How Krupa's 24-Hour Helpline Started

Krupa conceptualised the helpline as a 24-Hour service that networks between every animal welfare organisation in the city, the local municipal body and the public. Ensuring positive participation in animal welfare. It works on Sundays, public holidays, festivals every day of the year. It's a service that strikes to communicate effectively with people in order to reach out to more and more animals. A service that is accountable and has to ensure that every animal in need gets help.

Since inception, Krupa has been treating between 10 to 15 animals on the spot everyday. Krupa finds community owners for street dogs, rescues critically injured animals for long term treatment, conducts awareness programmes, addresses forums of people, has had at least 300 homeless animals adopted and counseled hundreds of pet owners who have wanted to abandon pets in their old age or ill health.

Why is a Helpline Needed?

Like it or not, humans play the most powerful role in deciding the fate of animals. For animal welfare to be truly dynamic, empowering the public and enlisting their participation is essential. In order to do that, a support structure has to be offered that gives people the confidence to care for animals. Every nature of inquiry on animals must be addressed positively.
Shelters are out. Treatments centres are in. People have to be counseled that SPCAs are not shelters but treatment centres. Temporary refuges that have a high infection level and not dumping ground for healthy animals. 90% of animal welfare should take place on the streets and where animals live in their natural environment.
Treatment centres cannot accommodate every injured animal. Instead of not attending cases, a combination of on-the spot treatment and shelter care will ensure that every animal in distress is attended to.
The average caller feels he's reached the pinnacle of social service by calling an NGO. He expects help with just one call. There are at least 7 animal welfare organisations in major cities, each specialising in some kind of activity like stray dog population, sick animals, pet care, large animals, wildlife, and cruelty. The layperson doesn't know whom to call and doesn't get the help he needs, loses confidence in the system and thinks several times before approaching an NGO again. Someone has to offer a single point service.
The animal birth control programme is conducted but there is nobody to inform, educate and build support in the public. Animal birth control centres are always under pressure and do not have the time to counsel callers.
The helpline is an excellent way of sharing control over street dog management with the corporation. Today, because there is a helpline, the Corporation cannot claim that they are facing the brunt of public anxiety because the helpline acts as a buffer. The helpline is a crucial tool in ensuring the well being of street dogs.
Data is elusive in animal welfare. Since maintaining record of every call is mandatory, the helpline can analyse the animal welfare scenario for the city to understand, what issues are of more concern with people, what kind of cases are coming in on animals, approximately how many dog bite cases there are, how many people want to abandon pets, how many calls on street dogs etc.

Starting a Helpline

When Krupa approached the BMP to set up the helpline, the project was sanctioned in 24hours. However, the infrastructure granted by the BMP is fairly limited. BMP has given Krupa a small room. Running it is entirely a private affair.

Structure of the Helpline

1 Supervisor
2 Helpline Executives in shift system to man the
line round the clock
3 Veterinary Doctors
4 Field Officers
5 Drivers
6 Animal Handlers in teams of 2 each

The Function of the Helpline

Every single call since inception of the helpline, action taken, final status, details of the caller is maintained. All services rendered by the helpline are free to the public except vaccination like distemper, parvo etc for pet dogs.
Single - Point Service on Animal Welfare: Interacts with every animal welfare organisations, maintains individual files and information on every organisation and its activities.
Animal Birth Control: Counsels callers on the ABC programme, on the spot counselling with hysterical callers, routes callers to the relevant ABC centres, picks up community dogs for ABC and ensures release, awareness programmes at residents associations, corporates, schools, colleges, vaccination campus.
Dog Bite: Calls are followed by a field officer to confirm that it is a true case of dog bite. Investigations are done to find out if the bite was under provocation. Overtly aggressive dogs, biter dogs are admitted to the area ABC centre for observation.
Rescue: Critically injured animals are admitted to Animal Rights Fund that has hospitalisation facility.
Cruelty, wildlife, pet care, kennel facility for pet owners, abandoned pets, and large animals: Krupa enlists the help of Volunteers.
Adoption Programmes: Twice a month at the office. People having puppies in their area meet up with people who want to adopt. Krupa ensures that puppies are not less than a month old, healthy. A veterinary doctor is present to give out diet charts, vaccinations etc. Families are made to sign adoption forms and every home is visited within one week of adopting the puppy.
Awareness Programmes: A 20 minute presentation on ABC followed by a one-week vaccination camp of street dogs in the area. Pamphlets, regular columns in the papers, posters to promote love for animals.
Humane Education: Presently we are doing school awareness programme occasionally. We want to start regular classes in schools. We have been approached by various schools to conduct humane education. We plan to take this up soon.
Monthly Reports: To the Corporation on calls received, attended etc.

Learning's

The Helpline is a unique concept. For the first time, a service that does not function in isolation but draws on the expertise of other animal welfare organisations.
Staff Integrity: A 24-Hour Helpline operates with a fairly large team of people. Maintaining records of every call helps ensure that staff members are fulfilling Helpline duties.
Free Service: Every service offered by Krupa for homeless animals are free. This is one of the important reasons why people are motivated to call when they see an animal in distress.
On-the-spot treatment has worked wonderfully in making people aware, do their bit towards caring for animals. It has also considerably reduced the burden on shelters.

Organisational Background

Mailing Address:
# 6, 1st cross, 1st main, Sripuram, Seshadripuram, Bangalore-560 020

Animal Birth Control Center cum Hospital:
Sy.No.46, Pantharapalya, (Near Girinagar),
Kengeri, Hobli, Bangalore 560 085

Hospital: +91-80-5773 3445
24-Hour Krupa Helpline: +91-80-2222 4541
Fax: +91-80-2344 9851
Cell: 9845171495 (Vinay Moray),
9880194757 (Poornima Harish)
Email: arf@vsnl.net
Web Site: www.arfindia.org