
"The incident opened my eyes to the reality of strays. I decided to never let a dog—stray, abandoned, or domestic pet—be harmed under my watch.”
One year ago, a fourteen-year-old encountered a tragic scene on the streets—a stray pup had been run over by a car.
“The incident opened my eyes to the reality of strays. I decided to never let a dog—stray, abandoned, or domestic pet—be harmed under my watch,” she said to The Better India.
With her intentions in the right place, Chandani began searching for places that were suitable to protect and help these dogs, but their jarring scarcity turned out to be the next issue.
A year ago, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation had passed a resolution to build four shelter homes for the strays across the city. However, work on the project had gradually dwindled.
Together, they established the Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (RARC) in Barkheda.
Spread across an area of 15,000 sq ft, the shelter home began functioning only three months ago, but already houses 48 dogs, and has facilitated the adoption of three more.

Also read: Chennai Residents Turn Stray Dogs into Friendly Defence Force: A Lesson for Us All?
Chitranshu Sen, a team member who has been an integral part of the project, added, “When we began the work, it was a big challenge for all of us. Our work came from a place of passion, but it needed to have a structure in place. So I left my job in a travel agency and joined it full time under the guidance of Dr Sharma. Since then we have been conducting special training sessions for our dogs and also travel to people’s homes to train their dogs. Some people want to board their dogs for a short time so that they can be trained here, but there is no option for that yet. It might be introduced shortly.”
For Chandani, the work at the shelter home is exhausting and fulfilling at the same time.

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