Understanding your social responsibility is one thing, but doing something about it is something not many fulfill in Pakistan. Having a fulltime job is tedious enough for a person. However, understanding that you owe something to the community you are a part of is something else.

Meet Sana Raja – an Islamabadi Yoga Instructor Who Devotes her Time Treating the Stray Animals in the City

Sana Raja works at the Social Welfare Department’s women training center as a yoga instructor. Aside from that, she aims to address the issue of stray animals in Pakistan by using her skills and education. Given how she cares and loves animals, she took a tw0-year veterinary course at the Pir Mehr Ali Shah-Arid Agriculture University.

One Doesn’t Need a Large Clinic and Equipment to Give Hope to the Stray Animals

Sana Raja currently works from home and has around 70 stray dogs and cats. With the help of her mother and her brother, she is carrying the operations.

Once their treatment is complete, she will set the animals free and put them up for adoption. After this mission is accomplished, Sana looks forward to treating donkeys and horses at the Islamabad Fruit and Vegetable Market. She will, of course, use the assistance of her friends and will pay the owners of the animals to allow their animals to have some rest.

In an Interview with a Local Publication, Sana Raja Addressed her Devotion and Future Plans of Treating Stray Animals

On What Made Sana Take Up this Service, here’s What She Said:

When I was 13, our car hit a cat. I took it to a vet and set it free when it was given treatment. I got a strange satisfaction when I set the animal free after it had healed. That was when I started caring for animals and started a Facebook page on which people could tell me about the injured animals in their locality which I would bring home and treat. I would bring the injured animals to vets, but they would charge me so much. That is why I decided to do a course for veterinary assistants so I could treat the animals at home.

On Getting Help from Government in Treating Stray Animals, here’s her Answer:

We did contact some government veterinary clinics but they did not have time for stray animals. That is why we would take the animals to a clinic in F-11 but we did not have money for the expensive treatment. After that, we decided to ask family and friends for donations but we could not collect a lot because people are not fond of stray animals. We contacted many philanthropists, but they also refused. So, we started giving animals food from our house after they were given treatment.

We once rescued a dog that was thrown into the Nullah Leh after he was pelted with stones. The municipal corporation forced us to set the animal free so they could kill it.

We need more people like Sana Raja who understand their responsibility and educate people to be more humane towards stray animals.

Let’s play our part in this and provide shelter to animals who were once mistreated.