‘Can I go now, Simba?': Inside the life of a worker at a dog shelter in Delhi & his loyal companion
Nagar, 33, works at Neighbourhood Woof, a non-profit organisation running an Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre in Timarpur. For the past seven years, he has been a dog catcher and caretaker, devoted to the city's stray dogs.
Simba is among the centre's permanent residents — those abandoned or rescued by the workers. It is Nagar's most loyal companion, staying by his side for the past two years.
However, Monday's Supreme Court order, directing municipal authorities to pick up and relocate all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to dedicated shelters, has left Nagar worried.
'Implementing it is difficult, even if large spaces are created for the dogs,' he says.
'How can we go into a centre housing a large pack and ensure hygiene? If a dog dies inside the shelter, how will we even be able to remove it?'
Like several other NGOs, Neighbourhood Woof has tied up with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to run the ABC centre. The workers would bring in the canines for sterilisation and vaccination and then release them back at the locations where they were picked up.
Settling on the floor in an open space, Nagar describes his work.
His day begins at 8 am. After he rouses his colleagues, they serve breakfast — curd rice — in steel bowls to around 100-120 dogs. Once everyone's fed, they move on to cleaning the kennels.
On his work as a dog catcher, he explains: 'I, along with three or four others, go to catch the dogs after we get a call or spot them ourselves. Sometimes, people resist, while others request us not to take the strays away.'
As a few dogs run around, Nagar gestures at a light brown one with upright ears that hops while walking. 'I have named it Auto because it walks on only three legs,' he says, adding that Auto's front left leg was amputated.
Pointing to more dogs, he reels off their names — Scooter, GPO, Jackie, Bharati, Komal and Christina.
Just then, Simba jumps up, reaching Nagar's waist, while Scooter tries to scoot closer. 'Simba is very possessive of me,' Nagar laughs.
The centre, which was opened in 2014 by Ayesha Christina Benn, Managing Trustee and CEO, has 12 kennels at present. There are a total of 15 staff working at the centre. Work is currently underway to add more kennels.
The walls sport paintings of the first dog at the centre — Seth — flowers and trees, all done by Nagar. He has a Master's degree in Fine Arts from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, and takes art classes for children in the afternoons.
Nagar's two brothers — Vipin (31) and Vishal (20) — also work at the shelter, and they live there.
Hailing from Faridabad, he says he used to live with his family — parents and five siblings — till he turned five years old. His father was an alcoholic, and his mother left them. She returned later and, with the help of a relative, left him and three of his siblings at a care home.
Nagar says he has now found a family here, among the four-legged residents. 'Each night when I go to bed, one dog sleeps on my stomach, another cuddles up in my arms, and Simba stations itself on my shoulder.'
His most cherished memory is from when Simba refused to go back to its owner. 'Simba was two years old when the owner abandoned it. But the man returned a few weeks later, demanding to take Simba back. I opened the kennel door, but the dog did not leave. Simba chose me over its owner — isn't that crazy? That was the day I realised I belong here.'
Nagar, however, voices uncertainty about what will happen to the dogs still at the shelter — the apex court has directed 'to maintain a daily record of stray dogs captured and detained' and said that 'not a single stray dog should be released'.
Nagar says this will only leave the canines in distress: 'Everyone should see how a dog starts wagging its tail the moment we take it back to the spot we picked it up from, after surgery. As soon as I unlock the van door, it leaps out, following the familiar scent of its locality.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
100 stray dogs picked up in 2 days; MCD to act in phases starting with aggressive, sick canines
New Delhi, The MCD has picked up 100 stray dogs so far since the Supreme Court order on relocating canines, and converted the city's 20 Animal Birth Control centres into shelter homes, Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said on Wednesday. 100 stray dogs picked up in 2 days; MCD to act in phases starting with aggressive, sick canines The MCD also identified an 85-acre plot in outer Delhi to shelter more strays, Singh said. Talking to PTI, Singh said the civic body has started looking for land to set up more dog shelters, adding that they will implement the SC directive in phases, starting with aggressive and rabies-infected dogs. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi will expand an ABC centre in Dwarka, while in the third phase, the Ghoga Dairy which has 85 acres of land will be considered for setting up large shelter homes, the mayor said. Once the stray dogs are shifted to the shelters, Delhiites will get huge relief, he said. The Supreme Court on Monday ordered that all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR be picked up within eight weeks and relocated to shelters to be created by the appropriate authorities. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted that there was an "extremely grim" situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children. Singh said, "We had assured people that we will implement the order 100 per cent. We are getting a lot of calls from residents, and till now, 100 stray dogs have been caught.' The mayor said in the first phase, only those dogs that are aggressive, rabies-infected, or sick will be picked up. At present, the MCD has 20 ABC centres, which are being converted into shelters to house the captured dogs, he said. 'We are making sure that all facilities are provided so that the dogs do not face any problems,' he added. For the next phase, the civic body plans to expand the ABC centre in Dwarka, while in the third phase, the Ghoga Dairy will be considered for setting up large shelter homes. Speaking about the availability of land and funds, Singh said there is no shortage of either, and funding will not be an issue. 'This is a people's government, and this is a priority for us because residents have been facing problems for a long time. We now have the resources and are moving ahead in a planned way,' he said. According to Singh, 25 teams are currently working across the city and responding to calls from residents. The MCD will soon launch a dedicated helpline for citizens to report stray dog-related complaints. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
Why returning sterilised dogs to streets is key to ABC's success
While asking the authorities to shift Delhi's stray dogs to shelters, the Supreme Court found it 'unreasonable and absurd' that, under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) program, sterilised dogs are returned to the streets they were picked up from. The apex court's intervention resonated with many whose lives and livelihood have been affected by the proliferation of aggressive dog packs in public spaces. But returning sterilised dogs to streets is not the reason why the ABC program has not been able to stabilise the stray dog population. On the contrary, that is the very essence of ABC science. To bring down a population through sterilisation of individuals, the females are the principal targets. Because anything short of 100% success in neutering males potentially leaves open the window for all fertile females getting productive. Spaying females is also the preferred approach because neutering impacts males behaviorally — turning docile is not a good survival option in the wild. But when it comes to street dogs, reducing aggression in males helps reduce conflict. That is why ABC programs for dogs target both females and males. While all dogs cannot be sterilised at one go, the efficacy of any ABC drive depends on the outcome of the race between volume and time. The thumb rule: at least two-third (ideally 70%) of a population should be sterilised within a year. And this is where returning sterilised dogs to streets becomes all important. Securing 'unproductive' streets Consider a scenario when dogs from two out of ten streets of a neighbourhood are picked up for sterilisation and not returned. The garbage dumps on those two dog-empty streets will invariably invite unsterilised dogs from neighbouring streets. With uncontested resources at their disposal, they will multiply quickly to reoccupy those streets. The ABC program also seeks returning sterilised dogs to streets to maintain their social order and cohesion. But, primarily, returning sterilised dogs to streets ensures that potentially productive space remains under unproductive occupation. This is absolutely vital in the initial months of an ABC drive as it makes spatial progress incrementally. Crisis of Capacity The urgency of the apex court's order also caught the civic authorities off guard. In its order on Monday, the SC asked them to make shelters to house stray dogs, and pick up 5-6,000 from vulnerable areas in the next six to eight weeks. Since the Delhi government does not have any shelter of its own, the implementation of the court's order may take longer. While the government has hospitals, around two dozen dog shelters, with a combined capacity of less than 3,000, are all run by NGOs. Some are also concerned that housing thousands of unrelated dogs together may cause stress and anxiety. There are standard housing protocols in individual cages with physical and visual barriers to ease aggression. But dogs are inherently social animals — forming packs, establishing hierarchies and learning from one another — not suited for captivity. The fact that Delhi does not have anything close to the holding capacity required to meet the apex court's urgency also shines light on the gross inadequacy of the capital's ABC drive. As mentioned above, an ABC drive must cover 70% of the population within a year. For an estimated population of 8 lakh street dogs in Delhi, this would require neutering up to 5.5 lakhs. Considering 300 working days, this breaks down to a requirement of operating on 1,800 dogs per day. According to standardStray d government protocol, each dog has to be kept for 3 days post-operative care and will have to be brought to the ABC centre one day in advance. Therefore, to operate on 1,800 dogs daily, Delhi would have required four times kennel infrastructure to hold 7,200 dogs. With a daily holding capacity well under 3,000, Delhi's ABC drive was evidently running at 40% of the desired intensity. Unsurprisingly, it failed to make any difference. Home to street What overwhelmed a tepid ABC drive is the irresponsibility of a large number of dog owners. India does not have a national law that requires dog owners to register their pets. A few cities have made rules but do not bother with enforcement. It is not mandatory to get pets sterilised or vaccinated either. Since owners are not accountable for their dogs or their dogs' pups, hundreds of unwanted pet dogs and pups are abandoned on the street daily. Besides, thousands of pet dogs are allowed to roam or break free and breed with street strays. This is why the so-called 'Indian street dog' is mostly mongrels of various crossbreeds. The solution, experts say, is to have ABC drives target pedigreed pets with high breeding frequency. The government could offer incentives to owners to get their pets registered and sterilised. A steep tax may be levied on breeding pets. Recipe for conflict In all cities, neighbourhood good samaritans feed stray dogs on the streets outside their homes or workplaces. This has the same effect as petting, and turns stray dogs territorial and aggressive. Such feeding has also created monsters of monkeys in many parts of India. Over the decades, governments cutting across party lines have sponsored the feeding of stray dogs by various organisations. In The Ecology of Stray Dogs: A Study of Free-ranging Urban Animals (1973), Professor Alan Beck wrote: 'Loose or straying pets and stray (feral) dogs are different. True stray dogs form somewhat stable packs… are more active at night and cautious about people. In general, straying pets have smaller home ranges and [are] active when people are.' This is why abandoned or proxy pet dogs on the street are more likely to be aggressive towards people who do not feed or pet them.
News18
5 hours ago
- News18
Feeding Pigeons To Remain Banned: Bombay HC Reiterates Decision Amid Protest
Last Updated: The order comes days after the Supreme Court refused to intervene, observing that proceedings are still pending before the high court. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday reiterated its ban on feeding pigeons at Mumbai's kabutarkhanas, directing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to continue prosecuting those who defy the restrictions. The order comes days after the Supreme Court refused to intervene, observing that proceedings are still pending before the high court. 'Parallel indulgence by this court is not proper. Petitioner can move the high court for modification of the order," a bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi said on August 11. Hearing a batch of petitions from animal lovers challenging the demolition of decades-old kabutarkhanas, the high court had earlier stayed demolition but barred feeding. On July 30, it warned that continued violations amounted to a 'public nuisance likely to spread diseases and endanger human life," ordering cases to be registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The court had also flagged pigeon breeding and large gatherings at kabutarkhanas as a 'grave social concern," stressing the ruling was in the 'larger interest of societal health, from children to senior citizens." The BMC, defending its crackdown, cited medical studies linking pigeon droppings and feathers to asthma, lung fibrosis, hypersensitivity, and pneumonitis, warning that the damage is often detected only after it becomes irreversible. Petitioners, including Pallavi Sachin Patil, argued that pigeon feeding is a religious custom among Hindus and Jains, with 51 feeding spots operating in the city for decades. They said health risks were overstated and suggested alternatives such as bird towers to allow coexistence. The ban has sparked widespread protests. On August 6, hundreds of devotees clashed with police at Dadar's kabutarkhana, tearing down barricades and tarpaulin sheets set up to stop feeding. Earlier, over 1,000 community members had rallied against restrictions at the site. view comments First Published: August 13, 2025, 17:24 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
