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For long, our daughter had had a grievance against us. And for her, to ignore it was like having a dinosaur in her garden and not talking about it.

So, she finally came out with it. She told me she thought the animals we shelter were more important to us than our granddaughter. This accusation was spat out in anger, so I laughed it off. I reassured her that our granddaughter meant the world to us.

Many people have pointed out that our love for stray animals borders on the irrational and the weird. Yes, we consider our dogs and cats part of the family.

My husband has compassion for people who get the worst deal in a complicated social and economic system, but he feels the plight of abandoned, helpless animals are much more pitiable.

From an early age, I have shared his concern for these creatures. We are cousins and love for animals runs in our family.

As an RBI offical, he had to visit banks around the State on official duty. Wherever he went, he followed the evening ritual of taking a walk with packets of biscuits tucked under his arm. He would feed any dog that he came across.

Now, he is always preoccupied with our animal shelter. His conversations with people are pared down to the bare minimum. He wants to do a lot more for these animals.

She is battling serious health problems, but will never rest from work on account of them.

Long ago, she wrenched a hapless jackal from the hands of gypsies. The animal was lying tied up inside a gunny bag and bleeding profusely from injuries inflicted on it. She brought in the police and forced the gypsies to open the gunny bag. After treatment, the animal was released into the Vandalur zoo.

On another occasion, she went all the way to Vysarpadi to rescue an eaglet.

She was in the forefront of the protest against the brutal methods used in the mid-1990s to get rid of street dogs. These animals were noosed and thrown into a tub bristling with acid. Even today, she displays the same enthusiasm.

Without her assistance, I would not have managed a shelter that at any given point of time has 150 dogs and a huge number of cats.

We also have a visiting traffic of abandoned and injured cows and birds.

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