A young homemaker at a village in North Dinajpur district spent whatever little savings she had from the assistance she received under the state’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme to treat a street dog hit by an arrow.
Sources said that three days back, someone shot the dog with an arrow in Kastarai, a village under the Hemtabad block. The arrow struck the animal in its neck. It survived, but kept on wailing in pain.
Other residents of the village didn’t react to the dog’s wails. But homemaker Radharani Roy could not ignore the animal’s pain.
“I realised there is no veterinary hospital or veterinary doctor in our block. I somehow managed to gather the contact numbers of animal lovers based in Raiganj and informed them about the incident,” she said.
Her phone prompted members of the People for Animals in Raiganj to rush to the village on Tuesday morning. They, however, could not find the injured dog.
But that same afternoon, Radharani spotted the dog and again informed the organisation. Its members went to the village again and rescued the dog.
They brought a veterinary surgeon who conducted a surgery and took out the arrow.
“Ten stitches were put on the dog’s neck, medicines were injected and administered to it,” said Gautam Tantia, the secretary of the People for Animals in Raiganj.
Radharani, on learning about the treatment, offered to cover the expenditure.
“I had saved some money from the assistance I get under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. I spoke with those who had taken away the dog for treatment and paid the cost,” she said.
Sources said she paid around ₹3,000 for the treatment.
Her husband Utpal Roy, a contractual teacher in a local school, said he was proud of Radharani. The couple lives with Utpal’s mother.
“We appreciate her initiative to stand in support of the dog. She has spent her savings on the stray dog’s treatment. Such kindness is rare,” Tantia said.
The dog, which is under treatment, is showing signs of recovery, he added.
Radharani’s initiative has also drawn appreciation from the administration. “It is good that a rural homemaker used her savings for such a purpose. It is indeed worth appreciating,” said Surendra Kumar Meena, the district magistrate of North Dinajpur.