500 Streeties, 50 Abandoned Pugs, A Vet Clinic, A Full-Time Job & 2 Kids: Kam Raghavan Finds A Way To Do All Of It

The Indie Dog

Now this is a podcast about The Indie Dog and one might think that it has only to do with native Indian dogs. But actually, it’s about dogs in India that fend for themselves on the streets for many reasons.

Some are born on the streets and these dogs have a slightly better chance of survival because of inherited abilities.

But many dogs are just dumped, because their owners have had it. Dogs with pedigrees, dogs with lineage, dogs that have been bought at great cost. Dogs that guarded and protected people. Dogs that are basically expendable.

In this episode I’m talking to Kam Raghavan who runs a shelter called #PugSOSIndia. It’s the country’s first rescue sanctuary for abandoned, owner-surrendered and/or confiscated pugs. Kam and her friends setup this NGO to work towards education & awareness about the Pug-breed.

Why are so many pugs being abandoned?

Kam will explain the many reasons, but I’d say the main one is ignorance. Ignorance of the insurmountable health problem that this grotesquely inbred class of dogs has been subject to, through a few hundred years.

But Kam is doing more than looking after abandoned pugs. She’s also looking after some 400 dogs that were abandoned when the HMT factory in Jalahalli shut shop and some 600 families were asked to leave their homes almost overnight.

One thing led to another and Kam now finds herself with hundreds of dogs, shelters, a vet clinic and the unenviable job of managine all of this. Oh, and she has a full-time corporate job and two little kids.

How does she do it?