2 weeks ago
Pune's Karma Foundation Gives Stray Animals a Second Chance
Karma Foundation is a group of animal lovers in Pune, a big city in India.
It was started by Priya Kailad and Aditya Makharia to help sick and hurt street animals.
Before, injured animals had to travel a very long way to see a vet.
Now the group runs a big animal hospital in Aundh.
Most of the animals they help are cats and dogs.
Some animals get hurt by people on purpose, which is very sad.
The hospital cares for about 150 animals every month and checks on 350 to 400 more.
The group also makes sure animals are sterilised so there are not too many stray babies.
Its big dream is to stop rabies in Pune by 2030.
Karma Foundation, co-founded by Priya Kailad and Aditya Makharia, provides free emergency veterinary care for stray animals within Pune.
Its Aundh hospital has grown from a 200-square-foot office into a 15,000-square-foot emergency animal care facility.
Around 150 animals receive free inpatient treatment monthly, while 350-400 more visit the community outpatient clinic.
The foundation reports a rise in cruelty cases since the Supreme Court's stand and has performed about 2,500-3,000 sterilisations in the past year.
It plans smaller sterilisation hospitals across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and wants the PMC and PCMC to fund infrastructure that NGOs operate.
- Who
- Karma Foundation, an animal welfare NGO in Pune co-founded by Priya Kailad and Aditya Makharia
- What
- Providing free emergency veterinary care, complex surgeries, rehabilitation, sterilisation, and microchipping for stray and abandoned animals
- Where
- Pune, India, with its main hospital in Aundh and plans covering Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad
- When
- Ongoing; the foundation's current facility lease expires in December
- Why
- To ensure injured or abandoned animals are not denied treatment simply because they are too far from a veterinary facility
Key facts
- Organization
- Karma Foundation
- Co-founders
- Priya Kailad and Aditya Makharia
- Hospital location
- Aundh, Pune
- Facility size
- 15,000 square feet, grown from a 200-square-foot office
- Monthly free inpatient admissions
- Approximately 150 animals
- Monthly community clinic visits
- 350-400 animals
- Sterilisations in the past year
- About 2,500-3,000
- 2030 goal
- 85-90% sterilisation coverage and rabies-free Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad
Quotes
Aditya Makharia
Co‑founder and Vice President of Karma Foundation
“Mobilising that spinal surgery was very challenging because it began by buying the equipment, getting a surgeon to do the surgery, and then, after the surgery, we had to actually install a swimming pool for hydrotherapy and get the centre tiled so that the dog does not scrape while recovering.”
freepressjournal.in
“We are trying to set up smaller hospitals just for sterilisations, maybe around 10 of them across the city, and we want to make Pune-Pimpri-Chinchwad rabies‑free by 2030 and have at least 85‑90% sterilisation coverage.”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
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