In Mumbai and other large cities, in our rush to get on with our busy city lives we often ignore those in trouble. This includes animals. Many animals that are comfortable living in forests and other wild places do not do so well in the urban jungle. We can see suffering animals all around us, from birds, to sick dogs and cats that were once pets but now roam freely on the streets. Often when pets get sick or grow too large and are not cute anymore, they are dumped on the streets to look after themselves. Injured cows and horses are not an uncommon sight either -- useful animals discarded when they are not needed.

Although it’s pretty common to see children and adults throwing stones at birds or using slingshots, sometimes animals get unintentionally hurt by our activities, like birds losing their legs after getting trapped in kite strings. Or dogs eating poison put out for pests.

Luckily, there are some people who care about these animals. One such person is Arvind Shah who runs an organisation called Karuna for Animals in Distress, in Mumbai.

I first heard about him when an injured baby pond heron landed in my garden recently. Normally I would not do anything about baby birds because they die if they are not looked after by their parents; survival rates are very low. In this case I decided to see if I could do something because though the bird was immature it was big and looked healthy except for what looked like a broken wing.

I asked a local veterinarian what to do, and he gave me the number of a government animal hospital. The people at the hospital said they were too far away to come immediately and gave me the number of Karuna, which was closer to my house. Karuna told me they could send an ambulance in, but it might be easier if I brought in the bird myself.

I put the bird in a basket and tried to calm it down. The next morning I took it to the Karuna office located in a busy part of the suburb. It looked like a normal small business office, perhaps the only thing unusual about it were the number of dogs outside, many with medicated wounds. I went in to give them the heron. Inside, behind the front desk were a couple of printing presses. I heard lots of birdcalls coming from the presses.

The people working at Karuna took me around and showed me the sick birds and animals that had been brought in. There were lots of pigeons, some sparrows, different types of parakeets and even a few young kites; all unable to look after themselves because of injury or because they were simply too young. One cage was full of oddly coloured chicks. These birds, cute when they are small and fluffy, were dyed and sold by some unscrupulous trader as exotic birds. They were rescued outside a train station by a passerby who then handed them over to Karuna.

I was intrigued by the organisation and made an appointment to meet Arvind Shah, the man who founded it.

We met in the Karuna office. Firstly, Arvind informed me that he is a Jain and his community has always looked after animals and ensured that they never harm them as they go about their daily lives. “In fact, in my family, we traditionally look after animals before we look after ourselves. We don’t have breakfast before we have fed the pigeons in the nearby birdhouse. Everyday, we feed six to 10 kilos of seeds to the birds.”

Arvind’s family was originally in the business of buying and selling old printing presses, which explains the machines behind him. But two events changed his life. The first was a stray dog that was being fed by the neighbours. One day, the dog was involved in a serious accident and the neighbours who fed it didn’t know what to do or who to turn to. They were happy enough to feed it, but they were unsure about treating it and looking after it till it became healthy again. So Arvind found a veterinarian and paid for its treatment. But the experience made him realise the need for a free medical service for animals. He set about establishing such a service.

The other experience was a bit more personal. Six years ago, Arvind was diagnosed with throat cancer. Every doctor he went to told him surgery was the only answer; he would never be able to speak again. As people in such situations often do, Arvind made a bargain with god, promising to devote himself to animal welfare if god spared him. And, soon enough, he met another doctor who told him drastic surgery was unnecessary and that he would be able to use his voice without problems. Arvind did have to undergo various forms of therapy, including radiation, but he got over it and today his voice sounds like anyone else’s. That is when he set up Karuna full-time, using his business acumen for the welfare of animals.

As we talked we kept being interrupted by his assistants and phone calls. One such interruption is about trying to figure out the strength of the canvas bags he is getting made. These bags are for carrying and holding snakes. “We get more than 80 calls a year about snakes. We need to be prepared.”

Karuna has two ambulances on the go and one emergency vehicle that is also used for outreach purposes, when they go visiting schools to inform them of their activities, or go to company offices requesting funds. One more ambulance, designed as a mobile surgery theatre, is being built to their specifications. Karuna has expanded and now has offices in four Mumbai suburbs.

The organisation employs three veterinarians, one of whom is specialised in veterinary surgery. Once treated, the animals are returned to the wild; they keep in touch with naturalists too to make sure the animals go back to their appropriate environments.

I pointed out to Arvind that when people do human welfare, medical or otherwise, there is always a feeling of gratitude from the patients or those being helped. Can you get the same satisfaction from helping animals that can’t really say thank-you or express their gratitude? Arvind firmly said, “It’s because we cannot understand their language, But they are very grateful for any help we may give them. Once I began to understand their body language and their ways of behaviour, I also understood how they express this gratitude, just as much as any man who has been helped.”

He showed me a photograph of a monkey. “It came to us badly hurt. It was crying with pain. Taking care of it was like taking care of a child, and I could see how thankful it was.”

But the nature of animal welfare is changing. While I was there a call came in from someone who wanted to remain anonymous. The caller wanted to report a person who was mistreating caged birds by putting too many birds, some of them large, into small cages. This was a police case and needed to be reported. Another caller wanted help in registering a case against someone who was harassing her for feeding stray dogs in the area. “I have had to start understanding the legal situation on animal cruelty and putting pressure on the police to do something about those breaking animal cruelty laws. This is a big area and very different from just running an animal shelter and ambulance service,” Arvind said with a smile.

As Karuna gets more well-known it is receiving funding from several local organisations. But it’s not enough -- more ambulances are needed, and more full-time paid staff would make things a lot easier.

What would he do if he had lots and lots of money? “Set up a big animal hospital and college where not only could animals be treated but students could learn about animal cruelty and the legal situation. A place that would be in a position to influence people, change laws, learn new medical techniques.

“Another dream of mine is to set up a blood bank for animals. Right now it is impossible to find and match blood needed by animals during operations. It’s easily done for people. But we need to do it for animals too, so that we can build up the necessary stocks for different species and different blood types.” Arvind Shah smiles ruefully and says this will take a long time.

Right now he is one of the few people doing something for animals. And if not the animals, we humans have to be grateful that there are people like him who make our cities slightly more humane places to live in.

-- Manoj Nadkarni

August 2005