BANGALORE, December 1: Excited barks mingled with children’s laughter and mild reprimands of enthusiastic pet owners were the predominant sounds at PetStepin, the lush green pet resort at Rustam Bagh here. The Rotary Bangalore IT Corridor (RBITC), in association with Precious Paws Foundation, on Sunday organised a ‘Pet-a-thon’ to help raise money for animal welfare activities.
Over 40 dogs of different variety and breeds, including Golden Retrievers, Labradors, German Shepherds, Pugs and Great Danes participated. The objective was adoption of stray, abandoned and rescued dogs to help them find a better home, organisers said.
There were calendars, stickers, mugs and bags on sale for raising funds, which also included the auction of autographed photo frames of the SBI Midnight Marathon by legendary athlete Milkha Singh.
The programme began with a dog walk to create awareness about preventing animal cruelty. “This event has been organised so that we can be the voice of animals,” Nezhat Belgamivala, owner of PetStepin, said.
Nishanth Iyengar, the organiser said, “This event is a curtain raiser for the upcoming SBI Bengaluru Midnight Marathon, which will be held on December 15. We are doing this to encourage people to participate in the marathon.”
This is the seventh edition of the SBI Bengaluru Midnight Marathon as the main fund raiser event for RBITC’s social service projects relating to environment, health, community and vocational services.
The event also included informative talks on the importance of healthcare and vaccination of pets and grooming. A treasure hunt was also organised for dogs. One could also adopt a puppy through Precious Paws Foundation’s adoption drive for rescued puppies.
“This event is a wonderful way of helping innocent animals and also for puppies to find new homes,” said K. Pattabi, a participant.
