At Just 25, This Woman Is Changing The Lives Of Hundreds Of Strays In India

“I can never forget the day I saw someone pour boiling hot water on a dog and her pup. I wondered how people could be so cruel and why we had to hurt these voiceless animals. I was determined to do something, but despite filing a complaint, nothing was done about it. This only strengthened my resolve to help more dogs.

I’ve always been an animal lover growing up and would take in street dogs whenever I could, but it was at the beginning of the pandemic that I decided to take this a step further and start feeding all the stray dogs. Most of these dogs are dependent on leftovers, and with the lockdowns, they had no means to get food. I started by giving them a few packets of biscuits and soon the number of dogs increased. Today I feed over 200 dogs every day!

None of this would have been possible without the support of my father. Since day one, he has been there with me every step of the way on our journey of helping the strays. He rides the scooter, while I sit behind with the bucket of food and we distribute it together. All these dogs wait for us every day, and they get so excited when they see us. That’s enough to make my day.

It’s not been easy though. Because I’m young, there are a lot of people who don’t take what I say seriously. We’ve also been using our savings to feed these animals, so on most days we worry if we’re going to be able to feed them the next day. There are so many elderly, injured dogs who don’t have the chance of being adopted, so I bring them home and look after them in my 2BHK apartment. Although the challenges are plenty, I will always give my all to care for these animals.

I dream of getting into civil service and making a difference one day, but feeding and looking after these dogs will always be most important to me. It’s been over 2 years since I started feeding, vaccinating, neutering and deworming these dogs. They are now my family. I know a lot of people talk about animal cruelty, but not enough people do something about it. My wish for this year would be for everyone to come forward and help at least one animal in need. Whenever possible, however possible.”

- Archie Sen, Founder, Street Dogs Of Ranchi