Dubai: Virat Kohli’s love for dogs is often well documented with him posing with his pet Bruno on the social media, but those at CARE (Charlie’s Animal Rescue Centre) in Bengaluru were not exactly ready for the pleasant surprise on Sunday. The dashing Indian captain showed his humane side when he decided to adopt 15 dogs in poor health during a visit to the animal care centre.
During his stay in the south Indian tech city to lead Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sunday’s match, Kohli was a surprise guest at the five-year-old centre which shelters physically handicapped dogs and cats affected by accidents or genetic conditions.
“Kohli will be bearing the expenses for maintenance and well being of 15 dogs through what’s called passive adoption. He has asked that we select those dogs with special needs like paraplegic, blind and chronically ill,” said Sudha Narayanan, Founder Trustee of the organisation.
“We are really overwhelmed at his gesture. Speaking from experience, I have often seen celebrities being fond of dogs that are branded and well maintained. However, the compassion with which he handled these special dogs showed he is really a down-to-earth person and has his heart in the right place,” Narayanan told Gulf News over phone.
It was at the request of Simone and Anmol, the two children of Avinash Vaidya, media manager of Royal Challengers who are “passionate volunteers” of the centre that Kohli took time out on a match day and spent 45 minutes at CARE — handling the animals, inquiring about the project from Narayanan and vet Dr Lohith and posing with the staff for pictures.
“He wanted to spend some more time but said he would do it some other time. He met ‘Dash’ at the reception, said hello to ‘Captain.’ He met our adoption pups ‘George’ and ‘Snowy’ and said that the rescued ones is his favourite breed. The star also hoped people would understand that it’s always better to adopt than to shop for a companion pet,” Narayanan, who has spent a lifetime fighting abuse of dogs, said.
Asked to explain the acronym CARE, she said it was name after Charlie, a ‘therapy dog’ which worked with spastic children under her supervision for years.
The IPL teams are known to often engage in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities during this two-month window with visits to under-privileged children’s homes and hospitals. Kohli has decided to take it a step further now!
