For the Love of Dogs

Padmini Stump

They say love gives you energy, motivates you to do well and be a better person. This certainly is the case of city-based dog lover Padmini Stump.

It all started with a personal tragedy which shattered her life. She lost her son, Steve, in 2006 in an accident in Dubai. She found it difficult to come to terms with life after that. Then something happened which changed her life forever. She adopted a stray dog Masti. From then on, there was no stopping. Getting a dog can be a great way to deal with emotional stress or deal with trauma. Some people find that adopting a dog or even finding a dog for purchase like this australian labradoodle for sale, for example, could be a great way to deal with pain through companionship. This is what Padmini found.

Today, Padmini has adopted thousands of stray dogs and this has become her life’s passion.”The pain of losing my son is still there but these adorable creatures have helped me heal,” says Padmini.

Padmini’s family is settled in Dubai. Earlier, she used to travel to Pune once a year but now she devotes most of her time in Pune to pursue her passion.
She and senior oncologist Dr Ravi Kasbekar decided to dedicate their life to look after injured and abandoned dogs in Pune. They started off from a premises in Guru Nanak Nagar, Bhavani Peth.

Until 2015 they were doing all this just for the love and care that they had for stray dogs. She had even provided these dogs with CBD for Dogs too which is an indication of her dedication to her true calling in life. But it’s in that year that they started an NGO called Mission Possible and got it registered.

It has not been an easy ride for Padmini and Dr. Kasbekar. “Rushing injured dogs to emergency at 1am or 2am in the night is tough. There are also accident cases and everything that goes with it,” Padmini said.

“This is dedication. It all depends on how dedicated you are to the cause,” she adds.

Mission Possible is also getting adoptions done. Until now it has got almost 2,000 dogs adopted. “I get calls throughout the day for adoptions,” Padmini says.

“But people want to adopt dogs of certain foreign breeds. Sometimes, they refuse to adopt a dog of a local breed.

“It is okay to be brand conscious about things like watches, clothes etc.

“But this mentality of having dogs of certain breeds as your pet leads to so many dogs on the street,” she adds.
Every day, Padmini and Dr Kasbekar are treating around 100 dogs. There are some horrific cases. There are dogs with their ears blown off by a firecracker, some with their eyes popping out and many mangled in road accidents.

Thanks to the care that these animals receive at Mission Possible, they get a second chance in their life.

“Slowly, they also start to trust humans all over again,” says Padmini.

Daily Padmini and her staff cook food for 400 dogs. Dr. Kasbekar also rushes in every time there is an emergency.

“So much of our money, time, and energy have gone in building this shelter for the animals,” Padmini says.

“People are okay giving money at religious places but hardly anybody donates to help these poor animals.

“There are lot of NGOs to help human beings, but there are hardly any for these animals,” she added.

However, there was a bright spot for Mission Possible.One day an agriculturist came to Padmini to adopt a puppy for his daughter.He was very impressed by the way Mission Possible was helping these poor animals.So he gave them five-acre land in Saswad. Now Mission Possible has a second shelter home for dogs.There are almost 400 dogs which are taken care of here.

Despite all the hurdles and the pain both Padmini and Dr Kasbekar somehow managed to keep going and take care of all the dogs that came to them.

“We want to build a veterinary college and a hospital for the animals in the future,” Padmini says.

Sanket Wankhade
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