Millions of stray dogs live on the streets in India. Most are direct descendants of their feral canine ancestors, a “breed” much older than any AKC (American Kennel Club) breed. With the recent increase in popularity among Indians of full breed dogs, more and more street dogs have abandoned pets or have bred with pet breeds. Although they are widely feared because some carry rabies, for the most part, India’s street dogs are not aggressive and will only bite if provoked. Indeed, many are fearful of humans and sadly, the dogs’ fears are well-founded. Countless animals are dying around us each day due to the failure of timely intervention in the form of rescuing, sheltering, medical treatment, neutering, and feeding. According to Times of India 17,235 stray dogs were killed or relocated in the last decade across India. The situation of stray animal welfare is tottered; this got intensified during the lockdown and still appears to be irrelevant in post lockdown redevelopment. The strays only seem to be growing in number and health & sterilization drives are either incompetent or ineffective. The cases of violence and ignorance of strays continue to multiple. And where crime against animals is concerned, it is completely overlooked. In the first two months of 2021, at least 8 animal abuse cases were registered in Mumbai every day, as compared to 3 or 4 cases in 2019. Last year, despite the lockdown, 886 cases were registered, with a maximum of cases registered after September 2020. This compelled the need for action and a team to dedicatedly render service and raise awareness. And hence ‘Cheersfurever Foundation’ based in Mumbai began as a community on social media to draw attention to the plight and urge participation through kind, contribution, or time. In a month, they were inundated with requests for more help. Many like Mithu Dhanuki, Mayur Kesaria , Piyush jadav, Zankar Shah, Kanti Sharma, Priyanka Kerkar, Sunil Chaudhary, and Jaikishan Naudiyal with good intentions seeking to render help and reach out through humble means. Cheersfurever Foundation works as the bridge which helps the two worlds meet and thereby bring comfort to the animals when they need it the most.
Cheersfurever was gradually formed as a center to carry out operations under one roof, induce the system to the approach, form departments to execute accredited activities responsibly, and above all one fine day to collectively fulfill the humble intention – keep strays off-street. And a handful of people with merely a drive for change shaped an organization and, in the process, transform a few hundred lives.
Results are impressive when just a handful of people put their heart and mind to it. In just 2 months, foundation conducted 6 drives and benefitted 600 strays with reflective collars, who can now move around safely on the road when the night falls. With 15 drives alone several strays have been successfully neutered and returned to their respective location. These drives empower the strays to exercise healthier and happier lives. It also eases the unnecessary burden on society caused by the growing number of neglected strays. At a very young age, many puppies are born to an uncertain future. Most of them lose their mother at birth, followed by malnourished growth and a higher risk of illness and fatal diseases. Foundations’ persuasive appeals have brought them to the notice of people who ecstatically make them a member of their family. Since then many more have joined the purpose to keep the strays off-street. They also approached societies to collectively adopt 2 strays or 3 cats and stir a revolution for others to practice. Under their “Feedfurever Initiative,” they are distributing around 6000 kg rice monthly to feeders across Mumbai. As a result, more than 2000 dogs are rescued from starving to death especially at the time when restaurants which earlier fed them leftovers are no more running at full capacity and many feeders have limited resources. Moreover, the foundation received wonderful support through a donation in kind of stray food, and the foundation forms feeders’ federation so that the feeders across Mumbai can receive a little helping hand and no stray ever has to sleep hungry. And hence their efforts are speaking, now each day they rescue some 15 dogs & cats and most of them need immediate medical attention and they have also registered more than10 cases against animal cruelty.
Cheersfurever Foundation was formed on 1st Oct 2020. in just 10 months they have already initiated more than 50 drives in various categories of vaccination, neutering, distribution of food, water bowls, reflective collars, treatments, operations, first-aid, medical camps, etc. They have also acquired a self-owned ambulance to focus attention on care for strays and reduce overhead costs and thereby bring affordability to our feeders and volunteers and animal lovers. Their future projects involve: acquiring self-owned blood-analyzer machines again to provide affordability so that more strays can be treated effectively. They are even looking forward to building an animal hospital so that strays can be provided with treatments at affordable rates. Based in Mumbai it deserves loads of applaud and support, you can visit their site https://cheersfurever.com/ and help with your time and your services or with the donation.