Photo Essay: The Dog Savior

Mar 14, 2016

Meghanadan A S

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Dogs are said to be man’s best friend. But they are often neglected and left to die by their owners in places around the world.

On the streets of India, people treat them in the worst possible manner. Throwing stones, kicking and abusing them by all means. But there are some people who take care of these innocent creatures. They feed them and give shelter. This is a series on one such couple, Arun Pasare and his wife Suvarna Pasare, who have been taking care of street dogs for the past 9 years.

Suvarna Pasare cooks the food for the dogs at their home. They have 5 dogs in total. All were strays earlier. All of them were rescued from the streets by Arun.

Chicken soup and rice pudding are set in different containers and let to be cool down.

Arun is seen taking one of the food containers filled with Chicken soup down to his van. The containers weigh about 6-8 KG and Arun takes 4 of them each morning. And everything gets finished by afternoon.

Arun says the reason for him to start feeding strays is that, 9 years back he saw a dog running scared with a wound on his head filled with maggots and behind was a security guard with a big stick. The guard hit the dog at the head exactly where it had that wound. Since then everything changed for him. He is a middle class man who struggles to live his life. But he makes sure that his dogs are fed well and timely.

Arun and Suvarna are very devotional. Arun is an Astrologer by profession and Suvarna runs a Naturopathy clinic. They have a son who also follows his father's footsteps and is Vastu Shastra specialist. — Arun and Suvarna are very devotional. Arun is an Astrologer by profession and Suvarna runs a Naturopathy clinic. They have a son who also follows his father’s footsteps and is Vastu Shastra specialist.

Arun feeds the dogs in multiple trays to avoid unwanted fights between the dogs.

3 brothers are seen having their food together in a single tray.

Arun not only feeds the dogs, he also vaccinate and medicate them when needed. A normal vaccine costs Rs.350 in a private hospital whereas, you get it for Rs.80 at local pharmacy. — Arun not only feeds the dogs, he also vaccinate and medicate them when needed. A normal vaccine costs Rs.350 in a private hospital whereas, you get it for Rs.80 (~$1.12) at local pharmacy.

A traffic policeman is helping Arun put powder on a dog's wound. — A traffic policeman is helping Arun put powder on a dog’s wound.

Suvarna takes out a container of pedigree to feeds the dogs. They buy around 5 KG of pedigree each day which costs Rs.2500. They shell out around Rs.50000-60000 each month just of the dogs food. — Suvarna takes out a container of pedigree to feeds the dogs. They buy around 5 KG of pedigree each day which costs Rs.2500 (~$37). They shell out around Rs.50000-60000 (~$745-$894) each month just of the dogs food.

The vehicle which Arun and Suvarna uses for their purpose was actually gifted to Arun by a lawyer for his great work.

Arun loves and takes care of each one of his dog. He is seen with one of his closest ones, Sheru.

They feed around 200-300 dogs a day. Their daily feeding schedule is 7am to 1pm and then again from 4pm to 12 midnight.

This dog has a wound on its foot when it had an accident.

This sight is so common. We see it all day. Most of the drivers are either negligent or ignorant to strays. A lot of accidents happen just because of that.

Kalu, as Suvarna calls, is affected by Cataract in its left eye. Government Animal hospitals are no longer functioning in Pune. All are taken over by private hospitals where the cost of treatments are high.

Arun is one of those few people in the world who has been different from all the other in the society. In his span of 9 years, he has never been bitten or attacked by any stray. The love he shows to them, he gets in return 10-fold.

I am an animal lover by heart. But I have not been so helpful to them until I met Arun Pasare. His way of life helped me to see all the wonderful animals in a different way. Since then, I have been helping out strays the way I can. Arun’s determination has led me realize what we as a society should mold ourselves into in order to help those animals around us.

About the author: Meghanadan A S is a photographer based in India. You can find his work on SocialDocumentary and on Instagram.

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