A ‘designer’ home for strays
With his initiative ‘Stray Talk India’, Jagjit Singh offers a warm respite to stray animals, especially dogs, to keep them cosy in winters.
There is a considerable stray population in our country, and unfortunately, not much gets done for them though people are getting sensitive towards the need of animals. Gurugram has scores of dog lovers and a large number of stray dogs in the city. Winters are tough on these animals who look for warm places to snuggle.
Designing warmth!
Jagjit Singh, a resident of Gurugram, has come up with a brilliant idea to keep the stray animals warm and safe this chilly season through his project Stray Talk India. He provides free portable houses for strays which have become hugely popular among citizens who want to do their bit for the welfare of homeless animals. These make-shift drum houses are lined with ‘gaddas’ and offer a cosy place for strays to sleep in during winters.
As he shares, his firm imports raw materials for food, pharma and paint industries from China, Korea and other international countries. All these supplies come in huge fibre drums, which are of no use to the company once empty, and they get sold to scrap dealers. Being an animal lover, he has adopted around 20 strays in his factories. “Last winter, I saw one dog nicely snuggled in one of the fibre drums. That is where I got the idea to use these drums to offer a safe habitat for the many strays who struggle in the cold winter months. I then started lining these fibre drums with a warm ‘gaddi’, and soon the imitative got viral among groups. Last winters, we designed 1100 such drum houses, given free of cost to people who wanted to use them as a haven for furry friends to save them from harsh winters here.”
Jagjit’s dog home gained popularity after placing four such drum houses near his home for the strays. Soon animal lovers started enquiring about these drum houses. “This year, almost 100-150 drum houses are collected every Sunday by people across Delhi NCR who want to help these voiceless beings,” he says.
“The initiative got me in contact with other animal lovers from Delhi and Gurgaon. It’s creditable that some of these animal lovers have adopted dogs around their area. They look after 100 to 500 dogs. Every Sunday during delivery, I meet everyone and share our concerns about strays.
I would encourage everyone not to hate strays and to feed them and look after them. Even if you provide a stray biscuit for two days, the dog will be waiting for you by the third day. Make them your friends, and you will see much positivity and good vibes in your home,” he concludes.
If you wish to provide a stray in your area with a safe home, you can connect with Jagjit on 8368479289.