A young veterinary student has launched a website with the idea of creating a one stop place for those looking to adopt a community animal or street animal eager for a home. The idea is to give them a chance to find homes as opposed to the pedigrees that people prefer. “In a veterinary students group and other social media groups, I get messages of animals that need homes. I would forward such messages, but didn’t know how far they would reach with my limited contacts. That’s why I felt I should create a common platform to give such animals a chance to find homes,” said Aseem Pushpa Tara.
The idea of creating the platform had been in the 21-year-old's mind for some time now. However, it has only been around a week since she launched it. One can search for adoptions by location and species - dogs, cats, hamsters, horses and cattle are all there. At present though, Aseem has only four locations of Mumbai, Delhi and Haryana and Punjab. Going forward, she plans to make the information of animals available for adoption across the country and the globe showcased on her site. “There are people from the US who want to adopt community dogs from India, so why not help them connect,” she says.
The posts have a short description of the animal - its age, sex, personality and a contact number listed. The contact is mostly of those who are fostering the animal until they find a permanent home. Missing and abandoned animals (breeds as well) also feature on the platform. She is collating these from social media and WhatsApp groups meant for adoptions after taking permission from contact persons.
The website www.pranimitra.com also has animal NGOs, hospitals, clinics, grooming services, dog walkers and trainers listed. “At some point, I might want to generate revenue from these posts. The idea is it to use it to hold sterilisation drives and adoption camps for community animals in rural areas,” she says, adding that adoption posts will always be free.
The platform also provides for posts on cattle so that cattle that are post the productive age in rural areas and are left on the streets to fend for themselves, stand a chance to find shelter too. Finding veterinary help in rural areas being a challenge, Aseem plans to collate such information on the website too.
