Retired teacher shelters 500+ abandoned dogs in five years

When Sarah Iyer, a retired teacher, saw an indie dog lying paralysed on a street five years ago, it broke her heart. Pained at the plight of indie dogs, Sarah decided to channelise her indignation into a larger cause by opening a shelter for disabled and abandoned dogs, Daaman Animal Shelter, in Chennai. 

Now, five years later, Sarah, 59, and her husband, Gerry, who has been her rock in this mission, have provided a home to over 500 abandoned dogs, most of whom are old, blind or paralysed. “I think these dogs are the last on anyone’s priority list,” says Sarah, who also fulfilled her late mother’s wish to open an animal shelter with Daaman. 

Undoubtedly, running a dog shelter isn’t an easy task. Sarah and Gerry began by using their savings to rent a space and build enclosures. Now, their days are filled with feeding, treating and caring for abandoned dogs.

When naysayers question their mission and accuse them of prolonging the torture for ailing and suffering dogs, Sarah’s response is to point to the joyfully wagging tails of the residents of Daaman. “You should come and see our shelter. There are happy dogs all around. Even if some of them are paraplegic, they play and have fun,” she says.

Another challenge is when people secretly abandon their pets at the shelter gate or when owners refuse to come back for their dogs after they have recovered. The medical bills keep growing and funding is always a concern, too. However, Sarah is determined to give abandoned indie dogs a “forever” home.

Her dream is to have dog shelters across India. “We would love to help others to start paraplegic dog shelters in their own cities and towns,” she says. Of course, she would prefer a world that doesn’t require such shelters at all. “If society stepped up and people would volunteer, donate or look after abandoned dogs, we would not need any shelters,” she says. Till that happens, Sarah and Gerry will continue to offer a sanctuary to old, ailing and paralysed abandoned dogs at Daaman.

Aditya Birla Group is happy to partner The Better India to give voice to inspiring stories of people acting as #AForceForGood.