Patna: Canine lover nurses litter of puppies abandoned in sewer

PATNA: At a time when life has come to a standstill and uncertainty reigns supreme, vicenarian Harshit Gupta has taken it upon himself to help stray animals in distress.
The Mithapur resident rescued a litter of puppies abandoned in a sewer near his house recently and nursed them back to health in 18 days. “I brought the six pups home, fed them with milk every day and built a small kennel.I could not leave them behind,” Harshit told TOI on Wednesday.
This, however, is not the first time that Harshit, who is an animal lover, has come to the rescue of strays. He says, “Fondness for animals comes naturally to me as I have grown up with a pet at home. It was only after Duffy passed away in 2008 that I began rescuing helpless animals, especially dogs.”
With the Covid-19 lockdown in force and Patna in the ‘red zone’, what bothers Harshit is the neglect of homeless animals. “I leave my house every morning with milk bottles and food prepared by my mother. I also carry medicines, which I bought after consulting a family vet. I have fed over 500 dogs in different parts of the city during the lockdown period,” the 26-year-old claims.
A fitness trainer by profession, Harshit puts his love for animals before everything else and uses a part of his earnings to take care of them. His parents, especially his mother, and friends have been extremely supportive of his choices.
He says, “As Covid-19 spread its tentacles, it struck me that animals would be left in the lurch. I immediately created a non-profit fundraiser on a social media platform and informed my friends about it. Much to my surprise, even strangers poured in donations for feeding the strays.”
As soon as the lockdown ends, Harshit plans to “bring fellow animal lovers together and open an organisation that conducts rescue operations, feeds abandoned strays and fulfils their medical needs”.