A Dog Rescue Supporter To A Foster Mom- Ujwala Chintala’s Transformation

It is rare to have unconditional love for people who are not family. It is even rarer to have unconditional love for another species. Thankfully, some people look beyond themselves and their species. Topping the list of such people is Ujwala Chintala. She is an empathetic dog rescuer, especially for street dogs. Ujwala has been rescuing these abandoned souls since 2016. Born in Mahabubabad, a small village in Telangana, India, Ujwala moved to the United States after marrying a man living there. The couple is now settled there and has beautiful twin girls.

In June 2016, Ujwala made her first rescue. She rescued a mother and seven of her puppies. She even had an emergency with this family of dogs. Once when Ujwala returned from work, she found that the puppies’ mother was gasping for a breath. She waited for a couple of hours to see if things would improve. When the condition didn’t improve, Ujwala rushed the dog to the veterinary hospital. By the time things settled and they got back home, it was late in the night. It is an unforgettable experience for Ujwala and her family.

Dog Rescue Enhanced Dog Love

What she had done as a one-time thing to make her children happy became a significant part of her life. There was no looking back after that. Regarding the need for foster homes, Ujwala says that a shelter home is not the right place for injured dogs, dogs with puppies, and those with an illness. The shelter homes are not the best facility a dog can have. They exist to provide them with a roof. They are not equipped with the appropriate facilities to care for the poor creatures. Such a situation makes it necessary for more dog rescuers in the society like Ujwala. With time she came to be known as the foster mom.

Dog Rescue Through Organizations

Ever since June 2016, Ujwala has rescued and cared for 53 dogs, including three street dogs from India. She has been an active dog rescuer and fosters mom to all of them. Ujwala has been giving uninterrupted service to these dogs. She was initially associated with many shelter homes to give her warmth to these love-deprived creatures. The 52nd dog, Kaju, who she is fostering right now, is from Bradford County Shelter.

Today, she is the Founder and President of Stray Animal Foundation of India and Secretary of Poochies Pet Rescue in Florida, USA. Being a software engineer Ujwala has been providing digital help to the organization for the last four years. She has automated and simplified many activities for the dog rescue organization. Apart from digital help, Ujwala helps the organization with fostering and adopting.

As a foster mom, her responsibility is to provide the dogs with all the required health care facilities. Be it vaccinations, vet appointments, potty training, or surgeries, Ujwala takes care of everything. Dog rescue found its true meaning in Ujwala’s activities.

The Birth Of Stray Animal Foundation of India

As mentioned earlier, Ujwala got the inspiration to take up dog rescue because of her daughter Ankita. She always wanted to have a pet. Ujwala, however, was reluctant because she never had a pet and was not ready to take up the responsibilities that come with it. The issue was left at that. Sometime later, the family temporarily moved to India for a year. Ujwala and her husband wanted their American-born daughters to bond with their extended family. The trip to India gave Ankita new friends in the form of street dogs. She grew extremely fond of them while her family feared they might hurt her.

Making Of A Dog Rescuer

Ankita continued to shower love on the dog. As the bond grew stronger, Ankita and Ujwala started feeding their newfound friend. Soon the dog gave birth and the family was receiving care from Ujwala and her daughter. However, they were not sure what to feed the dog and her puppies. She (the dog) accepted bread sometimes, but not rice. With time Ujwala learned all about dog care.

A few days later, Ujwala saw that the puppies were missing. Upon inquiry, she found that the security guards threw the puppies away as they were creating trouble. They tried to do the same with the mother, but couldn’t. Ujwala tried very hard to reunite the mother with her puppies, but they finally met their fate. The puppies passed away from dehydration and starvation in the summer months.

Ujwala and her family concluded their trip in India and returned to the USA, but the incident remained with her. Ujwala was not sure what she could have done to save those puppies that day. She found an answer while working at the Bank of America. Ujwala observed an announcement on a notice board that promoted fostering dogs instead of adoption. She liked the idea. She assumed that her kids would lose interest in dogs after a few days of fostering.

During the fostering days, Ujwala learned a lot about the way dogs communicate. In the beginning, she was frustrated initially. Her 12- year old daughter shared the responsibility. Despite the shared responsibility, Ujwala was frustrated. She says it is just like caring for a human baby. They are adorable even as they test every bit of your patience. With time she was amazed by her own recognition of the dog’s need to attend to nature calls. Gradually, Ujwala gained confidence in dog care.

Her association with animals kept compelled her to start an organization centered in Hyderabad India. She kept putting it off until recently. Since the pandemic, with more time at hand, Ujwala started the Stray Animal Foundation of India (SAFI) on May 19, 2020. The incident of the mom and puppies in Hyderabad and the sad state of animal welfare in India triggered the birth of SAFI. Giving us a glimpse, Ujwala points out that there are approximately 50,000 street dogs and cats in Hyderabad.  

However, the city has only one overcrowded shelter to care for these poor creatures. There is no shelter for buffaloes in the city nor a helpline for animal rescue. The city lacks a body of officers who could locate stray animals and catch them. Animal lovers in India do not have access to funds or foster care for injured animals.

 She wishes to do everything in her capacity to maintain the organization. She also hopes to get donations from compassionate people. Luckily, for Ujwala, her organization’s rescue stories became famous and donations started pouring in. People started donating money, food, and other things, which she ships to India.

SAFI’s main aim is to bring all the animal lovers of the world to a single platform, where they can help stray animals in India find the love and care they deserve. The non-profit organization works towards creating a close-knit community of organizations, veterinarians, and animal lovers who work for animal welfare. SAFI majorly takes care of terminally Ill, injured, or disabled dogs. Ujwala’s organization has looked after the needs of pigeons, cows, buffalo, etc. She says she is well supported by volunteers in India. Volunteers at SAFI send catchers on receiving information and ensure that the animals are safely taken to foster homes.

Within five months the organization has done very well and Ujwala is happy to reach where she planned to be at inception. SAFI has partnered with Guardians of Angels Trust, ALAI Rescues, Amigo Jeewa Sewa Ashram, and Darjeeling Animal Shelter for the betterment of animal lives in India. SAFI’s tireless efforts in the direction of animal rescue brought a positive change in society. The organization’s hard work has saved many animal lives, vaccinated more stray and nurtured animals, and supported shelters to provide better animal care.

In the future, SAFI has some structured goals to achieve. The organisation aims to:

Ujwala observes that the younger generation is more enthusiastic about taking care of dogs than the older generation. Many dogs have found unconditional love and a caring foster mom in Ujwala. As her love grows and spreads let’s hope that many people are inspired by her.

Apart from SAFI and Poochies Pet Rescue, Ujwala is also closely associated with the Telugu Association of Jacksonville Area (TAJA) since its inception 18 years ago. She and her family have participated in various cultural programs and played entertaining roles.

Coming back to her dog rescue activities, Ujwala goes out of the way to achieve this goal. The dogs that Ujwala fosters come from a variety of backgrounds. Some stray dogs come from the roadside and some are abandoned and sent into the woods. There is a microchip that normally helps rescuers know if the dog was previously owned by someone. Some have no indoor experience at all.

Ujwala says toilet training them for the first few days is cumbersome but once that is done, they become the most adorable family members. She says it is equally challenging for the rescued dogs to adjust to the new family. They are unsure if the new owners will be nice to them or hurt them. It takes some time for the dog rescuer to develop a rapport and trust with the rescued dog. Ujwala also participates in the process of sending these rescue dogs to the people willing to adopt.

Adoption Process Post Dog Rescue

The usual procedure is to screen the applications first. The applications are usually addressed to Poochies, but some of them are looked into by Ujwala too. She then coordinates the meeting of the dog with the potential adopters. Some people even take the chosen dog for a sleepover.

This sleepover is to test the compatibility of the dog with the potential family. The sleepover time lasts for a week or even a month depending on the party concerned. Having been a dog rescuer for a while now, Ujwala observes that most people come back with a positive response within a week.

Ujwala and other dog rescuers in the organization support the adopters even after the adoption process. This is to check if the new owners of the pets need any help in transitioning. This kind of support proves especially beneficial for first-time pet owners.

They receive much-needed guidance and information about pet care. 95% of the time the rescue dogs find a permanent home and live happily, but there are exceptions too. Due to countless reasons families have returned rescued dogs within a week or a month or even a year. Ujwala says they are always ready to take them back in such circumstances because the dogs may land up in worse situations otherwise.

The Dog Lover In Ujwala

When one of the puppies died in her foster care, Ujwala was heartbroken. She found herself transforming from a dog rescuer to a dog lover. Things went smoothly. There was hardly any break in fostering ever since Ujwala took care of the first family of dogs. But what about the time she visited India? Where should the cute little dogs go in the absence of their foster mom?

Mostly friends or neighbors would volunteer to care for the adorable creatures. Once when the puppies were only a week old, Ujwala didn’t want to give them to friends or neighbors. She called for a dog sitter who would look after the mom and her puppies. This way, Ujwala could peacefully enjoy her trip to India.

Talking about the food for the dogs that come to her, Ujwala says she is very particular about their food. Ujwala only gives her foster children (dogs) brown rice and brown meat with some veggies included, cooked in coconut oil. Veterinarians usually recommend food cooked in coconut oil for dogs.

She keeps in mind the possibility of diabetes and cholesterol in these creatures too. Since domesticated dogs are not as physically active as the wild ones, Ujwala only gives them healthier versions of meat and rice. After falling in love with dogs Ujwala changed many of her habits. Today, she is not a vegetarian, but a vegan who stays away from all animal products. She buys her butter from cruelty-free places. Such a conscious living by a dog rescuer is very inspiring.

How does Ujwala deal with the extra expenses that come with dog care? Be it repairing the damage that new puppies cause or feeding them nutritious food. Ujwala pays for everything herself.

She doesn’t depend on the dog rescue team for the pet’s expenses. The way Ujwala saves up for these expenses is interesting too. Ujwala consciously cuts down on unnecessary expenditures like jewelry, clothes, gift cards, flowers, greeting cards, etc. Ujwala believes that there is no need to show off with all these things. Instead, she saves up and uses it for a better purpose.

Dog Rescue Across Countries

Apart from doing all the above-mentioned work in Florida, Ujwala does her bit for the Indian street dogs as well. She does that by selling out homemade laddus (traditional Indian sweets) or henna-decorated candles. Apart from being a pet rescuer and pet lover, Ujwala is also a great cook.

Her dishes are not only tasty but also healthy. The laddus that she makes are natural i.e., without any added color or preservatives. The laddus acquire their sweetness from brown sure. Ujwala sends the money generated from these activities to the dog rescue organizations in India. Looking at the difficulties of a dog rescue organization in a developed country like America gave her this thought. Now, Ujwala understands and empathizes with her Indian counterpart.

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