Rescued 2500+ Dogs And Cats, This ‘Dog Mother’ Also Takes Care Of 2 Donkeys, 4 Calves, And A Cow

As per the reports, there has been a 30 percent surge in dog abandonments since May 2020 due to the coronavirus. The pandemic outbreak has shed tears and escalated tension around the corner of every balmy street, where pet owners went flustered amid rumors that dogs can spread the virus too. This has resulted in abandoning family pets, making the innocent homeless once again. Most of the animals somehow sustained through leftovers thrown by the residents, while a few were cast off outside the street with their necks tied to the street poles.

At tough times like these, with a ray of hope and humanity still alive in the world of mean-spirited people, some came forward to rescue these stray dogs, including the disabled ones. And one of them is Kaveri Rana Bhardwaj, who’s popularly known as the “Dog Mother of Greater Noida”.

Speaking to Life Beyond Numbers, Kaveri has shared her story behind this heart-warming animal rescue work that she has been doing for the last few years.

Rescuing The Hapless

Sophie was her first adopted dog whom she rescued 16 years ago. She was her lifeline and was there every step of the way. With her pet Sophie, she started the forever journey of rescuing and rehabilitating the sick and injured. Unfortunately, Kaveri lost Sophie in January 2017, which made her take the rescue work as her full-time job.

And that’s where everything started for Kaveri. As a Tribute to her, they founded Sophie Memorial Animal Relief Trust (SMART), 4 years ago to treat and rehabilitate disabled and old animals, particularly dogs.

This sanctuary is run by Kaveri, who is a Founder and Trustee of SMART Sanctuary and District President of People For Animals, Gautam Budh Nagar (A Unit Under Honorable MP Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi), along with her husband, Yashraj Bhardwaj, a Co-Trustee of SMART.

“There were no animal shelters in Greater Noida, when we opened the first animal shelter in the city, the SMART Sanctuary”, she added.

About the rescue, to date, Kaveri is a mother for over 2000 rescued animals.

When asked what gave her the motivation to take an initiative like this, she swiftly replied, “My Father is a Doctor & I get my compassion from him. He used to rescue sick and injured animals all the time and I was his second in command ever since I remember. Dogs were always a part of life and were considered family.”

Smart Rescue By SMART During Lockdown

Moreover, for the rescue of injured or disabled animals, they majorly rely on volunteers, private pet cabs, and ambulances for transportation. All the local rescues of disabled dogs are done by the team. They also have a team of 8 permanent caretakers, Operation Manager Piyush, Yashraj, and a few volunteers.

During the lockdown, the SMART team has fed more than 600 Gauvansh and thousands of dogs. They procured dry food and cow fodder worth lakhs in the months of pandemic and distributed it through compassionate volunteers.

Other than rescued disabled dogs, they also have 2 donkeys, 4 calves, and a cow – and all were rescued during the lockdown with terrible injuries. Looking at how the pandemic has affected the lives of animals, Kaveri said, “SMART is open for all disabled animals. They don’t deserve to struggle on roads. Admissions to the Sanctuary are completely free, if we need help, we request the public to pitch in.”

Crowdfunding Through Milaap

Well, to run a sanctuary like this, requires huge funds, and Milaap has been there every step of the way. The Dog Mother avers, “Milaap has been of tremendous support in letting the Sanctuary help more & more animals. It was our crowdfunding campaign with them which helped me & my husband build SMART Sanctuary from scratch.”

Through the support from Milap, the sanctuary closely spends 4.5 lakhs per month on food, medicines, surgeries, treatment, transportation, electricity bills, and staff salaries.

Commenting on funding the sanctuary, Kaveri says, “We have raised close to 1.25 crore with Milaap.org, the campaign has been ongoing for the past two years. Other than that, we have few regular donors of food and basic necessities.”

Down The Road

So far, they have collaborated with CFCU Vets for their Veterinary Services and managed all the work through volunteers, paid pet transporters, and paid foster care homes. But the only challenge SMART faced was finding good and compassionate people to look after the animals.

However, they had big plans ahead, where they have already started building another Sanctuary in Uttarakhand, which is 45 km uphill from Rishikesh.

“We plan to finish construction by the end of this year. We hope to make it functional by the 5th Death Anniversary of Sophie”, Kaveri concludes with a smile.