Guardian of the divagates

Hyderabad: On social media, one would have come across many animal rescuers fighting for animal safety, but few would have learnt of a youth who has been caring for animals and strives for protection of their rights from his early age.

1. More than 5,000 animals rehabilitated at animal shelter
2. 180 abandoned animals, 89 abused animals were seized
3. 240 re-homing cases of animals registered, and 458 cats and dogs were adopted
4. More than 5,000 animals rehabilitated at the shelter run from campus of KG Reddy College

Meet, Md Zabi Khan, 22, the youngest animal rights activist from Hyderabad. Zabi realised his love of animals at a very young age when his efforts to save an abandoned dog that Zabi named as 'Casanova,' died in his arms. His love for animals grew gradually over the years.

At present, Zabi is pursuing his engineering from KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology, Moinabad. Balancing between studies and running an animal rescue center does take a toll, but he says he is game for it. Learning of this keen pursuit of their student to care for hapless animals, the management allowed him to set up an animal rescue center on the college campus.

'A Place to Bark' was started by Zabi in 2016 for the welfare of animals in Hyderabad. He and like-minded volunteers deal with abandoned and abused animals that had a rough start in their lives. They have been rehabilitating, and finding permanent, caring homes for the sheltered animals.

The activities of the NGO range from animal adoption to creating awareness in schools, college and orphanages, besides arranging food for the animals affected by natural calamities. Speaking to the Hans India about his journey, Zabi Khan said, "It all started when I was 13 years old, I love animals for as long as I can remember. I was walking down the street and I saw a German Shepherd puppy lying on the road.

I enquired around and found that someone just dropped him off a car and never returned. The puppy looked sad and was very hungry. I got him home and named him Casanova. However, 4 days later, Casanova was running at a very high temperature. I took him to vet with my dad's help. The doctor examined him and told me that he would be all fine within a few days. However, the dog died after a few hours."

He further said, "My dad told me that Casanova was suffering from parvo bacteria and was in the last stage. He was probably abandoned because his previous owners thought he wasn't worth investing so much in. That incident shattered me and showed me the meaning of my life."

And then, Zabi promised himself that he would never let any animal suffer like Casanova. His life had a purpose and a meaning and that's how it all started. Last year, Zabi rescued 180 abandoned animals, 89 abused animals were seized, 240 re-homing cases of animals were registered and 458 cats and dogs were adopted.

Each of the dog/cats that were rescued has been adopted in different families. Once a clear medical report of the rescued animal is done, the animals are sent for rehabilitation and later given for adoption. More than 5,000 animals have been rehabilitated in the animal shelter.

More than 45 desi old dogs are there in his second rescue center in the city. An animal ambulance soon to be started which will rescue the needy animals 24/7 in the city. Different events like adoption drives and fashion shows are done to educate the public on animal rights

Each of the rescued animals has a different need, some come to us with paralyzed legs, some with tumours, some with skin allergies, cancer, fractures, burns, road accident cases, and the list goes on. Being a student at times it gets really hard for Zabi to manage the recourses and funding.