When street dogs, cats bring the office closer

When colleagues work towards a collective goal like looking after community animals, it offers them a sense of purpose

- Reem Khokhar

reeti Khanna takes care of 35 dogs around the export house she works in Gurugram. The marketing professional, 54, brings food for them each morning, feeding them as soon as she gets into the office. She started the practice during covid, in an individual capacity, feeding, vaccinating and sterilising the canines. Watching her every day, some colleagues started contributing funds towards Khanna's caretaking expenses. The organisation's chairperson has even set up an emergency fund for the canines. When Khanna is away, she has two team members who take on the feeding duties.

The corporate world is filled with more stories of competition than compassion. But there are working professionals and companies across the country who ensure that the dogs and cats around their workplaces are well taken care of. They coexist peacefully. Some companies also contribute to animal welfare organisations, build shelters, and have adoption drives and community animals as their mascots. This sense of purpose and compassion often permeates organisational culture, building tolerance, strengthening work relationships, fostering inclusivity, and offering another strong reason to come to work.

While it is usually individual employees like Khanna who initiate and sustain caretaking, some organisations have community animal welfare as a key focus with related policies and initiatives.

Ratan Tata, for instance, was known for his compassion for animals. In fact, the Tata Group's Bombay House headquarters has a designated area for their community dogs.