Ten days ago, some miscreant children battered seven tiny puppies at Nagaraj Layout in Whitefield. The puppies, stoned and beaten with iron rods, were taken to the hospital by residents nearby. Five of the puppies died, and another one died today. As of now only one survives, Mintu. The incident was reported in newspapers and shared on social media.
When students from Parikrma Humanity Foundation – aged between 6 and 16 years – came to know of this, they were very upset and decided to do something for the puppies. They made paintings, and have been holding a fundraiser since Thursday for the puppies’ treatment.
Satish, 16, one of the students, painted a street dog, which was sold for Rs 15,000 on Thursday. The other paintings, which are smaller in size, cost Rs 3000-4000.
These are children from disadvantaged homes, and they raised the amount for vulnerable, battered tiny pups because of their empathy, mighty heart, mighty love, and compassion. What touched me the most is that the children were raising funds for the puppies rather than for their own higher education. Their generous actions and pure intent are admirable.
Painting by Satish, 16, a student at Parikrma. On Thursday, the children sold this single painting for Rs 15,000 in an auction. Pic courtesy: Priya Chetty-Rajagopal
Today evening at 6, their paintings will be put up at the Heart For Art painting exhibition at the Prasad Bidapa Institute, Church Street (above Church Street Social). The three-day fundraiser ends today. You too can come and support this initiative.
Meanwhile, Whitefield residents are trying to take action against the repeated instances of violence against puppies in the neighbourhood. As per a report in The New Indian Express, a resident Joyeeta Dutta was able to file a complaint at the local police station with help from Whitefield Rising a couple of days after the incident.
One of the injured puppies. Pic courtesy: Whitefield Rising Facebook post
This is the third such incident in the area, but police had taken no action when Joyeeta had approached them earlier. This time the police were supportive and registered the case as a non-cognisable offence. The police are supposed to be following up on the case by checking CCTV footage of the neighbourhood.
CJ Memorial Trust Bangalore, a non-profit that works for animal welfare, has started a Change.org petition requesting that the Bengaluru police be made empathetic and friendly to animals.