In a city that never actually sleeps, his alarm is set permanently at 4 am as it is his routine to leave home by 4.30 am with a bagful of cooked chicken, rice and bread to feed the street dogs in his neighbourhood. Happily spending three-quarters of his earnings on his animals, 58-year-old Oswald Braganza is far from retirement and relaxation. “For me, there is no retirement. As long as there are strays on the streets, I can’t sit back and relax," he says.
Originally from Goa but born and raised in Mumbai, this regular church goer believes that animals have equal right to share this planet with humans. “In India 99.9 per cent of people follow one religion or the another. No religion in the world however professes killing. Even atheists, antisocial and anti-religious persons would not advocate killing of animals,” argues Oswald, popularly known as Ozy whose family “ wife Wilma and daughters, Olinda and Billiana “ support his social endeavour wholeheartedly.
On a recent visit to Goa, Ozy met up with the Goan. “Our Goa trip was possible only because our daughters promised to feed the strays in our absence,” admits the Braganza couple. In times when people take pride in their busy lives, it is indeed heartening to see a family from Goa caring for the street dogs in the city they live in “ in this case Kalyan in Mumbai.
"Life here is busy and people have no time to look around. Most strays get injured in road accidents; some are victims of human cruelty while others become feeble with old age and sickness. Cruelty has many faces. People throw acid on young pups or tie them in plastic bags and dump them in gutters “ so that they die and don’t live to create nuisance around the human habitat," says Ozy, adding, "How can humans be so cruel?”
It was a decade ago that Ozy decided to do his bit and once his mission began, he never took a break. The Braganza family not only cooks and feeds the strays twice daily but going a step further, takes care of the vaccination, sterilisation and injuries of these abandoned cats and dogs. Many of his foster pets are with special needs and he sees that each of them is well fed and taken care of. “It’s not enough only to feed them. To control their population one has to get them sterilised at the right age and also get them vaccinated to control spread of rabies and other life-threatening diseases,” points out Ozy.
Living at Kalyan with wife Wilma, Ozy is a small time businessman. “I spend Rs 25,000 every month on dogs. Funds are important as they help in increasing the number of beneficiaries (dogs), but without waiting for people to chip in, one can do his own bit too,” he states, adding, "It’s not illegal to feed hungry animals and no one can stop me from caring for these strays. In fact, the law protects them. Hulling is not allowed. One cannot shoot the dogs, as was the common practice years ago,” states Ozy who offers wise suggestions “ if each building in the area adopted at least one dog, so many strays would get shelter and food.
Ozy considers the dogs in his area lucky as there are two more feeders “ Phelomena Arakiswami and Carmen Petrocine, both of whom also go on rounds feeding strays just like him. Thanks to the trio, dogs in their area are well-fed and so, calm and content.
These are personal efforts. Aren’t there enough NGOs in Mumbai to take care of the street dogs? “There are. But each has its own agenda. The administration also turns a blind eye to the issue. One has to take initiative to call doctors to treat the wounded dogs or take them for sterilisations,” he says.
Ozy agrees that he spends only a fraction of his income on charity but there are people who spend 100 per cent of what they earn. “When I look at the magnitude of such charity, I realise that what I do equals to a small drop in the ocean,” says a humble Ozy who not only cares for his pet dogs at home but their extended family on the streets.
