I’m looking for advice from people who have actually been in a similar situation.
Little bit of context:
I’m currently planning to buy a flat in Bangalore.
Realistically, given Bangalore property prices and what I can afford, I’m looking at a 2 BHK (1200sqft) to move in with my aunt and mom both above 50.
Since 2018, I’ve been feeding and taking care of my 10 Indies who live around my house/street. They’re all roughly 5–10 years old now. Over the years, they’ve become completely dependent on me for food, shelter and basic care.
I currently live in a rented 1BHK, and although I obviously cannot keep 10 dogs inside the house, I’ve been able to provide them with shelter/a place to sleep within the building. They stay around my house and the surrounding area.
The problem is that I’m now looking at buying my own flat.
I cannot put 10 dogs into a 2 BHK apartment. Even if someone allowed it, I don’t think it would be fair to them. They’re used to having some space, moving around the area and having their own little territories. I don’t want them to suddenly go from that to being packed into an apartment and feeling suffocated.
But at the same time, I cannot simply move into the flat and leave them behind, These dogs have been part of my life since 2018.
And honestly, I know what could happen if I just disappeared from their lives. There are people in my street who already don’t tolerate them, and I have faced the usual harassment for feeding them. The harassment has gone till the cops and physical fight , so I know for a fact , these dogs will be in danger if I ever leave them.
So I’m trying to figure out a realistic long-term solution that works with the reality that I can only afford a 2 BHK.
I’m not necessarily asking people to find me a flat. I want to hear from people who have actually faced something similar:
If you moved into your own apartment/flat, what did you do with the street dogs you had been caring for?
Did you find a way to create a separate shelter or safe sleeping area nearby?
Did you rent or buy a small property specifically for the dogs?
Did you work with neighbours, RWAs, local feeders or animal welfare groups?
Putting them up for adoption is also unlikely because they aren’t in the cute phase anymore
Did you manage to keep the dogs in their existing territory while continuing to care for them?This is very unreal in my case, my own friends dont tolerate stray dogs
I’m trying to plan this before I buy the flat because I don’t want to make a decision that solves my housing problem but creates a disaster for the dogs.
How did you make it work?
Thank you for being so thoughtful towards these voiceless angels. I dont have any advice because I am not in your situation, but I’m just grateful for people like you. Please don’t leave these babies to fend for themselves 🙏
Hire a professional feeder who feed dogs in exchange of an amount. I did that when I changed office. 4 years later, they are still fed and medicated even though I am not there. They don’t charge a huge amount. It’s around 20-30 bucks per dog per day. Tap into the animal care giving community of your city. You will find such services.
I am not from Bangalore. I pay Rs 30 per dog per day in Kolkata. But there are feeders who do it for Rs 15 as well. Rates vary as per area and quality.
This has been my solution also. I have a feeder who comes daily to feed my dogs. He cooks and does the feeding, and sends me videos daily of the feeding.
Can you please let me know the people who do this? I really did not know we could hire them ! This is new to me , please can u let me know is there a group contact or something
We have 3-4 such services in Kolkata. I am sure these services are there in other cities as well. Please tap into the animal welfare organisations of your city. They should have the info.
Hello! I've been in somewhat of a similar situation. Here's what has worked out for me and other feeders i know -
1. Connect with other animal lovers in your neighborhood who are willing to feed the dogs (you can offer to pay for the food if needed).
2. Talk to maids/guards you trust or other local shopkeepers, coordinate with them about ordering dog food/leave behind some for them and pay them some amount regularly to feed your dogs daily + keep sending you updates/photos and videos of the feedings. Especially helpful if you haven't moved out yet, so you can talk to them in person and show them the dogs + how to feed them.
We have a group of people taking care of dogs, there is a feeder who comes and feeds the dog. We take of vaccination, sterilization(no longer required as all dogs are sterilized), and any health related concerns. I have moved from the locality but still contribute for the expenses. Doing it alone is very hard.
i moved to mumbai for a 1 month internship as a college student. i was living in an area where the street dogs were very skinny and not spayed. 1 month was clearly not enough time to take care of that plus actually go to work. i found a feeder and pay her an amount on a monthly basis for all dogs to get food. used to travel from pune to mumbai every other week to coordinate their sterilisation and logistics- catching, transport, spaying, post op, release.
feeder is the best option and go see them once a week or so. tell the feeder to give you updates - photos and videos and to inform you if everyone’s eating and healthy.
I am facing the exact same issue but for one dog. This little boy has been with me around 3 years, he lives in this building and i give him food to eat. I am going to shift in 10 days i don’t know how I’m going to keep him here. I am based out of Bangalore , btm layout and would love to hire a professional feeder for him. Please help
I have been in your situation, i wasn't feeding them for as long as you have , but been there.
Harsh truth is - life moves on, you need to move into your new house and let them go. They'll figure out a way, you can go back once in a while and feed them but you can't be there for them everyday.
Just try asking around your area once and see if there are other people who are willing to feed them or already have been.
I remember @bullu_bow_wow (IG) arranging feeders from nearby areas to extent to their area as well when moving. But if you have no contact, then it's not gonna workout.
If I am not wrong, they are from Chandigarh tricity ? Right ?
I would like to know if there are genuine feeders whom I can financially support to feedback more and more animals ? I don't live in India anymore and my family takes care of the kids living around my house near Chandigarh. My biggest regret of leaving the country is that I am not doing anything for the streeties, except from donating every month to a shelter. I know the guy who runs the shelter and trusts him with the money I send to him. But I would like to support feeders as well. There seems to be some fake accounts and I don't want to engage with them. Would love to know if there are genuine feeders in Chandigarh tricity atleast.
Yeah, you're right. But Bullu_bow_wow is legit. Others also include kannan_animal_welfare, mission_paws, safarmeinrahi, abhaaydaan, thevibefoundation (adopted my dog via them) and so many more.
We had purchased a house and had decided to move out from our earlier apartment. We were at that point feeding around 6 dogs in the neighborhood.
While our interiors work was going on, we step by step tried to move the responsibility.
We had a pet parents group and we discussed the approach with them. First part was to find a vendor who would supply food on a daily basis. We tried dry food initially but some dogs were used to rice and chicken daily.
In Bangalore we managed to find a regular supplier for dog food, who would deliver food daily at our gate.
Then as a second step , we started looking for a dog feeder. One of the dog walkers in the building had been familiar with the dogs, so we assigned him with the feeding work. The security guard would tell us if he didn't come to feed on any day.
Before moving, another resident agreed to monitor once in a while about the dog feeding and other the group also keep an eye.
Right now, I share an option in the group, if people want to contribute for the dog food. With the number of people we split the expenses and share the per person cost which is sent.
This is used to order the food and pay the dog feeder.
It has been more than 2 years since we moved from the place and still the feeding is continuing.
Everyone thank you so much for giving me ideas ❤️
I would like give more context and respond to some of the some questions asked in the comment section ,
Firstly the reason for me moving is that I recently got engaged and hence I’m moving out for a better lifestyle and environment, I haven’t moved out yet.
My fiancé and I were both animal rescuers previously, we actually met through this exact pack of dogs. We both love dogs and would happily keep 3 dogs inside the flat that me and fiancé are currently living in(her flat), either this or the same 3 dogs would move in with my aunt and mom who will live separately in a close by location I currently stay in Vidyaranyapura and am planning to move to Whitefield. All the dogs are spayed and neutered except for 1 because it had CD. They have no history of biting people or even attacking them even when provoked. Rabies injection is being done frequently via BBMP.
I have asked every person I trust here to help me with feeding and taking care of them because the people are violent and when i say violent, they have killed the previous pack altogether because they barked in group. I am a local here and hence I have some good support which tags along only when I make noise against the harassment. They won’t voluntarily do it, it’s a twisted situation. I can’t really depend on my neighbours here because they think relocating works.
As a last resort I’m trying to rent my current 1bhk rented house for them and see if I can find a professional feeder, there’s many obstacle to this because :
1.other people will oppose to this, my owner will retaliate and say no after I move
2.My budget will explode , I currently spend 6-7k on feeding alone and my house rent is 6.5k, plus feeder it might shoot up a little bit (this is a trivial issue, can ask fiancé to share)
3.Might sound like whining too much but if the dogs are hurt once I leave , I can’t do anything like no point in fighting with them after they’re dead or something, this is because I know what people are capable of here
4. It’s a chapri area, whoever is gonna feed will definitely face verbal/physical harassment to some extent
But really thanks guys, happy to see many people helping indies out ❤️
Sort of in a similar situation. I have to make arrangements too. I'm going to talk to as many people as possible. Although, the talking to the people part is what scares me the most. Very, very initially there was a lot of backlash in my society for taking caring of them (especially started by this one person). Now he doesn't do it that much, but we don't know. Generally, people are so averse that makes it more difficult. I would have asked my house help, and paid her. So you could try that, if your house help likes animals.
In my case, she does like them, but if she'll feed them regularly, they'll follow her when she goes back which makes her uncomfortable. And she comes and goes by walking. So i'm going to have to ask other people.
I have a friend who had some 3 dogs with this sort of an arrangement and they moved and their neighbours who also fed the dogs, also moved. But they are in the same city so they visit them on alternate days. One day they visit and one day the neighbour's some family member visits. And so far they're fine.
Pay somebody to feed these cuties and make sure that he/she will feed them; just give them a meal, and this will surely work. Also, you can visit weekly to meet those cuties!🤍
And thank you for being so thoughtful towards the voiceless.🌻
Awww..I can totally understand this feeling as i am in teh same boat..I have 6 stray dogs dependent on me and i have to leave for my job in another city...nobody can love or take care for them like we do...😭 but you are so thoughtful that's so good.
Responsible pet parents are rare anomaly.
Thank you for holding love and care in your heart.
World is already busy holding grudge against them.
Tq and respect to each and every pet parent out there caring for them.
For me the best thing has been to get them all vaccinated and sterilised. Touchwood all the dogs in my street and the next one are sterilised. So if i shift houses tomorrow or like travel somewhere for 10-15 days I don't have to be worried about them. Currently working on sterilising dogs in the street next to next one.
Still ask my roommate to give him(my street dog) the last roti every night dinner. We used to get our tiffin with 5 roti each so we eat 4 and give him 2. so yeah i moved out but still i ask him to give him
I hired feeder, he sends me pics and videos also I have clicked all my babies pics using the gps camera app so that when needed I can track their location
You could maybe tell someone to feed them .. you could pay them if that's okay with you .. or maybe you could shift and just visit them everyday ... if your new flat and your old place is close by ..
I have hired the dog feeder who feeds them daily and send me updates. He also give them meds as and when required. I go to visit all of them once a week .. though mu mother lives there and she too feeds them daily. But there few dogs who are at my prev workplace or metro stn. I make sure that they get food daily and I go to meet them once a week
Now in your situation cos that’s a lonng time, but stayed at 2 different areas where I used to feed the cats and handle their vaccinations. Best option is to find more people like you, it can be neighbors or even local people like shopkeepers, drivers, maids etc.
I thankfully found good neighbors and they still live there. They crowdfunded and used some of the society funds to get the cats neutered which I couldn’t.
My help adopted one of the senior cat who was blind in one eye, so I pay for their medical expenses and food they manage on their own, the only thing is I know she and her daughter genuinely like the cat and take good care of them so it worked out for that one cat at least.
If possible at all, try to move nearby? We did the same since we had 7 dogs dependent on us. We prioritised proximity to our babies over some of the finer things of far away areas. It’s tough but.. these babies need us.
That's something the whole dog lovers miss about street dogs. Never feed them regularly which in turn makes them loose their foraging skills. They have always lived independent and don't rob them of that trait just because you're a stupid dog lover.
Interact with one for 10 seconds and see for yourself. Go say hi to a street dog. They’ll trust you instantly and give so much love in that short while, anybody with some feelings will be moved.
These dogs when they are in group, chase the scooter or bike, bark and run to bite whenever you enter the street.
You should buy or build the home for them so that they can live there peacefully and do not attack on others.
All I read was that you are one of those dog lovers who will say these are your dogs but if they bite someone or neighbours are scared of them then you will run off from the responsibility.
If you call them your dog take full responsibility else do not.
I am not against dogs but I am against the menace of street dogs.
Have no idea how you made this up, I’m taking responsibility for the dogs which aren’t mine. They are strays, if they were spayed properly in time, we both wouldn’t be here commenting
Little context - He’s deaf because of CD and was ran over because he didn’t move 🙂
Menace can be both ways brother
Read this paragraph. It is not one neighbour but multiple people who find them a menace but OP is ignorant to them.
Again, I am not against dogs but against this blind love for street dogs where you are not considerate of fellow humans.
I am really sorry about what happened to the poor dog you are talking about, and I agree that there are people who act like animals, and they should definitely be jailed.
I stand by what I said even though many people of the sub will not like it.
I am OP and when I say “don’t tolerate” they straight up have hatred for them existing
I see no blindness here, like I said no attacks, no complaints yet hatred till core only because they are seen as inferior.
Anyways this argument can go on, thank you 👍
Most of the dog lovers have strained relationships. That’s why they love animals instead of Humans. In western countries all single mothers have pets. Same culture coming to India.
No my friend. This is not a retard behaviour. I request you to give a sincere thought today, just for 5 mins.
Why shouldn't the animal kids be considered worthy of living like us ? They also need food, warmth, care, medicines everything. They feel the pain, emotions like us.
Just because we can talk, operate technologies - does that make only us as worthy to live ?
Think from their shoes. They endure so much
In their short life. If you can't love them, don't hate them atleast. We acquired land, built homes, cut the trees. Animals who used the trees as their habitat had to leave. And when they come near to our homes, people try to hurt them..not fair brother. They have the same right to live as you have.
Think for them just for 5 mins today. Understand their life and pain on the streets. Hope you become wiser on this subject.
Because the animal parents (not you, the actual ones with 4 legs) don’t earn and pay for the food… how dumbbb logic is this equating a human baby with puppies!!
A man in my community park fed dogs everyday . One day pack of dogs attacked women out of nowhere . She was just walking by . Eventually everyone blamed that man and dogs were taken away by officials from park . So I avoid feeding . Either you adopt them and take them to home and train them or you just not feed .
Well If society has more dogs than humans it would be an issue . There should be dog homes where people can go and feed in every area managed by government helped by dog lovers / feeders .
Taxes are paid to spay and neuter them, but corrupt people loot even that money. No animal rescuer wants more dogs, we just want these dogs to have a good future and in fact we will be more happy if they are spayed and neutered
I still feel India has too much freedom . We don't see dogs roaming in foreign countries . It's only In India . i agree about corruption but If there is home for them not only will they stay safe .. they ll be safe from heat / rains / cold but people around would also be safe .
You and me wouldn’t be here arguing about this situation if the government had spayed and neutered these fellas, most of us rescuers use our money to do that. If you agree about corruption how can you not connect this issue is a subset of it?
Not true. Go to the state of Texas in US. There are so many homeless dogs roaming the streets there.
It is not about too much freedom. It is about government doing the job they collect taxes for. Here in India the ABC initiative is very good but unfortunately corruption takes all the money and we have dogs roaming around, giving multiple births and none even getting an anti-rabies vaccine. Which we also don’t pay for with our taxes.
I'll only suggest u to stay where u are bcoz u r doing a god's work, don't make ur hardwork go in vain, let me tell u y, I've 18 dogs under my care, all neutered/spayed, daily feeding them, three of them stays insider my home all the time, I'm living at current location from 27 yrs, completely fed up, but can't move bcoz my babies will not get the love and care I'm giving them from anyone else, we humans have a long life and we constantly run towards unnecessary things and show-offs, but this kind of work are given to very few like u and me, it's never taught anywhere, it comes from inside, i cannot relocate bcoz I'll have many sleepless nights and ultimately will go into depression, I'll only shift to new place when my work Will done here, even if it's takes another decade...if u have the will and heart to stay away from them and leave them on their own, u can do that, nobody will stop u but ur hardwork till now will have no fruitful ending, i can bet u... Although it's ur life, ultimately u have to decide, make decesion by heart, chose wisely...
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u/swan72022 7d ago
Thank you for being so thoughtful towards these voiceless angels. I dont have any advice because I am not in your situation, but I’m just grateful for people like you. Please don’t leave these babies to fend for themselves 🙏