Founder
:
Somewhere
in December 99, a stray dog suffering a fatal injury comes
up to Arvind Shah’s shop in Andheri-Mumbai. He starts
caring for the poor beast as
he had always liked to care for animals. A few calls requesting
local veterinary doctors for medical aid did not work out he
himself carried the dog to some private animal clinics but
none helped. Reason-the dog was a stray. Shocked and surprised
he carries the dog to a shelter cum hospital run by an N.G.O. “Ahimsa” and
finds some hope. The dog was finally treated.
Back
home in silence of his mind he tries to figure out the attitude
of people towards animals particularly strays. “I was
very much hurt by the manner in which the suffering stray
was behaved with” says Arvind Shah when he recalls
that incident. This was no ordinary moment because it inspired
the beginning of the movement which shall save hundreds of
lives in time to come. He vowed to himself of not to wear
any footwear till he builds up a shelter and hospital for
suffering beasts. He than got involved in animal welfare
activities and started planning for something to help the
strays. It was during this time that he suffered through
worst form of oral cancer and was almost about to lose voice
when miraculously he was spared his life and voice, which
he determined to use it from than on for the voiceless. Hence,
came up a Non profit - Non government organization “karuna” in
May 2001.
Since
its inception Arvind Shah has been the soul of the organization.
He pioneered Mobile animal clinics for free onsite medical
treatment of distressed strays, went bare footed in rescue
and legal operations, saving lives of hundreds of suffering
creatures. Day and night Mr.Shah has worked restlessly over
the years to improve the standards of animal care through “karuna”.
From four treatments a day to more than 250 today the organization
has been upgrading itself each day. Apart from employing
dedicated staff to work for animal welfare and using the
best available medicine Shah is also working hard to build
a “Paangla Pol” – A shelter for the permanently
disabled animals and hospital to care for the sick and injured
ones with a compassionate heart and managing increasingly
difficult balance between personal life and a concern which
has become a meaning for his life altogether with high hopes.
