Coimbatore: Thursday turned out to be a sad day for animal lovers in the city as S.V. Geetha Rani, known fondly as the “Dog Lady of Coimbatore” passed away.
Coimbatore: Thursday turned out to be a sad day for animal lovers in the city as S.V. Geetha Rani, known fondly as the “Dog Lady of Coimbatore” passed away.
Having been diagnosed with cancer, the 64-year-old saviour of stray dogs and other animals had been down with severe wheezing and breathing trouble for one week before breathing her last on Thursday.
Leading a life separated from her relatives reportedly because of her parents’ inter-caste marriage, Rani found solace in looking stray dogs, whom she always addresses as her “children”. It is during this time she had wanted to start a shelter to take care of abandoned pups and other animals.
Her wishes came true 12-year-ago, when she opened a home for dogs and other animals on the Mettupalayam Road. Since then, the shelter named Snehalaya has hosted more than 400 stray dogs and other animals.
Rani would travel around the city in a van and rescue stray dogs. The dogs would be given ample veterinary care and given shelter at Snehalaya.
Commending her work, city based short film maker and writer T.R. Vijayanand, made a 25-minute-long short film on her titled ‘Gnamali’, which increased her popularity among Coimbatoreans.
Sooner, Rani became a memorable name not only among animal lovers, but also among the many who had trustfully left abandoned stray dogs at her care. "I found a stray pup, one evening at the Avinashi road ground, with a lump on its throat. I called everyone I knew but no one was in a position to take the puppy, because it was past 5pm and many places did not have shelters. Not even the one under the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation. When I called Geetha Rani Madam, she told me they can take the pup the next day without thinking twice and the puppy found a new home in Snehalaya the next day," narrates Sruthi R. Mallya, former Journalist from Coimbatore.
Pondering over her death, Sruthi said that Rani was a very strong woman with an endearing and limitless passion for dogs. "Unfortunately, I have never met her in person, but have conversed with her over calls. Her passion for dogs gave me some form of comfort knowing for a fact that there are still such people out there in the world. But today after hearing the news of her death, I am deeply saddened, and I mourn alongside all the thousands of dogs she has cared for in her lifetime,” says Sruthi.