Mansooruddin Faridi/New Delhi

Haris Ali of Bengaluru has dedicated his life to saving and supporting stray dogs. So far, he has rescued and rehabilitated around 2,000 injured, diseased, abandoned, and infirm dogs to a home he built for them.

Haris Ali is an animal rescuer and businessman. He has been running the Sarvoham Welfare Trust for the rescued dogs and their rehabilitation for five years.

His love for animals began when he was a 12-year- old and used his Rs 2 pocket money to buy biscuits for a lactating bitch and its puppies. Though he moved on in life an incident of his childhood where a young boy had beaten a puppy to death stuck in his mind.

Haris Ali says that that painful incident always haunted him.

Haris amidst his dogs inside the shelter

"Many years later on December 31, 2016, I saw a dog frothing from its mouth and looking very sick. Despite several calls to NGOs and hospitals, no one reached out for help.”

He waited for help for an hour and then mustering all courage he took the dog to the hospital.

The doctor told him that the dog was suffering from canine distemper, an infectious disease and he needs to be quarantined.

He was thinking of his next step when two women stepped in to provide dog care and medicine to the sick dog.

In making efforts to reach out to Dog lovers for help, Haris Ali got included in a WhatsApp group where people shared information about injured and sick dogs needing help.

He took the responsibility of rescuing dogs on request. The group members either admitted the rescued animals to the hospital or CUPA (Competition Unlimited Plus Action), an animal shelter in Bengaluru city.

In patients ward in the animal shelter

t was a real challenge for me because I had to travel south to north Bengaluru through the infamous city traffic," he says. 

“I realized it wasn't possible, and I would be able to help more dogs if I can house them close to my home and workplace.” He opened a one-room shelter home for injured dogs in 2017. On the first very day he admitted 20 dogs.

Once he got used to running the rescue operations successfully, he shifted the shelter to a larger plot in the city and set up the Sarvoham Welfare Trust.

The Sarvoham Welfare Trust is located on a plot of about 12,000 square feet and is run by Haris Ali. It has a clinic where surgeries are also performed, a staff quarter, a storage room, two administrative offices, and a dog ward to admit sick dogs.

The trust also runs two ambulances to rescue dogs across the city. The trust has a large open space for dogs to play. Currently, there are almost 170 dogs in the shelter.

Whenever a dog is rescued and brought to the Sarvoham Welfare Trust, the focus is on quick treatment and ensuring food health for those who need surgery.

The trust also runs two ambulances to rescue dogs across the city. The trust has a large open space for dogs to play. Currently, there are almost 170 dogs in the shelter.

Haris Ali playing with dogs

Whenever a dog is rescued and brought to the Sarvoham Welfare Trust, the focus is on quick treatment and ensuring food health for those who need surgery.Haris says that many dogs in the shelter have different types of diseases. Newborns are more prone to these diseases, and their chances of survival are less.

“We have rescued pregnant dogs, but could not save their baby. Also, there is a strict no-breeding rule in the shelter”.

When a new dog joins the shelter, it is given medication, treatment, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, and even bed/cage rest depending on its condition. Here, he also puts a wheelchair in the legs of paralyzed dogs to support them.

At present, Haris Ali is caring for a 14-year-old dog that is unable to move for two months. In many cases, volunteers hand-feed dogs that have hip fractures and are not in a position to eat on their own.

The Sarvoham Welfare Trust mainly helps dogs that need immediate doctor treatment. When it comes to abandoned dogs, Haris says, the big challenge is to find a home for them.

Haris claims that some dogs are left at the gate of the shelter by their owners.

So far, Haris and Sarvoham Welfare Trust have rescued more than 2,000 injured dogs from Bengaluru city.

Haris Ali also runs his business. He is the founder of the Cyber security firm Orcaza Cyber Security.

Animal lovers at the shelter run by Waris Ali

During the Covid pandemic, he suffered losses in business as he had to close the office, temporarily.

In this period, most of the funds for the animal shelter came through crowdfunding campaign on Milap. The Sarvoham Welfare Trust was able to raise around Rs 10 lakh from these campaigns. It also received funds from Infosys and support from machinery and infrastructure.

Haris says he feels happy to be surrounded by the dogs who are free and not feeling depressed.

Among the inmates of the Sarvoham Welfare Trust is a small dog, which has eight fractures in its body and has been fighting for his life for the last two years. However, he is at the forefront of any fight, loves food, and loves Haris a lot.

Haris speaks about another dog named Kalu. Kalu had nervous pressure in his hip part and could not keep his legs straight.”I thought he wouldn't be able to walk but he's walking around happily.”

Dog lovers at dog shelter of Haris Ali

The Sarvoham Welfare Trust also looks after dogs whoc are victims of acid attacks by humans.  According to Haris, the biggest challenge is people's indifference to animals, which often bear the brunt of their actions.

Another problem, Haris says, is that there is a group of animal haters who don't want anything to do with strays. They often fight and create problems for us.

Haris Ali alleges that the lack of animal care by the government is also a big problem. Dogs are not vaccinated and vaccinated on time, putting rescuers at risk. Moreover, whenever there is a case of cruelty to animals, small fines are levied that hardly act as a deterrent.

Before the pandemic, the Sarvoham Welfare Trust had around 9 employees and around 20 volunteers. However, During the lockdown, Haris Ali was with only three staff. As a result, the rescue work was minimized. By rescuing four to five dogs a day, the Sarvoham Welfare Trust was saving around 20 dogs a month. This was also because Haris did not want anyone to be in danger.

Haris wants to expand the services of the trust in the next five years for other stray animals, including cows, and buffaloes.

ALSO READ: Pakistan throws its ex-PMs into jail, exile and to assassins' bullets

“We also hope to end animal cruelty, and conduct more awareness campaigns about animal laws," he said.