City Pulse

Bandra resident Jennylou  Bhiwandiwala, has dedicated most of her life in doing what she loves the most—taking care of strays in her locality. The self-proclaimed animal lover has been associated with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Animal Birth Control Programme (ABC) since 1974, where she would volunteer to sterilize strays.Now, with the help of her friends Priyanka Talerja, 40, Shaila Sehgal, 45 and Sonia Shelar 32, she hopes to be able to open a shelter for abandoned strays as well. “Even today I single-handedly cook around 200kgs of food and feed around 350 dogs in my area. People would initially laugh at me, making fun of my attachment to these dogs. But, later they realised that I do this out of pure love for these animals and now many people contribute to help me feed them,” says Bhiwandiwala.A few years back she had bought a Tata Xenon, and modified the back of the car to fit in a cabinet to store food for the strays. Then she drove the car around to feed strays in and around Bandra and Santacruz. “The four of us have divided areas among themselves and have fixed days when we go for our rounds. I usually feed animals near Bandra Reclamation and Carter Road. Shaila feeds strays near KC Road and Bandra Reclamation on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” she added.The 60-year-old wants to now set up a shelter, where the strays can receive necessary medical aid as well and is working towards collecting funds for it.
Article Source: DNA
Pic Source: DNA