I'm sure we all must've seen a stray dog or cat near our houses or our societies and our parents warning us not to go near it or touch the animal as they considered that it carried diseases or thought it was dirty. Stray animals are commonly prevalent across the globe. Some people harm them, some heartlessly beat them to death and others shoo them away. This makes me wonder, Have these poor creatures ever felt even an ounce of love? From the open grounds of the village to the bustling streets of cities, Stray animals can be seen anywhere and everywhere. It pains me to see such lovable beings desperately scavenging for food scraps to somewhat fill their growling stomachs and undernutritioned bodies with whatever they'd find, and not recieving the nourishment they require.

A few days back, I was browsing on the internet and stumbled across an article posted by The Times of India somewhat recently on the date of 24th January 2023, stating that there is an estimate of 6.2 crore (or 6,20,00,000) stray dogs and 91 lakh (or 91,00,000) stray cats prevalent across India and India alone. The feature on strays also mentioned that 77% of the nation's population reported having seen one stray dog at least once a week. It is heartbreaking to know that such poor creatures are roaming unloved in such abundance.

People believe that animals in shelters live happily and don't feel the need to adopt them as they are already being taken care of, but little do they know that shelters are not completely the saints. Thousands of stray animals rot in tiny cages present in shelters waiting to be adopted by loving families with their hopes being crushed by the end of each day, the first rays of sunlight bringing them new hope of being adopted once again. These animals in shelters are given a certain ammount of time till they get adopted. If their time ends and they do not get chosen by a human to take home, they get euthanised (it refers to put an animal to death humanely). This is why hundreds of older dogs and cats slowly succumb to their deaths sooner or later, their last resort being the hope to get adopted some day. This is the reason why many animal activists and enthusiasts encourage others to adopt as many animals as they can.

I believe that every stray should have not just a proper home but a loving one as well, and I encourage everyone who reads this article to save the life of an animal and adopt it and shower it with love. With everyone's support and efforts, we can get every single one of these cuties a safe and loving home so that every animal not only lives but learns to thrive. 

(The link to the Times of India article --> https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/stray-free-india-a-revolution-that-can-give-every-pet-a-new-lease-on-life/)