E-Paper
Romancing street dogs on Valentine's Day
Every dog has its day and for residents of an animal shelter ain Kathmandu Valley that day was Saturday----celebrated world over as Valentine's Day.
Every dog has its day and for residents of an animal shelter ain Kathmandu Valley that day was Saturday----celebrated world over as Valentine's Day.
These injured and ill street dogs rescued from various places in Nepal's capital spent few hours in the company of dog lovers who showered love and affection on the canines on this special day.
"Valentine's Day is an occasion for romance and generosity, and who better to share it with than a rescued shelter dog?" said Chadani Lama, communication officer with Animal Nepal, an NGO working for animal rights.
On the occasion animal lovers dressed the 32 dogs in the animal shelter in colourful costumes, fed them goodies and kissed and snuggled with the canines like one does with loved ones to mark the day.
Kathmandu Valley has thousands of street dogs and with no proper plan to manage them, many of them suffer from diseases or become victims of human cruelty and motor accidents.
Animal Nepal runs a sanctuary on the outskirts of the city where these animals are treated, neutered, vaccinated and given up for adoption or released again on the streets.
This is the first time the NGO organized Valentine's Day for its residents in a bid to make people aware of the problems faced by street dogs and to stress that these animals too need love and care.
"It is the first time I've come to this shelter and it's really wonderful to see the dogs so well looked after and taken care of," said Siobhan Kennedy, an Irish national residing in Kathmandu these days.
Instead of doing the usual stuff most couples indulge in on Valentine's Day, Siobhan and her boyfriend and dozens of Kathmanduites romanced man's best friend on the day meant for love.
