Tina, Bunty, Kadi, Lucky... and many more need your help

“Here a dog, there a dog, everywhere a dog, dog…”

It’s no farm we’re talking about here, but rather, a little haven where 55 dogs and 25 cats are being given refuge.

U. Jayawardena and her father have opened their doors (quite literally) to a multitude of four-legged friends. Barely managing to make ends meet themselves, they have devoted their entire lives to saving these strays by keeping them off the streets.

We walked into a cacophony of barks from dogs of all ages, sizes, and colours, welcoming us (or so we liked to think) into “their” humble abode! Although at first it was rather overwhelming to see a dog or sometimes even a cat peering out at us from every nook and corner, we got used to it after a while.

The happy faces as they saw their beloved mistress coming their way, was simply amazing.

To an outsider what would merely have been considered a random mass of brown, black and white heads, was to her, very individual animals, each bearing a name, character and story of its own. And the best part of it was that she knew them all by heart!

So, we proceeded on a tour of her modest home, which she has no money to maintain as she can barely afford to put food on the table for her adopted family. Having to spend Rs. 1000 a day on the animals’ food alone, whilst earning Rs. 10,000 a month, it’s quite a wonder as to how she manages to make ends meet.

Yet she is full of hope and has never considered giving up. This is her mission in life; these animals are her responsibility now and there is no way she will turn her back on them.

“Most of these dogs were in quite a bad state when I first found them. Some were seriously injured having been knocked down, while a few were critically ill and most of the others abandoned.” From broken limbs, to cancer, to broken jaws, they’ve all been treated and brought back to good health as a result of her tender loving care. Now they’re all bounding along happily as though they didn’t have a care in the world!

However, her finances have dwindled to almost nothing and thus Tina, Bunty, Kadi, Lucky, Pinchi, Chooti, Micky…may not know where their next meal might come from.

Any animal lover who would like to help her carry out her good work or adopt a dog can contact her any weekday (after 6 p.m.), on weekends and on holidays on 2568666.