For more than a decade, animal welfare has been at the centre of Sujit V’s life. What began in 2014 with a handful of rescued dogs and cats at his home in Mylapore has grown into one of the region’s largest animal welfare facilities. Today, through the Prithvi Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Sujit, along with Anupama Srinivasan, co-founder of PAWS, operates a two-acre shelter and Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre near Kovalam. Home to around 270 dogs and 150 cats—many of them abandoned pets, injured animals, senior dogs and paraplegic rescues—the facility combines long-term sheltering with large-scale sterilisation and veterinary care.
But for the duo, the future of street animal welfare lies not in shelters alone. Anupama says, “The primary activity here is Animal Birth Control surgery and treatment for street dogs. Shelters can only accommodate a limited number of animals. Population management has to happen on the ground.”
PAWS operates a fully equipped ABC facility with an in-house biochemistry laboratory, a modern operation theatre and kennel space capable of housing up to 250 dogs undergoing treatment and recovery. Unlike conventional sterilisation drives, every animal is medically screened before surgery.
“Every dog undergoes blood tests before we operate,” Sujit explains. “If the animal is unwell, we first treat the underlying condition and only then proceed with sterilisation. We also vaccinate every dog against rabies and common canine diseases as soon as it enters the facility.”
The goal, he says, is not simply to perform surgeries but to create a safer, healthier environment for both animals and people. According to Anupama, one of the biggest reasons street dog populations continue to grow is that sterilisation efforts rarely achieve the scale required to make a lasting impact.
“If you want an ABC programme to succeed, you need to sterilise more than 90 per cent of the population in a given area,” she says. “When only a small percentage of animals are sterilised every year, the population continues to replenish itself.”
Having worked extensively in areas around Kovalam and Kelambakkam, Sujit and Anupama believe the results are already visible. “We are seeing far fewer puppies being born than before. That’s how you know the programme is working.”
At a time when debates around community dogs often become polarised, Sujit and Anupama advocate a practical middle path.
“People who are bitten by or frightened of dogs have genuine concerns, and animal lovers must acknowledge that,” Anupama says. “At the same time, removing dogs is not the answer. The solution lies in systematic sterilisation, vaccination and responsible community management.”
For the duo, the ideal outcome is straightforward: a clean, professionally managed system where street animals are sterilised, vaccinated and healthy, and where feeders and caregivers can be confident that the animals in their care are safe and no longer contributing to uncontrolled population growth.
The shelter is also home to Chennai’s largest population of special-needs cats, making it a rare facility in the city.
“It’s about reducing suffering for everyone—the animals and the people who live alongside them,” they say in unison.
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