Happy 18th to Butter, our guiding light.
Facing the hardships and challenges of looking after stray dogs on a mass scale would have been so difficult for us had Butter not been there in our lives. She was a force of resilience, who stood by us through thick and thin. Returning home to her brought so much peace, because the world is not any kind to stray dogs nor to those who care for them.
When she left us, on November 2, 2019, we just did not know how to pick up life or whatever was left of it. Butter was lost to veterinary medical negligence, another burning issue in India. We continued tending to the ones we had on the streets and the rescued ones we have as permanent residents at home.
Nothing was there in India at that point to help the bereaved like us. To honour the legacy of Butter, the Bridging Rainbows initiative was born in 2021 that became the Bridging Rainbows Foundation in 2023, a non profit dedicated to Butter, with an amalgamation of all that we have stood for in the past two decades of our service to stray dogs.
The legacy of Butter broke several barriers to become the first in India to help the bereaved parents of companion animals not only in India, but worldwide. Her magnanimity also reached the International Society for Anthrozoology Conference this year.
Butter continues to guide us everytime we feel we are quite done facing the daily challenges.
The human-animal bond is so beautiful and timeless that our association with Butter has become more potent even though she is physically gone.
All of you who have stood by us like a rock in our journey, a big thank you.
