She wakes up and heads straight to the kitchen — not to cook for her family, but for 120 dogs. The 90-year-old hasn’t let health problems like osteoporosis, fractures, or major operations come in her way.
She wasn’t always a dog lover, but when her granddaughter Sana brought their dog Coco home, everything changed. “I was not always attached to the dogs earlier. But when Sana brought a dog home, I slowly started getting attached to him. My day started revolving around feeding him, playing with him, and just loving him. My attitude towards dogs completely changed. So when Sana started taking care of street dogs, I wanted to help with that. As I can’t physically go and feed them, I feel satisfied by cooking for them,” says Kanak.
Sana, a 22-year-old pursuing her final year in fashion design, says, “There was a dog called Bholu near our house. We would feed him occasionally. His death affected me a lot. I felt that had I known a bit about how to recognise a sick dog, I would have been able to help him. At the same time, the first lockdown was imposed. My dad and I wondered how these dogs would eat. Since we knew people couldn’t step out, we decided to help the animals.”
In March 2020, the family began feeding 10-20 dogs on a street in Vaishali, Ghaziabad. Today, the number has grown to 120 dogs every day, alongside taking care of their vaccinations, medications, and shelter.
While the father-daughter duo started with packaged food, Kanak stepped in and said they must have fresh food.
“It’s so funny how my dadi completely changed from a person who wasn’t attached to dogs to one who can’t sleep without seeing their videos on my phone. She is the one who pampers Coco the most too. We were giving some packaged food to the street dogs but dadi and mom wanted to give them fresh food. So they started cooking at home,” adds Sana.
They use almost 10 kg of rice daily, along with chicken. Kanak loves experimenting with food daily.
“Dadi keeps trying new combinations. We get chatan, which is parts of a chicken, from a meat shop in bulk. She makes chicken biryani with it, and on some days, adds bits of soya chunks, or paneer, or vegetables to make it interesting. She also cooks dishes using milk and rice,” says Sana.
Sana ensures that the dogs are fed 365 days a year, come what may. If she is away, her mother takes care of the feeding. In fact, when Sana lost her father last year due to COVID, they continued to feed the dogs as that is what he would have wanted.
“I feel so much love for these dogs. I feel satisfied and happy when they are able to eat a good meal. We are contributing to some good purpose. Otherwise, who will care for these poor animals? Ideally, I would love to go feed them myself, but I manage now by watching their videos,” says Kanak.
The story has been extracted by: https://www.thebetterindia.com/296016/inspiring-grandma-feeds-street-dogs-in-ghaziabad-despite-osteoporisis-surgeries/
