Mumbai, Dec 13 (IANS): After fighting it out in high-octane clashes for 9 weeks across Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, some of the Pro Kabaddi League players had a chance to put their feet up and enjoy an afternoon with rehabilitated animals -- puppies, dogs and cats -- at the Heads Up For Tails Foundation.

Some of the players visited the Youth Organisation in Defence of Animals (YODA) Rehabilitation Centre For Animals here along with Puneri Paltan head coach B.C. Ramesh as a part of an initiative by Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) in collaboration with Ind'a's first and most trusted pet care brand Heads Up For Tails (HUFT).

V Ajith Kumar (Jaipur Pink Panthers), Lucky Sharma (Jaipur Pink Panthers), Navneet (Jaipur Pink Panthers), Vijay Malik (Dabang Delhi K.C.), Monu (Dabang Delhi K.C.), Deepak (Dabang Delhi K.C.), Thanushan Laxmamohan (Tamil Thalaivas), Himanshu Narwal (Tamil Thalaivas), Aditya Shinde (Puneri Paltan) and Gaurav Khatri (Puneri Paltan) participated in this activity.

The Heads Up For Tails Foundation has been working tirelessly, with partner NGOs like YODA, across the country to raise awareness for adoption and animal welfare. As a part of the #AdoptDontShop movement, the Foundation has been organizing adoption drives and encouraging people to rewrite a shelter 'nimal's future. The Heads Up For Tails Foundation also carries out grassroots initiatives such as feeding and reflective collar drives.

The YODA Rehabilitation Centre For Animals specializes in the treatment of stray dogs and cats in certain areas of Mumbai and the PKL players were excited to play a part in promoting YODA's efforts of encouraging pet lovers to adopt indie dogs instead of shopping for pets.

The kabaddi league is supporting the cause of bringing up indie dogs, who are native to the Indian subcontinent.

Speaking about his experience at the YODA Centre, Tamil Thalaivas' Thanushan said, "Not many people do such service to the society and therefore I loved this experience. I am remembering my dogs at home being here at the shelter. I have three dogs at home. I haven't spent much time with my dogs in the last 2-3 years because I have been training a lot. However, now I have decided that I will spend time with my dogs after the vivo PKL Season 9."

Dabang Delhi's Vijay Malik said that spending time with dogs is a gift for him, "I have a dog at home and I haven't met them for around 3-4 months. Therefore, I was very happy to spend quality time with the dogs at the YODA shelter. This is like a gift for me. It also felt great to see that there is a shelter where stray dogs can receive treatment."

The Puneri Paltan Head Coach BC Ramesh shared his love for dogs through an interesting story, "We decided to take care of a dog that was there near our hotel in Pune. We took him for walks every day and fed him proper food. I continued to check up on the dog after I left Pune as well by video calling the security guard and having a look at the dog to see if he is doing alright."

Meanwhile, Akarsh Hebbar, Co-founder YODA said, "We were happy to host the vivo Pro Kabaddi League players at YODA. It was exciting to see their interest in and love for animals. So great to see them encourage their fans and audience to support the cause as well."

The PKL players will be back in action in the all-important Playoffs, which begins on December 13 at the Dome, NSCI SVP Stadium here. The Eliminator 1 & 2 matches will be held on Tuesday before the semifinals and final on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.