Just behind the home of one of Goa’s well known politician Late Babu Naik, lays Coelho Mansion, in the suburb of Aquem in Margao city. Between the drizzle, we’re certain we’re at the home of Nadine Coelho, as many homeless dogs are all around the gate of this home. At the gate is big bowl of cooked rice that these dogs are feeding from. We ask for Nadine and her father tells us to wait as he explains that she’s busy tending to her cat.
Twenty-nine-year-old Nadine Coelho has made herself available to us before she begins her rounds to feed the stray dogs their dinner before she heads for evening mass.
“It all started when I brought a homeless injured pup home and cared for it and my entire family loves animals, today in a radius of a kilometre, I feed over 40 dogs in my vicinity and I care for them. I feel so bad that they have nobody to care for them,” asserts Nadine who has six dogs at home out of which three are adopted from the streets and one they brought from Mumbai after she was rescued besides many cats of her own.
Nadine explains to us that in the vicinity to her home in Aquem is a school and the forest department office and she has to plan her day in such a way that the dogs are fed in batches and they don’t disrupt traffic or scare the kids before and after school hours.
“I needs almost 80 kgs of rice a month to feed these homeless dogs and around 10 kgs of toast per week. For the toast, I coordinate with the neighbors who own a bakery and the rice; we buy at the PDS ration shop from the 12kgs per family quota. I take ration cards of all my good neighbors to meet the requirements of the dogs,” explains Nadine.
Nadine who hasn’t taken a career nor gone on a vacation for almost a decade now since she has to feeds the pet pooches that she has adopted, does her social service with a lot of passion.
“I go down to the nearby playground and feed them there, and then I have another batch near Babu Naik’s house and another batch of dogs that come to my gate. I start in the morning, then give them lunch by 11 am and then begin again at 4pm with their dinner,” Nadine tells us as her gaze is on the dogs on the streets. Between feeding them meals, she roams around with sprays, ointments, tablets caring for their wounds, rashes or sores if any.
“I have a name for each of my dogs and each of my batches of dogs has a leader. When a dog goes missing, I lookout for them and get upset when they die in an accident or out of illness,” tells us Nadine.
Nadine has often got into bad blood with some of her neighbors who have used foul language or been rude to her since she entertains all the stray dogs but she says that doesn’t hold her back. If people don’t want to care I can understand but don’t stop me from caring for a homeless dog. I will continue what I do, said Nadine who explains that besides rice, toast and medicines, she’ll always grateful to her parents, brother, sister in law and maids who provide her the care and support in what she does.
“The chicken, the meat, the broth, the cooked veggies, the leftover food to mix in the rice comes from home. My brother and dad will help me with the supplies and I depend on my mum and maids to help me for caring for these dogs. Even a few days back, my brother rescued a tiny pup and brought her home and we planned to adopt it. So my entire family is here to care for homeless dogs.
Nadine constantly coordinates with the veterinary hospital, mission rabies and Dr Anish, her vet to care for these dogs. She explains to us how she was so close to open a kennel facility to keep these dogs in-house but because of manpower, its holding her back. Nadine even spends a considerable time praying for her mission of caring for homeless dogs.
Besides that Nadine also looks into newly born homeless pups and ensures to find a home for them or send them to an animal rescue center. Her dedication and zeal to serve homeless dogs is simply amazing.
