Inside Diyya Vummidi’s fight against Chennai’s urban dog crisis

In a quiet corner of Uthandi, surrounded by rescued dogs that were once abandoned, injured or simply unwanted, Diyya Vummidi has built a life around care. Between running Top Dog Chennai—a dog boarding facility she started in 2018—working on her family’s jewellery business, and co-founding The Ohana Foundation India alongside childhood friends Pallavi Rajankar and Pooja Reddy, her days are centred around entrepreneurship, animal welfare, and community impact.

A life shaped by caring for Indie dogs

The foundation, less than a year old, has already facilitated more than 1,700 animal birth control (ABC) procedures across Chennai’s 15 zones since September 2025. For Diyya, sterilisation remains the only long-term, scientific solution to the city’s growing street dog population crisis. “Our first vertical is ABC. The population is exploding because of unchecked breeding and poor waste management. Sterilisation is the only scientific way to manage the issue,” she explains.

But the work extends far beyond spay and neuter initiatives. The foundation also funds surgeries and rehabilitation for injured street animals, often stepping in for trauma cases involving amputations, spinal injuries and accident-related surgeries. “The rescuers are doing this out of kindness, but these treatments become very expensive. We try to help wherever we can,” she says.

A third pillar of the organisation focuses on education and awareness, particularly among children. Diyya believes fear surrounding street dogs often comes from misinformation passed down by adults. “No child is naturally scared of animals,” she says. “Fear is taught.” To change that, the team conducts interactive sessions introducing children to rescued indie dogs while teaching them basic animal behaviour and body language. Diyya strongly recommends Calming Signals by Norwegian author Turid Rugaas and a beginner-friendly dog behaviour course by Bengaluru-based canine behaviourist Sindhoor Pangal. “Just understanding the basics of dog behaviour can completely change how people approach street dogs,” she says. At home, Diyya currently cares for 14 rescue dogs—many of them what rescuers fondly call “foster fails.” These are dogs that were rescued temporarily but never found permanent homes. “Nobody wanted them, so they stayed with me,” she says.

Even her boarding facility operates with rescue work in mind. “As long as it makes enough money to take care of all the rescue dogs living there, I’m happy,” she shares.

For Diyya, indie dogs deserve far more appreciation than they currently receive. Passionate about adoption and firmly against unethical breeding practices, she believes India already has countless deserving dogs waiting for homes.

“Indies are resilient, intelligent and adaptable. They can live anywhere—apartments, small homes, large properties. All they need is love, a little attention and some food,” she says. “I don’t see why we need to add more dogs into the world when so many incredible ones are already waiting for homes.”

The foundation’s rescue network currently works through Instagram and local rescuers spread across the city. According to Diyya, flower vendors, tea stall owners and roadside workers are often the real guardians of Chennai’s street dogs—the people who know each animal, feed them daily and alert rescuers when something goes wrong. “The people on the street s understand the issue deeply because they see it every day,” she says.

As Chennai’s animal welfare ecosystem continues to grow, Diyya hopes for stronger collaboration between NGOs, citizens and the government. With discussions around petitions and policy reforms already underway, she believes real change can only happen through collective effort.

Until then, the work continues.

—manuvipin@newindianexpress.com

@ManuVipin

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