Visualizing the proposed system

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My Academic Guide Mr. Rupesh Vyas advised me to visualize the anatomy of my proposed project. After several tries and retries, I finally drew up the above chart. I would like to hereby explain with the above chart, the system which establishes the background for my design intervention.

The key-stakeholders identified here are Corporates & Institutions, Municipal Dog Control Department, Animal Welfare NGOs, and Citizens. NGOs serve as the central facilitating bodies for their respective divisions. Funds are derived from Corporates, Institutions and citizens' donations. Logistical Support would be taken from Municipal Corporation, Citizen Volunteers and Institutional Volunteers.

The Online Platform will be the focus of this Project. This platform will have, as a base, the Dog-Map of the city. The Dog Map would be moderated by a Chief Co-ordinator in consultation with the respective NGO of each division. Data would be contributed by Citizens and Citizen-Volunteers through telecom as well as online media, and then cross-referenced and screened by NGO Volunteers and Municipal Dog Control Personnel.

The data would be organised into a data-base of stray dogs for the city. This data would be used to effect and monitor vaccination and sterilization of stray dogs. The records would be analysed from time to time by the respective NGO for each division to publish studies and research to be used for evaluation and improvement of the program.

The red dots mark the points where graphic design intervention is needed for communication:
1. Visual Identity for the Program
2. Appeal for Funds / Sponsorship'
3. Appeal for Volunteer-ship
4. Sensitizing citizens to the issue (children, youth)
5. Ground media to spread awareness (local)
6. Program Training Toolkit for NGO and Municipal Dog Control Department
7. An Online 'Dog Map' and Monitoring Device

Project Proposal

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Chief Problems and their origin

Haphazard urban planning and human overpopulation have led to a correspondingly huge population of stray dogs in most Indian cities

A. Mating – Dog fights occur during mating season, especially when dogs cross territories, humans often get accidently bitten in the course of these dog fights. The noise levels are also high.
– Female stray dogs are usually aggressive when they have puppies to protect.

B. Guarding Territory – As Dogs have strict loyalty to territory, fights ensue when dogs from other territories trespass on theirs. This leads to fights ensuing and resultant barking and howling.

C. Human Waste Disposal Habits – Throwing organic kitchen and dinner waste on streets is an inevitable cultural tendency in India. Stray Dogs survive on garbage; not only do they drag waste to every corner of the street in order to enjoy an uninterrupted meal, but also tend to be n large numbers wherever garbage on streets is  habitually thrown.

D. Rabies – a fatal disease which can be transmitted to humans. Although all warm-blooded animals can get and transmit rabies, dogs are the most common carrier. Every year more than 20,000 people die in India due to Rabies. This accounts for nearly 36% of the total deaths due to Rabies world-wide. Most industrialised nations have effectively controlled Rabies. Even though the best methods for the prevention of Rabies are available in India, the penetration of awareness regarding the use of these is still lacking.

Dawgzz!

What dogs want . . . It's not a very puzzling question. A dogs life revolves around a few basic needs. One, to determine and defend his territory, two, to find food, three, friends - human and otherwise, and four, to satisfy his sexual urge . . . Though its needs are simple, a dog's life is far from that.
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Two worlds collide

I began with an attempt to chart the Human-Stray Relationship. When the worlds of Human Being and Stray Dog come in contact, very contrasting responses arise. While on one extreme is heightened sense of empathy and companionship, on the other end is fear and sometimes disgust. I have also attempted to chart the premises which affect the responses from person to person.
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Meeting Abodh Aras

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!

A seed, some rain and shine

A seed in the mind - that's the most beautiful feeling to experience. A had a little idea - what if this episode is not meant to end here with just justice for Champa... I couldn't help but keep reminiscing all the wonderful dogs back in WSD kennel. I looked round and wondered what if this happened again, may be with Boney or Fanny? I realized that for me, the job was far from done.

Through my years in Graduation, I spent most of my time outside the Institute and dabbled in a range of social development activities. Youth To Youth, my our very own NGO was started together with Ameya Jagtap, Rucha Nirakar, Alok Gavhane and others, as an initiative for inter-disciplinary approach to social development by students from various academic backgrounds.

My life took a turn in 2009 as I began Post Graduate studies at National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. At NID, I was pleasantly surprised to see Graphic Design play an inherent role in social design; NID encouraged me weave my skill with my passion. I was thus motivated to take my first two projects on the subjects 'Child Sexual Abuse' and 'Solid Waste Management'.

It so happened that I was grappling with subject for my next classroom project at the same time as I was dealing with Champa's incident. I contacted the CEO of WSD Mr. Abodh Aras for a meeting. Initially I only thought of making a non-academic project where I would create a web based resource for easily accessing animal helplines. Over the time the idea shaped up, which I shared my idea with my academic Guide Mr. Rupesh Vyas who welcomed it as a topic for my 3rd Classroom Project. I gradually developed the concept and soon contacted Mr. Abodh Aras for a second meeting. 

W S D . . . *respect* !

Well if you ask me what an ideal Dog Kennel would look like in my mind, I would say, it would have lots of space for dogs, the vets would be dog lovers and pet them, and that the kennel would be clean and airy.

But WSD was a different picture altogether. The dogs sat on the vets' lap and cats perched merrily on the table and files. The cages of the safe permanent inmates were permanently open for them to roam around. The floors were washed twice a day, squeaky clean and fans operated round the clock to keep them dry. All the dogs were not only fed to their heart's content, they were groomed and handsomely maintained! There was no 'cane' or 'chain' in sight, and helpers constantly worked to get friendly with the new dogs.

Don't believe me? Well I couldn't believe my eyes, but that's WSD! Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD) is an NGO in South Mumbai, operating for over the past two decades, steadily working for achieving large scale Stray Dog Vaccination against Rabies and Animal Birth Control, with the aim to improve the stray dog situation in the city. Find more on WSD on their website http://www.wsdindia.org/aboutwsd.htm.

Champa's episode was not a tragic one, but an inspiring one, thanks to the positiveness that WSD instilled with me. The day I drove Champa back from the WSD Kennel, a little bit of me remained behind there. I would miss feeding 10 Parle-G packets to the entire population, the three-legged blacky climbing up my waste with her front leg, the lazy fatty recovering from a wound, who would eat as much as I gave him, the angel-eyed cage-mate of Champa who licked the bars of the cage trying to take biscuits from my hand, and all of that!

WSD thanks for being a shining example for excellence, doing such a fine job every day!

Defense and prosecution

I must put the following points in favor of my decision to get Champa back :

1. The side of the old man's thigh, that he claimed was bitten, was 'bandaged' - the first doubt - as doctors do not ever bandage bite wounds (and there was a kilo of cotton taped on there!)
2. The wound was really high on the side and Champa is L A M E in her right leg - if she really had to bite (and why would she?) she would go for the ankle.
3. Within 30 hours of the incident the same old (limping) man was walking faster than I would possibly imagine a man his age walking!
4. Nobody, I repeat, NOBODY - including the rickshawallas, paanwallas, and shopkeepers ever saw such a thing happening.
5. I give the fifth reason in favor of Champa's history - she is well-behaved and peaceful. And this has been vouched by 36 citizens on paper, when they appealed for the immediate release of Champa.

Champa would have been kept in the kennel for 7 long days. But we were afraid that the whole experience of being caught, held captive and in the howling and fighting of 50 other dogs around her, Champa may succumb to trauma and old age. Each of the two nights spent in desperate prayer to see her there next morning were excruciating.

But most importantly she was innocent, and deserved none of this all! That was all I needed to know.

I still do not know for sure why the old man got Champa caught. I could be naive and say that he mis-identified her owing to bad vision? But truth be told, I never knew the truth! The only truth I knew, following the episode, was that every day, hundreds of stray dogs were caught (and believe me the 'catching' is not very pleasant for the dog), transported to Dog Pounds to satisfy various citizens' ire. I wondered if I could do something to address this situation. 

Dedications (5)

Champa is a stray dog living down our street for at least the past 6 years. And it is because of Shirley that I know all the great dogs on my street and around, including Champa. Champa appears deceptively ferocious, until you experience how incredibly kind a dog she is!

Champa has no puppies of her own, having undergone sterilization very early. She raised two puppies - Boney and Fanny who had strayed into our locality. Champa taught them to fight, find food, defend territory, and most importantly - to be nice! As a puppy, Shirley often ran to Champa, much to our horror. With time we saw how Champa treated Shirley like family, and before we knew it, Champa, Fanny, Boney and Shirley had formed a team! Its been 4 years now that the team continues its supreme reign in our locality.

Earlier this year, precisely on 15th June 2011, when I heard yelps and wails from down the window, to see that Champa was being tugged with a rope looped around her neck. In numb terror we flew down to her, by which time she had been locked inside the BMC Dog Van. As I argued with the Dog Control people for her release, trying to make sense of the matter at the same time, a short and frail old man came limping angrily towards us, claiming that he had ordered for her capturing, as he had been BITTEN by her. . . Through our panicked daze, we stood on as the man unbuckled and pulled down his pants to reveal a thick pile of cotton taped high on the side of his thigh - that seemed to settle the matter immediately, and before we knew it, the van drove away leaving me with the name of the shelter where Champa was being taken and the assurance of getting her back within a week. I cried and wondered in anger, why this happened to a wonderful soul like Champa, in her old age.

But Heema and I decided that we would not take it lying down, and would go to the heart of the matter. We immediately took the 6 pm Churchgate Local to reach Mahalaxmi Dog Pound. It had gone dark when we reached the shelter, outside which the van was parked with Champa still inside. We saw with helpless resentment as she was taken inside, caught at the back of her neck, to a caged room with several other dogs. We called out to her in vain, she did not respond to her name. We offered her biscuits, but she just gazed emptily at a wall. We went home in deep pain, the streets were not the same without Champa.

The next day I visited Champa with some food and a resolve to bring her back with us. There are some 'scenes' in our life that get permanently imprinted on our memory - and seeing Champa sitting there magnificently behind the bars in the shelter, was one such unforgettable sight (which moved me to tears at that instant). She did not recognize me again that day, nor did she eat. The BMC doctor and Dog Control officials suggested that I write an application if I wanted her release before the stipulated 7 days' remand. I was very sure that Champa was innocent, and I decided to take some serious steps.

That day, we drafted a letter claiming her innocence which was signed by a whopping 36 local residents within that evening and early next morning. Armed with the application we set out to get back Champa. Just then, I had an unbelievable sighting. The same old man, who claimed to be bitten by Champa. But something was weird - he was swiftly striding down the footpath at an unbelievable pace. A mere 30 hours back - I quickly recollected - he was limping red faced with rage.

"Champa!" I called out without a faint hope of a response, when, a bushy brown tail wagged and she trotted up to the bars to meet me. I submitted the application and did the formalities. It seemed like eternity until finally, Champa was placed inside a specially designed Omni van for dogs, and then - we drove back to good old Vile Parle, Sant Janabai Road! Champa sniffed her way around and reunited with Fanny and Boney and Shirley.

The two nights that Champa was away, were spent sleeplessly. Champa is very old and is lame in one leg. She is strong, but we were thrown in dark desperate fear of losing her, afraid that she might give up under trauma. That night was my first experience of that immediate and desperate need to hold back someone we desperately love. I realized, just how much, I loved Champa.

Champa, this IS for you.

Dedications (4)

Shirley !

Shirley !

Shirley !

Tales of Shirley have spread far and wide, but the tail of Shirley still flings things far and wide. Shirley is rumoured to be a divine incarnation with powers to lick your worries - off your nose! But here's the catch - you have to deserve to be licked - and you must await the time - the precise moment when Shirley would cast her sad gaze into your eyes, approach your face, and lick you into your rebirth - to reveal a positive and powerful you! Don't believe me? Well, meet Shirley and decide for your self!

Shirley became a part of our family, when Heema was in dire need of someone to call her own, when things in our family got less than smooth sailing. With the loss of our grandparents from tragic illnesses, and my migration to Pune for a 4 year Graduation course to add to that, Heema was left lost and lonely  - until a little white puppy flew in from Nasik. After that, like magic, Mumma, Papa, Heema and Me were finally on the same page!

Now Papa and Mumma have an automatic blood pressure detection and control mechanism that launches all 42 kgs of white mass to keep their voice within acceptable decibel limits. Mumma has a prayer buddy who diligently prays with her morning and night, every day. Papa has his custom cardio training machine that doesn't rest until he has thrown her enough 'fetches'. I got my own Shrink, that allows me to talk, cuddle, play and relax (yes! relaxing is serious business - there are strict timings and the place is by our single French window).

And Heema, well she got her very own pet. And she has trained Shirley in custom-made 'Irritation Therapy' - yes, irritating the hell out of your pet! (Did I warn you that my sister is a bit of a devil?)

Well Shirley, I dedicate this project to you, and vow to make it live up to your awesomeness!

Dedications (3)

Bhubhoo, I love you for coming into my life!

Bhubhoo is my first 'pet', though technically belonging to Ameya :). With Bhuboo I experienced the joys of petting, cuddling and spoiling and learnt to bathe and clean a dog. I must thank Bhubhoo for being the most difficult and unmanageable being ever, for she reminds me that dogs are after all, dogs! But Bhubhoo's tail s damn straight, try as you might, you cannot curl it . . .

I dedicate this project to you Bhubhoo, for just being there!

Dedications (2)

There are many of us who adore and care for animals. But I have met a few handful who in their personal capacity, go to amazing lengths to give animals their due. Ameya Jagtap came into my life 7 years back, when I moved to Pune for Graduation studies, and taught me to love, again. From him I learned that love is brave, strong and definitely moves mountains.

For me, Empathy took on a whole new meaning, as together Ameya and I helped several stray animals, birds, even a snake, to survive and get a chance for a better life. Ameya seldom pets or pampers strays. He mostly talks to them and often offers them a much needed little bite. He exemplifies a detached kindness that stands tall to shelter the needy.

Ameya Jagtap, I dedicate this project to you, for just being there!

Dedications (1)

To initiate this project required a great deal of empathy with stray dogs, which wouldn't have been of me, if it weren't for my little sister. Heema Shirvaikar, a petite young lady came into my life about 18 years ago, and taught me to love. As a tiny tot, who could not even speak a word, she would gesture to beckon a dog with her teeny 1 inch fingers, and raucous cheer.

Stray dogs from our street received VIP status when they found the way to our doorstep. My mother had to let go of her precious cream layer on the milk. The tail-wagging, licking, rolling and hopping - it slowly endeared this species to me over time. My sister was a natural at petting and spoiling the dog. And it was just a matter of time, that I too became a pro.

I dedicate this project to you, Heema, for just being there!