A 25-year-old civil Service aspirant Archie Sen from Ranchi’s Morabadi, Jharkhand has arrived as a gift to the stray dogs in the city. She along with her father Sanjeet Kumar Sen, run a feeding drive and serve around 150-160 dogs every day. It has been a year now that Archie started feeding these dogs when the lockdown was implemented due to the pandemic.
She ensures that no dog remains hungry and also arranges vaccination and deworming facilities for these unsheltered canines.
Initially, she began by serving only 2-3 dogs of her locality as a hobby, but then gradually increased her number every day and now she feeds over 200 dogs every single day. The Sen family ensure that these little creatures are not only fed properly but are also vaccinated and dehydrated.
They have built more than 50 pots for dogs in various locations and have attached reflective collar belts to over 150 dogs to guard them against any accident or road mishap.
“As most of the street dogs are dependent upon the leftovers of street food vendors in market areas, I started wondering how they would be getting food during the lockdown. Then, I thought of helping them out and went to Morhabadi Ground with four packets of biscuits which got finished within minutes. The following day, I went with more packets of biscuit which also got finished as their number started increasing regularly,” said Sen.
This noble cause did come with vast personal expanse and she could not continue it for a longer time as this drive required a lot of capital.
Archie added that she later created a social media page, “Street Dogs of Ranchi’ asking people to donate for the welfare of street dogs which actually worked and several animal lovers came forward to help due to which we are able to feed more than 200 street dogs every day.”
She through her page asked people to come forward to help, not necessarily with cash but instead provide dog food, vaccines, multi-vitamins, collar belts and other related things that could support better survival of these stray dogs.
Sen not only goes to different areas and simply feeds them, but also takes special care of each one of them according to their needs.
“I also carry a special diet separately for the elderly, pregnant, lactating and ailing dogs which require special treatment,” said Archie.
Apart from this, she also arranges vaccination and sterilization in association with the Ranchi Municipal Corporation. She adds: “All the dogs in Morhabadi Ground are vaccinated. Sometimes, I even bring them home or send them to shelter if they are too sick to stay on the roads.”
Archie’s Father Sanjeet Sen, a retired Mechanical Engineer says he feels happy that his daughter is working for the welfare of these unattended animals and fully supports her in this cause.
"The satisfaction it gives by feeding a starving dog cannot be explained in words. Looking at my daughter's interest in street dogs, I started supporting her," said Sanjeet.
Archie also helps these dogs get homes and has also aided the legal adoption of over 10 street dogs of local breeds by far.
“Everyone talks against animal care and animal cruelty, but very few want to do something for them. I appeal to everyone to come forward and feed at least one animal every day as they are also a part of our society,” she added.