally what I found was a piece of meat lying on the road, whimpering with pain. Someone had poured acid on it and the whole body was in a molten fused state. It had been lying there in that situation for almost two days. People around me were forcing me to kill it. I asked them would you do the same if this happened to any of you. And their reply was – who wants them anyway, it’s high time these dogs are all killed off.
I didn’t bother replying to them, because I knew they didn’t deserve any reply. I carried the dog to my car. All the blood, flesh and pus were sticking to my shirt. I took him to Cochin Pet Hospital. The doctor was shocked to see him. He asked me what to do as he felt that there was no way the dog could be saved. I told him, you have to somehow do something or the other. If he should be dead, anyone could have killed him. I brought him here so that he gets a chance to live. How would we be different from the rest if we can’t save his life?”
Q: What was the doctor’s name?”
A: Dr Sooraj. It took us four and a half hours to save him. We had to remove a large amount of dirt which were sticking inside his flesh as people had thrown sand and stones at him. We had to clean all of that.”
People had thrown sand and stones at him, even when he was lying there burnt in acid?
Yes, that’s how cruel society is. We don’t have even an ounce of a feeling called compassion in our minds!
Q: Oh, so how did he then recover?”
A: Ricky was not able to sleep even after giving sedation. For acid attacks, the pain will not go even if you give sedatives. For five and a half months, he was not able to sit. He had to stand throughout the period. So we built an adjustable support to help him stand. With medication and proper care, Ricky became a healthy dog. Renjini Haridas came to know about his plight and she adopted him. From then onwards, Renjini has been strong support for our organization.”
Q: What is the scenario of pet dogs being abandoned in Kochi?”
A: We get around 15-20 calls in a day regarding pet dogs found on the streets. 60 percent of the cases are due to people abandoning them due to old-age. Remaining 40 percent is because they don’t want to take care of their dogs when they get sick.
Q: Could you elaborate on this?”
A: Breeders are abandoning dogs on the streets after they become old and unusable to give birth. There are many people who keep dogs just to show off to their guests. It is a matter of pride for them to make others see that they own German Shepherd, Doberman and other expensive breeds of dogs. First of all, our climate is not suitable for dogs such as Pug, St. Bernard, German Shepherd. These dogs are later thrown into the streets when they grow old. People abandon their pet dogs when they get skin disease when they get an eye infection when they get pus in their ears when the owners change their residence. I have got calls from many saying they have seen a pet dog roaming around nearby their area and if it would be possible for me to take it away. In many cases, these callers are actually the owners of the dogs pretending to be not connected with the dog and they want to somehow get rid of them through me.”
Oh!”
Being educated and being cultured are two different things. We are very high in being educated but very low for being cultured. We have to develop a culture with a sense of responsibility to our society, with a sense of responsibility to the people living in that society, and with a sense of responsibility to the other living beings existing along with those people. Currently, we do not have any of these, it’s all destroyed. Now if we want to revive these, they can only be developed through today’s children. And we are doing an effort to bring that. Ranjini and I go to different schools in the city to take classes and make children understand about all this.”
So what message do you wish to convey to society?”
“I want people to feel that they can also rescue animals. Just because I’m doing it, it doesn’t mean every rescue’s responsibility can be put on my head. If I get 100 calls in a day, it is not practically possible for me to attend every call and do the rescue. People also should come forward and try to be part of the rescue instead of just informing me.
God has given us abilities – not to plunder the earth and loot people. We all have the ability to love, but we are not willing to use that. We don’t want to see even when we have eyes; we don’t want to hear even when we have ears. A change is needed for all this. And I’m sure KARMMA will bring this much required change and will strive to bring a new compassionate society into this world.
If tomorrow I’m on my deathbed, and if I have the ability to remember, I will be first remembering Ricky, and all those dogs that I saw being in misery, who are still suffering and whom I was able to rescue. I will be remembering only them and no one else. My daughter and my wife agree with this too. They know that they have voice to convey their thoughts. They can speak, but these animals can’t. So those who can speak should stand up for the ones who cannot!”
PS: Humans Of Kochi sadly informs you that the interviewee, Mr Pradeep Kumar, founder of KARMMA (Karuna Animal Rescue Ministering and Management Association), passed away last week suffering from a heart attack. His demise is an irreplaceable loss to the animal welfare community in Kerala. We pray that his loved and dear ones get the strength to move on. As he had wished, may his life inspire many to come forward to speak for the ones who cannot?
