Innovative shelter keeps stray dogs warm, Video goes viral

An animal welfare organisation Stray Talk India has gotten creative in providing shelter to stray animals at a time when North India is getting colder.

In a video shared online, it was seen that the NGO built shelters using discarded plastic or wood fibre drums bought from scrap merchants. These drums were fitted with a mattress for cats and dogs. The video shows how these provide warmth and how animals have responded to it.

The video was shared on Instagram by an animal lover Maya Mohan Kamal who captioned the video: "A big shout out to @straytalkindia for distribution of these dog houses. They are just here to do good, just come and take, unconditional support. I got one and let’s see how it goes, next Sunday I'll maybe pick more. As I type this, two doggos are squished together comfortably in one and will sleep warm tonight."

She is also using food to draw the attention of curious dogs who came to her. At the end of the video, one of the dogs was seen trying to enter the drum.

A user from Costa Rica commented on the video that he is going to try a similar solution to keep strays warm. Another said that they hope these drums do not get stolen. Most people praised the initiative.

Stray Talk India is a Delhi/NCR-based NGO working to protect animals in need. After launching the initiative, the organisation shared via a video that it has been successful. "Thank you so much for coming forward to collect these houses and helping the stray animals in need. We are so happy to see the immense love, support, and effort in taking this movement ahead. We are really trying to serve everyone but we have a limited number of houses. So not everyone is able to get one, especially those who are outside the distribution region of Delhi/NCR. I request everyone to please follow the drive and make this in your own cities as well using old plastic drums or broken sintex tanks or tubs from scrap dealers. This will help in recycling as well and putting these to good use. Let's all take this drive to the next level and save our stray animals from the chilling cold weather."

The organisation's Instagram page has several videos of stray dogs and even a couple of cats getting comfortable in these houses.