Mr. Abodh Aras, CEO, Welfare of Stray Dogs - personifies the ideal spirit bearing credence not only for WSD, but also for safeguarding welfare interests through humane and scientific problem solving approach, for stray dogs in Mumbai city. Meeting Abodh Aras was a gift of fate, as this project would not have been happening otherwise!
That a dedicated body of study exists with respect to stray dogs of Mumbai, and that they undertake dedicated awareness and sensitization programs, was a revelation through my first visit to WSD, that established the foundation for me to take up a project based on the subject. After my second visit to meet Abodh Sir at the Colaba office, I was not only completely sure I wanted to do this, but also gained a clear understanding of my project objective.
Through the first few minutes of the meeting, Abodh Sir quickly helped me view the discrepancy between my goal and my idea. Whereas my goal was to mitigate the conflict between the human and non-human worlds through citizens' awareness and participation, the method I was citing was concerned with facilitating access to concerned citizens regarding local helplines for animals in need. Once this was clarified, our discussion moved on to what needed to be done to achieve the proposed objective.
Two salient points that emerged from this discussion were:
1. Understanding, through survey, perceptions about stray dogs among the target audience - the lay citizen who may not be a dog lover.
2. The method called 'Dog-Mapping' was introduced to me for the first time. I had been thinking something on the same lines using Google Maps. This method is used to actually make detailed document of dogs with their description name and caretaker if any, territory, status of vaccination and sterilization etc.
Apart from this, mapping dog lovers areawise, as well as relevant NGOs or animal hospitals was thought. A remarkable point made by Mr. Aras was to first 'educate animal lovers to be reasonable' and then educating the others - this was a very pertinent need apart from the others cited. Another point driven home was that most of the complainants being senior citizens, the campaign would be better undertaken through print and outdoor as well as online media.
I take this opportunity to thank Abodh Sir for literally making this project what it is! I hope for his generous feedback and critical comments!
That a dedicated body of study exists with respect to stray dogs of Mumbai, and that they undertake dedicated awareness and sensitization programs, was a revelation through my first visit to WSD, that established the foundation for me to take up a project based on the subject. After my second visit to meet Abodh Sir at the Colaba office, I was not only completely sure I wanted to do this, but also gained a clear understanding of my project objective.
Through the first few minutes of the meeting, Abodh Sir quickly helped me view the discrepancy between my goal and my idea. Whereas my goal was to mitigate the conflict between the human and non-human worlds through citizens' awareness and participation, the method I was citing was concerned with facilitating access to concerned citizens regarding local helplines for animals in need. Once this was clarified, our discussion moved on to what needed to be done to achieve the proposed objective.
Two salient points that emerged from this discussion were:
1. Understanding, through survey, perceptions about stray dogs among the target audience - the lay citizen who may not be a dog lover.
2. The method called 'Dog-Mapping' was introduced to me for the first time. I had been thinking something on the same lines using Google Maps. This method is used to actually make detailed document of dogs with their description name and caretaker if any, territory, status of vaccination and sterilization etc.
Apart from this, mapping dog lovers areawise, as well as relevant NGOs or animal hospitals was thought. A remarkable point made by Mr. Aras was to first 'educate animal lovers to be reasonable' and then educating the others - this was a very pertinent need apart from the others cited. Another point driven home was that most of the complainants being senior citizens, the campaign would be better undertaken through print and outdoor as well as online media.
I take this opportunity to thank Abodh Sir for literally making this project what it is! I hope for his generous feedback and critical comments!
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