Abhijith N Kolpe

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Oct 21: Rajani Shetty, an animal lover, who was in the news few months ago for rescuing a dog from a well and was widely appreciated for her bravery. Rajani is an animal lover who feeds over 400 to 500 dogs every day and nurtures several dogs, cats and birds at her residence.

Rajani hails from Ballalbagh. She started with feeding two dogs in the streets and now she is feeding over 500 dogs every day.

Speaking to Daijiworld, Rajani said, "I like dogs a lot and I am into feeding dogs since several years. I have been taking care of 18 dogs, 15 cats and some birds at my residence. All these are street dogs which were injured, helpless, and handicapped. I brought them home, treated and nurtured them."

Speaking on how she fed the street dogs even during the lockdown, she said, "During lockdown, I had permission to feed these dogs, so there was no problem at all to feed them. I feed close to 500 dogs in places like State Bank, Bunder, Mannagudda, Lalbagh, PVS, and Chilimbi. I feed them three times in a day. So far, I have also rescued many dogs in places like Mumbai and recently in Ballalbagh."

Rajani thanked Mangaluru South MLA Vedavyasa Kamath, Biruver Kudla, owner of Saibeen Complex, public and various organizations for their continuous help in her initiative to feed dogs.

She further said, "We need 21 kg of rice per day for the dogs which is cooked at home. My family has been a major support as they take me to the places in Mangaluru to feed the dogs."

Rajani is happily married to Damodar Shetty and has two daughters Shwetha, Rithika and a son Prathik.

In the month of February, a video went viral on social media where Rajani rescued a dog which fell into a well. The video received massive appreciation from the public for Rajani’s bravery to get down 30-foot into the well to rescue the dog. Another video went viral where she was seen having a conversation with a dog which displayed her love and affection towards dogs.