Pet Samaritans

Kolkata, January 19, 2020: Jhimli, Meethi and Rui have recovered from their illness. They now gambol in the lanes of Kolkata often chasing each other. They are full of energy, which makes it difficult to believe that they were battling for their lives till a few months ago. The trio has got a new lease of life due to the relentless efforts of two good Samaritans who have literally gave up their respective careers to dedicate their lives in the service of men’s best friends: dogs.

Meet Somak Chatterjee and Titas Mukherjee, the two friends who are running an animal rescue and care centre for homeless dogs in the city. The duo not only attends to the sick canines on the streets, but also shifts them to the hospital if their condition becomes severe. Interestingly, they do not come from a medical background but it is their unconditional love and passion for the animals that they have learnt the tricks of the trade by simply watching the vets at work.

Quit job to serve

Their story of meeting each other and uniting for a common cause is no less interesting. Somak is an engineer by profession and was employed in a private firm in the city till three years back until a Facebook post in December 2013 changed the direction of his life. “I used to work as an engineer in a private company Somak Chatterjee and Titas Mukherjee, who turned a small and dingy two-room set into an animal care centre, prefer rescuing abandoned, abused, and homeless dogs from Kolkata streets to bright careers, says Jimmy Arora Pet Samaritans and earned good salary,” he says. “One day I saw a Facebook post by Titas whom I didn’t know and had never met. She had posted an image of a dog that was critically ill and needed immediate treatment. She couldn’t locate a suitable veterinary doctor for the dog. I offered her help and we took the animal to a government vet hospital but unfortunately it couldn’t be saved.” Though its demise was
painful, it brought them together for a common cause.

Affection for pets since childhood

The 34-year-old concedes that though his father kept pets at home, it was his meeting with Titas that turned him into an ardent animal lover, “There were pets in the house and I used to occasionally feed them, but nothing beyond that. I never thought of treating the wounded or ill stray dogs, but everything changed when I met and was impressed by her dedication towards the animals,” he adds. He left his job nearly two years ago and became a full-time dog lover. Titas was also studying chartered accountancy and was looking for a bright career before she decided to give up the rat race for fulltime work for those who cannot speak but still find ways to express their emotions.

“I was passionate about canines since childhood and used to feed stray dogs every day. My parents often scolded me and asked me to stay away from the dogs as they could bite me but I hardly listened. I was also good at studies and even got a scholarship for performing well in higher secondary examinations,” she says, adding that she doesn’t remember the number of times she has been bitten by dogs. The
two-liked minded animal lovers then decided to attend to the homeless dogs and look after their treatment. It was easier said than
done as both faced space constraints and financial issues. “We live in a city and there is hardly any free area available in any corner
of the house. But we were determined to pursue our goal. We then rented a small piece of land in the city whose owner used to charge us Rs 100 per day for every dog kept there. It was expensive for us to bear. For some days, it went like this until an idea struck me,” says Somak. He decided to use his two dingy vacant rooms on the ground floor of his house at Thakurpukur in Behala to shelter and treat the dogs. “We started with two shabby, small rooms and initially brought the animals here before calling the doctors for their treatment.