The Indie Dog

8 Episodes
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By: Radha Thomas

The street dogs of India (#TheIndieDog), there are just so many of them. More than 30 million, according to some estimates. We need to urgently feed, neuter, rescue, vaccinate, adopt and care for these dogs. Neighborhood by neighborhood, city by city and eventually, all over the country. This podcast is about enabling dog lovers to get actively involved through stories of hope and happiness, and also provide a few resources to be effective.We begin our journey in #Bangalore.

Beat Kaestli From Switzerland, Jazz Singer & Dog Trainer Says The Streets of New York Are Alive With The Sound Of Music
#1
07/12/2022

Maybe some of you know that I’m a jazz singer, maybe some of you don’t.  I’m not bringing that up randomly, there is a reason why I mention this. During the pandemic, I ended up making a bunch of virtual jazz videos with musicians from Russia, Argentina, France, Italy…  all over the world really. 

And oddly, as I got to know the musicians, I discovered that there are streeties / rescue dogs everywhere. Many of my online musician friends had dogs under their feet as they played for me. It felt so good to know this. 

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Bismi Anil of Whitefield, Bangalore, Learns How NOT To Pick Up Puppies On The Streets
#26
06/26/2022

I first met Bismi Anil about 6 years ago when my streetie Brownie had disappeared. Vanished. I hunted for her for a month and gave up hope. 

Then a girl I knew on FB posted a picture of a doggie that looked so much like a little Brownie that I had to have her. So we trudged all the way to Whitefield from Cooke Town… a two hour drive each way… to find that this little doggie didn’t want to come home with me. She ran up a winding staircase and peered at me suspici...


From Running A Butcher Shop To A Dog Shelter, Sajesh of ALAI Has Made A Remarkable Contribution to Bangalore's Dogscape
#25
06/18/2022

ALAI (Animal Lives Are Important) is a dog rescue organization, about 5 years old here in Bangalore.  Well it’s not in the city, but in a place called Mitganahalli about 15 kms from the heart of town. 

It’s well known in dog rescue circles in this city and Sajesh, the founder is legend. If you talk to people in Electronic City, or the Nandi hills and other outlying areas of this city, beyond the limits of the BBMP, where veterinary clinics and hospitals are scarce, people talk about Sajesh in the same way they talk about God. Not ki...


Anju Nanavati, 'Nai Akka' (Dog Sister) of Nandi Hills, Bangalore
#24
06/11/2022

Prestige Golfshire, in the Nandi Hills, is possibly one of Bangalore’s most beautiful residential areas. 275 acres of landscaped villas, with an 18-hole golf course, pool, tennis courts and other wonderful amenities that make life just special, besides being close to the airport and not that far from the heart of the city.

But this is not a real estate commercial.

 This is about what’s happening at around, oh, let’s say knee level. Yes. It’s about dogs. Ownerless, rudderless, street and village dogs that come on to this pris...


Long-Distance Dog Healing: Poornima Harish Explains How It's Done
#22
05/29/2022

If you’re taking care of street dogs in Bangalore, I guess anywhere in India, it’s a heart breaking, pocket emptying, frustrating but ultimately very rewarding and joyous experience. 

Once you begin taking care of streeties… you mostly cannot stop. It becomes a lifelong addiction.  Because these dogs are on the street, they are way more susceptible to road accidents, pack fights, diseases and so on that your pet dog is mostly spared.

So sometimes, even the most logical and rational human being is driven to despair and flailing helplessly.  It happened to me on one oc...


Toby & Inkling, Two Community Street Dogs on Milton Street Finally Get Peace
#23
05/25/2022

When I first started podcasting The Indie Dog, one of the first stories was about a little dog named Inkling and a lovely lady named Vinita Rabbi.

A little background:
Inkling’s mother was Inky, and her uncles we believe, were Pinky and Ponky.

Yes I named them, because I saw the three of them one night, and had to come up names quick, so I could report their presence in Cooke Town on our dog squad Whatsapp Group.

This was during lockdown and before we could get these three spayed, along ca...


The Highly Efficient Electronic City Dog Squad + How To Join A K9 Squad In Bangalore
#21
05/22/2022

There’s something about the street dog community that feels like one belongs to a very special, very loving, very intimate family, even if you’ve just met someone. 

You can tell just by the work they do in rescue - rehab - fostering - healing or fund raising, that the connection is strong.

Some months ago, my niece Arundhati Krishnan asked me to come to a puppy adoption camp run by Anwesha Majumdar… who is a little buzzing dynamo … she runs an organization Indie Tales of Hope…. And she’s been on The Indie Dog before.<...


Don't Listen If You Have A Weak Stomach: Archana Sreenivasan & Durga The Dog That Beat All Odds
#20
05/15/2022

Warning: this is a very graphic and heartbreaking story. You may not be able to stomach the details. Just saying. It’s a story about medical and surgical heroism combined with human beings who refused, point blank, to let a streetie go.

I’m talking to Archana Sreenivasan today. She’s an artist, illustrator and animal rescuer. She used to be a resident of Cooke Town, and an active feet-on-the-street member of the Frazer Town Canine Squad… But at one point, sometime during the pandemic, when the numbers of streeties seemed to be growing beyond imaginat...