[100 Emerging Women Leaders] Meet Minu Singh, who ensures every stray dog is fed and finds a home

Minu Singh is no stranger to people ridiculing her for feeding stray dogs. “I remember I was pregnant then, and I would feed the street dogs, help them find a warm shelter, and people around would look at me in disgust,” she tells HerStory. 

An M.Sc. degree holder in Environment Science from the Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research, Pune, Minu always had a close affinity towards dogs. Her earliest memories of feeding dogs were during her kindergarten days in Jamshedpur. 

“Every day, my mother would give me a few chappatis to feed a cow and a dog, who we called Moti,” says Minu, recalling the days when her father worked at the Tata Steel factory and the family lived in adjoining staff quarters. 

Unfortunately, one day, a dog catcher had caught Moti and had taken him away, which created a lasting impression in her mind. Minu — who would often bring home a sick puppy or a kitten or a young bird — knew she would work with animals. 

Before her Masters, Minu pursued B.Sc. in Life Science in Vishakhapatnam and worked with organisations like SPCA, Blue Cross, and other welfare NGOs. 

“I had the good fortune of closely interacting with Dr Erach Bharucha, the Director of the Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research. Dr Bharucha was the first person who appreciated and encouraged my passion, advising me to take any path in life that would make a difference in the well-being of others. While I had taken a small part in feeding, rescuing, and fostering animals, he encouraged me to work on a thesis on the management of stray animals, with a reference to stray dogs in Pune,” shares Minu.

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Soon after, she took part in animal birth control programmes and worked closely with veterinarian Dr Arun Aher. 

“I had also started getting more involved, working closely with several animal and human NGOs. In 2011, I had joined the Samriddhi Trust, where I started working with children from backward communities and introduced them to animals,” says Minu. 

By helping children understand animals and with her anecdotes of rescues, Minu was able to help them understand empathy. “And, these were children who would mistreat animals and not understand why it is important to treat animals right,” she adds. 

In 2013, due to a difficult pregnancy, Minu had to take a break from her work. However, she continued helping animals near her home. 

“I saw more hit and run, starvation, and cruelty cases happening. So, I started working even harder and more organised, and started feeding over 300 animals — dogs, cats, pigs, cows, etc.,” she says. 

Post her pregnancy, Minu decided to work more closely with the community and educate them. She realised that the children were more in tune with the world around them. Slowly, her world around started changing. 

“By 2015, I had people calling me to help animals in distress. That’s when I started organising camps and realised that waiting for organisations simply wouldn’t help,” she says.

Minu gathered experts, including Dr Ansar Kamran (HSR Pet's Choice, Professor at Hebbal Vet Hospital), Dr Lohith, Dr Akshay Prakash from Sarvodaya, etc., to help with the awareness camps. She also started rescuing and even (limited) treating of a few animals. 

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Minu wanted to ensure the dogs were fed properly, but she faced funding issues. Around the same time, some of the regular people came on board and helped the cause. Today, Minu continues to help stray animals and works closely with different communities to do so. 

“If you believe in something, go for it. There is nothing that can stop you but your own barriers,” says Minu.