Indian Businessman Opens His Home to 700 Homeless Dogs

Lori Ennis
by Lori Ennis
Stray dogs are a problem in all parts of the world, where facilities for homeless pets are simply not priority. India is one such country, and one man has decided he’s giving his life to the dogs of the streets.


Rakesh Shukla is a well-educated, well-traveled man. He has worked successfully in many countries, and is a successful business owner in his home state Karnataka, India.


He’s also a dog lover, and he’s recently committed his life to the over 700 dogs he cares for, mostly at his own expense, on his three-and-a-half acre dog sanctuary he bought specifically for dogs who have nowhere else to go. People call him, ‘The Dog Father,’ because he cares selflessly for the dogs, and without him and his resources, they would surely perish.


Shukla says that he is the last opportunity for his dogs–as the ones he takes in are typically sick and all are no longer wanted. Not the cute and cuddly dogs that people actively seek out, they find solace in Shukla’s homestead, as it was created just for them–the unwanted.


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Shukla said his life before his work with dogs was successful, but unfulfilling. He was a software engineer, and still owns the company he founded, but he just didn’t find life happiness in the expensive cars and watches and fancy life he lived. It was when he came across a beautiful golden retriever named Kavya that he found his calling.


Kavya was nervous when he brought her home…timid and unsure, and as he lowered himself to her level and softly let her know she was okay and would never need again, he could feel his body tingle with purpose. After seeing what a difference he made in Kavya’s life, and she in his, he began bringing home any dog he felt had nowhere else to turn. His wife began feeling a tad bit crowded and encouraged Shukla to keep some of the ever-growing number of strays at his office.


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When room ran out there, Shukla knew it was time to do something more permanent for his, ‘babies,’ and he bought the sanctuary, which currently employs 10 people including medical staff to care for the dogs’ medical needs. He does this mostly at his own expense, which averages to be about $665 a day, but says that as their, ‘Papa,’ he wouldn’t have it any other way.


Proving that money doesn’t buy happiness, but a dog is the definition of fulfillment.

Lori Ennis
Lori Ennis

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