Good Morning CJ putha and Kelly Girl, Kelly Girl come drink your milk, CJ putha come have your dinner, CJ putha shall we go for a walk?, Kelly girl shall we play a little? These are the everyday conversations I hear at home and I sometimes think my dogs are luckier than me because they are spoilt from love and affection.

But, not every animal get this kind of love and affection, especially the stray animals we see everywhere when we step out of our homes. They struggle to survive on a daily basis, to find some food, a bit of water to drink, a place to sleep without being burnt under the hot sun or getting drenched in heavy rain. Their lives are full of hardships and I am sure the only wish they have is that someday an angel would come and take them to a house full of love and affection. I am sure they wish for a place where they are safe from all the cruelty they experience every day, a place to sleep peacefully without the horror of being hit by a vehicle or being harassed by a person walking along.

People living on this world has become so heartless and cruel and I sometimes wonder how one could treat another living being in such a cruel manner. We hear people throwing boiling hot water at stray dogs, then we hear people using butcher knives to hit stray dogs, we see people caging animals for their entire life without proper food and water and many more. How heartless can people become? What goes in the minds of these people? Do they think they can get out of this karma? We really need to think what is happening to the world around us.

What can we do to save these stray animals that fight to live another day every day? We can do many things and they might not have to be big things that require a lot of money or our time. Sometimes all what these stray animals need is a bit of love, affection and the assurance that we bring no harm to them.  I as an individual has a huge respect to organizations such as ‘embark’ that does a lot of work to give a better life to the stray animals we find. Not only them but there are many individuals who have donated their entire personal wealth and time to run animal shelters for the stray animals providing the love, care and the affection these beautiful souls needs. These people are real heroes and their efforts should be appreciated and supported in every possible way.

So how can we make a change in this world and ensure a world without cruelty? One way of doing it is opting into adopting a stray animal. I adopted Keely Girl my second dog in the family from the drainage close to my house as one day a heartless person has left her to die there. I could not resist the innocent look on her eyes, she was a tiny very scared little puppy and was screaming for love and affection from inside. I could not turn away and I brought her home with me. And now when I see how happy she is at home being treated as the third daughter in the house amidst all her mischievous work it gives me so much pleasure and satisfaction to think I could at least make a change in one stray animal’s life.

Given the busy life schedules we have in the modern times running the rat race, all of us might not have the time or the ability to adopt a stray animal. But I am sure we all can look around and support organizations or individuals who engage in such activities with monetary contributions and such donations would help to save the lives of many animals. As a Rotaractor one great initiative I saw was collecting leftover food from restaurants around the country and donating such food to animal shelters and individuals feeding stray animals on the roads. Such activities does not require much effort, but it helps to fulfil the hunger of many. Why waste food when we can use the leftover to feed few stray animals and make their tummies full even for a day.

I also think creating awareness on how to improve the welfare of stray animals among the public is a critical aspect we all animal lovers should work towards. Little things like keeping a bowl of water near your gate for the stray animals to drink, keeping a plate of food for them to enjoy, or taking a small packet of biscuits to feed the stray when we go for an evening jog, collecting left over food to feed the stray are little things that can truly make a drastic difference in the lives of the stray animals we see on the road.

I believe adopting a stray or doing the little things we can to make their lives beautiful and safe would go a long way. They would love us forever and show gratitude unlike human beings. We all should work towards making this world free of cruelty and spread love and affection all around.   

By Rtr. Nadeera Udawatta | Email: nadeera9@gmail.com