Humans and dogs have shared a special bond for centuries. While we pamper and comfort our domestic dogs with hugs and delicious food, there are some poor dogs who live on the streets suffering from many illnesses and hunger. Project Animal Welfare Service (PAWS) is an initiative by the Rotaract Club of Katugastota Region that was launched as a year-round initiative to address the issues revolving around stray dogs.
The primary principle that the Rotaract Club of Katugastota Region abides by is the act of doing good responsibly. There are many facets to any type of charitable venture, and the club does its utmost to ensure that any type of work they do is beneficial to all entities.
PAWS is one such project, of which five phases have been completed. This year, the Rotaract Club decided to tackle issues pertaining to the stray dog population, in particular, related to the feeding of stray dogs and their immunisation.
The Morning Brunch reached out to Rotaract Club of Katugastota President Shakya Ariyaratne to learn more about this initiative.
Commenting on why such a project was initiated, Ariyaratne explained that while feeding stray dogs is often deemed a meritorious act, as per findings by the club’s members, it is evident that it is not done responsibly.
Ariyaratne also highlighted that the issue of the increasing number of unaccounted street dogs in our country was something that they always wanted to address as a club.
“We implemented project PAWS with two main intentions – first to conduct a project that covered all aspects of street dog welfare, including responsible feeding, vaccination, and adoption, and secondly, to raise awareness within our community regarding these issues,” he explained.
“The Rotaract Club of Katugastota identified the dark reality behind feeding stray dogs when not done responsibly – upon an interview with the Kandy Municipal Cleaning Service, the club members discovered that these workers undergo much hardship owing to leftovers that are kept out for stray dogs on the road,” he explained. He also highlighted that currently, sicknesses and issues related to hygiene are rampant due to this irresponsible feeding of stray dogs, wherein people think very little about what may happen after they leave food on roads and other public spaces.
Phases I, III, and IV focused on this aspect of responsibility – over phase I, club members got together and scoured Kandy town, feeding stray dogs and cleaning up afterwards.
“Medicine for the dogs’ fur coats was also mixed in with the food, which was kept on biodegradable plates,” he added. During phase I, the club members in attendance fed more than 100 stray dogs and provided them with skincare medication, while paying special attention to cleaning up after feeding, which is something that most fail to do when engaging in this virtuous act.
“Feeding stray dogs irresponsibly has created several key issues in our communities. We addressed these issues in our responsible and sustainable feeding venture that will henceforth be conducted every month in different regions throughout the island to create the necessary awareness to #DoGoodResponsibly,” he added.
With phases III and IV, the project was furthered to the public – phase III involved a social media campaign where those outside the club did the same as in phase I. For phase IV, the club partnered with the Rotaract Clubs of Athugalpura, ACBT Kandy, Kandy Metropolitan, Colombo Mid-City, Hatton Kotagala, Trincomalee, Rathnapura, the University of Peradeniya, Panadura, Pamunugama, Negombo, and Matale, for an extended version of phase I.
Ariyaratne also told us that the Project PAWS phase II was initially planned to be conducted as a physical project, but due to the pandemic, the project had to be shifted to an online platform. “The webinar was separated into two sessions and carried out separately, with session I featuring Dr. Nalinika Obeyesekere on the welfare of street dogs, diseases, and vaccination, and session II featuring activist and entrepreneur Otara Gunewardane on understanding and managing street dogs,” he informed us.
On the topic of how we may be responsible for our furry friends, Ariyaratne told us that phase II comprised an informational webinar conducted in two sessions related to the welfare of street dogs, diseases, and vaccination, and also on understanding and managing street dogs.
The club recently completed phase V, which was a vaccination programme for stray dogs, conducted with the Kandy Municipal Council, in the Gohagoda area. When talking about what we can expect in the future with regard to this project, Ariyaratne told us that the club has plans of continuing the project series in the following years, and also has hopes of branching out to other parts of the country by partnering up with Rotaract Clubs from all over the island.
The collective aim and mission of the Rotaract Club of Katugastota Region is to provide a service to others, promote integrity, advance world understanding, goodwill, and promote peace through the fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. Commenting on the successful completion of five phases of project PAWS, Ariyaratne noted: “We are delighted that we managed to conduct five phases of this project within the span of a year, despite all external drawbacks we had to face with the lockdowns and other issues in the country.”
Bearing the ideal of responsibility in its stride, the Rotaract Club of Katugastota Region aspires to embark on more such projects under animal welfare service. Ariyaratne added that they hope to conduct this project further with more phases come July, and expand its scope and magnitude in the process.
