400 Dogs Are Waiting This Akshaya Tritiya Don't Let Them Down
By Pratima Devi
Story
Adjacent to the PVR Anupam multiplex in South Delhi’s Saket stands a fragile tin shack balanced on wooden slabs, patched together with torn rugs. Around it, dogs move freely, resting, eating, and waiting. To passersby, it may look like a slum. To over 400 dogs, it is safety. It is home.
This shanty belongs to 80-year-old Pratima Devi, known lovingly as Amma in the neighbourhood. A ragpicker by livelihood and a caregiver by choice, she has lived here for nearly four decades, earning just enough to feed and protect the dogs everyone else walks past. This very home is now being cleared, putting Pratima Devi and hundreds of dogs at immediate risk of displacement.
Her quiet work speaks for her
I look after more than 400 dogs. About 200 stay near my shelter, and the rest are spread across the PVR complex and nearby lanes. They are vaccinated, sterilised, and they don’t harm anyone.”- Pratima
Every evening, she feeds them using food collected from civic vans and donations. Milk, rice, stew, and sometimes meat. She nurses injured dogs herself, tending to wounds from road accidents, burns, and neglect. Over the years, her quiet work has earned the respect of many neighbours, some of whom contribute whatever they can to help feed the dogs.
Shopkeeper to ragpicker, yet compassion stayed alive
Pratima Devi has nothing to call her own except compassion. Married at just seven, a mother of three by 18, and trapped in an abusive marriage, her life was shaped by hardship early on. When the violence became unbearable, she fled her home and survived on odd jobs. Eventually, life brought her to Delhi, where she opened a small tea stall. This stall would become the starting point of a lifelong mission to protect those no one else wanted.
It started with seven odd dogs around the shop. Some were injured, and some were abandoned pets left to die. I just couldn’t leave them like that, so I started sheltering them where I live. When 7 dogs became 200, I don’t know but serving them gives me immense happiness. Hardships took away my livelihood and my shop, but how could I stop caring for them? So, I picked up a sack and started ragpicking. Something to keep us all going.” - Pratima Devi
Shelter At Risk, An Urgent Need
The dogs she protects live in a makeshift shelter built on government land that is now being cleared. If the shelter is dismantled, many of these dogs will be forced back onto the streets. Injured, disabled, and elderly dogs rarely survive outside. For them, this shelter is not temporary. It is the only home they have ever known.
“I am old, but my fear is not for myself,” Pratima Devi says. “If this place goes, where will my dogs go?”
A permanent shelter would protect these dogs from eviction, allow proper medical care, and give them safety and dignity. It would also ensure that Pratima Devi does not have to watch years of compassion erased overnight
Your support can help relocate these dogs and build a forever home where they are protected, cared for, and safe.
Donate now to help Pratima Devi protect over 400 lives that depend on her every single day.
Updates
Donors
-
S
Shilpi Sharma
INR 3000.00
-
J
Jael Beryl Ruth
INR 3000.00
-
R
RAJESH CHAURASIA
INR 3000.00
-
F
Franklin
INR 3000.00
-
M
Malavika Nehru Gupta
INR 3000.00
-
E
Em
INR 3000.00
-
K
Kankana Patro
INR 500.00
-
k
k R
INR 300.00
-
D
Dheeraj vyas
INR 300.00
-
K
Kanika Kanishk Singh
INR 1000.00
FAQs
True Impact Foundation is one of India’s most trusted giving platforms, connecting donors with verified NGOs to support real people, communities, and animals by funding their exact needs.
Monthly donations create steady, reliable support for people, animals, and communities in need. Instead of one-time help, your consistent contribution ensures children stay in school, stray animals get fed, women receive hygiene kits, and the elderly are cared for–all throughout the year. With regular updates, you’ll see how your ongoing generosity creates lasting change.
We are 100% transparent. Every donation is directed to verified NGOs and to people in real need, with regular updates and reports shared with donors.
You can support education for children, food for stray animals, hygiene kits for women, elderly care, livelihood support, and many more grassroots missions across India.
Yes. Every donation comes with an 80G certification, allowing you to save on taxes while making a difference.
Along with donations, you can spread the word, share campaigns with others, or partner with us as an NGO or corporate to expand impact.
3000
5000
7000
9999
14999
Share:
UPI:
