The street dogs of India (#TheIndieDog), there are just so many of them. More than 30 million, according to some estimates. We need to urgently feed, neuter, rescue, vaccinate, adopt and care for these dogs. Neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city and eventually, all over the country. This podcast is about enabling dog lovers to get actively involved through stories of hope and happiness, and also provide a few resources to be effective.We begin our journey in #Bangalore.
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Beat Kaestli From Switzerland, Jazz Singer & Dog Trainer Says The Streets of New York Are Alive With The Sound Of Music
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Maybe some of you know that I’m a jazz singer, maybe some of you don’t. I’m not bringing that up randomly, there is a reason why I mention this. During the pandemic, I ended up making a bunch of virtual jazz videos with musicians from Russia, Argentina, France, Italy… all over the world really. And oddly, as I got to know the musicians, I discovere…
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I first met Bismi Anil about 6 years ago when my streetie Brownie had disappeared. Vanished. I hunted for her for a month and gave up hope. Then a girl I knew on FB posted a picture of a doggie that looked so much like a little Brownie that I had to have her. So we trudged all the way to Whitefield from Cooke Town… a two hour drive each way… to fin…
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From Running A Butcher Shop To A Dog Shelter, Sajesh of ALAI Has Made A Remarkable Contribution to Bangalore's Dogscape
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ALAI (Animal Lives Are Important) is a dog rescue organization, about 5 years old here in Bangalore. Well it’s not in the city, but in a place called Mitganahalli about 15 kms from the heart of town. It’s well known in dog rescue circles in this city and Sajesh, the founder is legend. If you talk to people in Electronic City, or the Nandi hills and…
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Prestige Golfshire, in the Nandi Hills, is possibly one of Bangalore’s most beautiful residential areas. 275 acres of landscaped villas, with an 18-hole golf course, pool, tennis courts and other wonderful amenities that make life just special, besides being close to the airport and not that far from the heart of the city. But this is not a real es…
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If you’re taking care of street dogs in Bangalore, I guess anywhere in India, it’s a heart breaking, pocket emptying, frustrating but ultimately very rewarding and joyous experience. Once you begin taking care of streeties… you mostly cannot stop. It becomes a lifelong addiction. Because these dogs are on the street, they are way more susceptible t…
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When I first started podcasting The Indie Dog, one of the first stories was about a little dog named Inkling and a lovely lady named Vinita Rabbi. A little background: Inkling’s mother was Inky, and her uncles we believe, were Pinky and Ponky. Yes I named them, because I saw the three of them one night, and had to come up names quick, so I could re…
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There’s something about the street dog community that feels like one belongs to a very special, very loving, very intimate family, even if you’ve just met someone. You can tell just by the work they do in rescue - rehab - fostering - healing or fund raising, that the connection is strong. Some months ago, my niece Arundhati Krishnan asked me to com…
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Don't Listen If You Have A Weak Stomach: Archana Sreenivasan & Durga The Dog That Beat All Odds
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Warning: this is a very graphic and heartbreaking story. You may not be able to stomach the details. Just saying. It’s a story about medical and surgical heroism combined with human beings who refused, point blank, to let a streetie go. I’m talking to Archana Sreenivasan today. She’s an artist, illustrator and animal rescuer. She used to be a resid…
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500 Streeties, 50 Abandoned Pugs, A Vet Clinic, A Full-Time Job & 2 Kids: Kam Raghavan Finds A Way To Do All Of It
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Now this is a podcast about The Indie Dog and one might think that it has only to do with native Indian dogs. But actually, it’s about dogs in India that fend for themselves on the streets for many reasons. Some are born on the streets and these dogs have a slightly better chance of survival because of inherited abilities. But many dogs are just du…
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If there’s one thing about adopting a doggie or two and raising them… it’s that nothing is ever predictable. Especially in a city like Bangalore where dogs can disappear without the slightest warning. People will dognap them knowing you’ll pay ransom. Or they’ll just wander off... especially streeties who remember the freedom of the open road. Some…
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Doctor Lee is a Korean acupuncture / acupressure specialist, who was introduced to me by a friend. I’m having some awful hip issues and figured I’d give it a shot. As it turned out, despite the excruciating pain of his Korean Torture (he laughed when I called it that) the problem didn’t go away. I think it was by way of distraction, but he kept tal…
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This year in February, there was a big deal being made of the date 02-02-2022. Many people thought it was a lucky date. But if you were you were a doggie named Duke it was the worst possible day for you. Duke was lost… alright let's call it what it is… he was bloody abandoned on Wheeler Road Extension, around the Village Supermarket, here in Bangal…
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In 2022, for some reason, right after the pandemic, there have been a number of deliberate acts of violence against the street dogs of Bangalore. From CCTV cameras we have been able to determine that the culprits are often young men. Cruelty to animals (and other children) starts at a very young age, sometimes three or four year. The very same age …
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On the 23rd of February, 2010 a posh residential building in Bangalore named Carlton Towers caught fire. There were many, many illegal aspects in the construction of that building… and as a result the fire engines were unable to get to all the residents in time. Several lives were lost that day, and many people were left injured. Some irrevocably s…
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Harini Raghavan is an HR professional with a deep passion for animals. She is extremely active in advocating for the rights of animals. That’s another way of saying, she lobbies and cajoles and pleads with the government to do their job, please, did you hear me say please. Harini and a few other people set up Citizens for Animal Birth Control (ABC)…
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Vaibhav Mungole worked in the IT industry for maybe a dozen years. A dozen too many. He was fed up. He wanted to get out of town, maybe move to a small village, a farm, something, anything to get out of the city. But other forces were at work. Specifically, a doggy named Eddy, that came into Vaibhav’s heart and soul about ten years ago. The area of…
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Mehvash Arslan has been a resident of Cooke Town for the past 10 years or so. She works in an NGO that helps small businesses like the local tea walla, or the isthri lady. But her involvement is unusual. She has accidentally… or deliberately… found herself rescuing older, very sick, severely disabled, even blind dogs, usually without much chance of…
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Vera DeJong is an artist. And her husband George Penner is a baker and jam maker. They are not doctors. They haven’t been to vet school or nursing school. But if you listen to these stories, puppy after puppy, I swear you’ll want them by your side if your dog has a medical emergency. For a decade or more, with intuition, mindfulness, empathy, YouTu…
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When I first Saakshi Kewalramani, she wasn’t quite 17 and she was already heavily into animal rescue, rehab, feeding and, fund raising. This is now almost two years later and Saakshi wants to be a veterinary surgeon. She is trying to gather practical experience before she joins school next year. This is the story of a little very mauled and mangled…
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Radha Thomas / Vikash Bafna
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Now, more than ever in Bangalore, the impunity with which drivers in expensive cars seem to playing some sort of murder-for-fun game with street dogs, the number of dog-hit-and-run cases is steeply rising. We – all of us in the streetie community – need to make ourselves familiar with aspects of the law and statutes on animals so that we can bring …
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Ricky Kej is one of the few Indians who’s ever won a Grammy in music. It’s a huge deal. And a huge honour to have him wandering in our midst here in Bangalore, shedding inspiration and encouragement to other musicians as he walks the streets of the city. He’s not shedding alone. Because Ricky has two dogs, shedding right alongside him. Both of them…
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Sudha Narayanan runs CARE (Charlies Animal Rescue Centre) and is the absolute go-to person when your own pet is in distress, or you find a streetie who needs help. The reason is she is not in it for the money. She genuinely cares about street dogs and will take care of dogs for as long as they live if there’s no one else who will. We talk about two…
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I speak first to Mia Bhat, a 14 year old schoolgirl for whom online lessons are just great because she can spend more time on street dog activity as opposed to commuting two hours a day to Inventure Academy. She found herself drawn into the world of Indie dogs quite by chance. Or maybe not. The Indie dog is quite beguiling. Their puppy dog eyes and…
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Onnisha Mojumdar (that’s spelled Anwesha Majumdar) needs some help from you and maybe everyone you know on Sunday, Feb 13 from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm. She and her organization 'Indie Tails of Hope; have about 30 puppies they’d like to find homes for. Forever homes. Homes that are kindly, gentle, friendly and fun. The kind of home you’d like to live in…
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Covid saw the rise of the 'neighbourhood canine squad' an independent-thinking group of animal lovers that through magic (and What'sApp) rescued and fed hundreds of dogs. This didn't really happen on it's own. It happened because of one fierce and indomitable force of nature named Priya Chetty Rajagopal. You'll hear about her thoughts, ideas and ho…
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Falling in love with a dog changed lawyer Anupama Hebbar's life to such a degree that she is now part of a dog squad and actively assists in the upkeep and maintenance of street dogs in her neighbourhood in Cooke Town, Bangalore. Her passion is infectious, and that's a nice kind of infection, not like Covid. She talks about giving people legal advi…
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What is The Indie Dog? The indigenous dog? The Indian Dog? The Independent Dog? All of the above? The stories about the Indie dog are plenty. Everyone I speak to has a different story and yet there's one common goal. To love, nurture and stop the rapid multiplying of hapless and helpless animals. They are smart and have figured out how to survive a…
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