India’s First Pet Food Bank: Stray Dogs & Cats Needn’t Sleep Hungry

26 year old Musician Lionel Praveen a dog lover has been feeding around 150 stray dogs along Chennai’s Marina Beach amid the pandemic, since the lockdown hit these dogs badly. Now he is a happy man as a first of its kind pet food bank in the city has made his work easier. On 24th February his canine friends along the beach tasted the  ready to serve food he collected from Vetri Pet Food Bank at Thiruvanmiyur. Sharing his joy he told tellmystory.in “This pet food bank will motivate many others to feed stray dogs. Many may want to reach out to these paw friends but do not know how”. He added, “Earlier I used to collect rice from  friends and donors and my mother Kavitha cooked for the dogs”.

Thanks to what’s being touted India’s first Pet Food Bank, the kitchen serves  around 400 stray dogs across Chennai every day. It’s an initiative of Kirthana Raamsukaesh who has  started this in memory of her late pet son Vetri, with who she had a special bond for more than five years. A techie with an MBA who already runs a not for profit animal welfare shelter “Hope For Critters” for rescuing street animals, Kirthana says “A lot of people may be compassionate but may not be able to feed dogs and cats on a regular basis. Our pet food bank supports their work.”

On day one,  the pet food bank had an unexpected visitor. A woman sweeper working for the civic body asked for some food for dogs in her neighbourhood. Her gesture had turned Kirthana emotional. She said “I can’t express my joy to imagine a hungry soul eat”.

Deepa, another animal feeder who serves cats, said “Its a great initiative. These dogs or cats will get at least one meal a day and they won’t sleep hungry”.,