'The adoption camps are also a kind of awareness programme, which aims at finding good homes for puppies and also counsels prospective owners on the maintenance of dogs, benefits of sterilisation and responsible dog ownership,' said Shalini Menon, a volunteer working for Lets Live Together.

'We charge Rs.400 for the adoption of each dog. The money goes into the vaccination of the dogs. Moreover, we ensure that the adopted dogs are sterilised in the coming days. Once every six months we pay a visit to the homes of people who adopt dogs at our camps,' added Shalini, who herself nurtures 23 physically challenged dogs at her home here.

Currently 70 volunteers work for the NGO.

To raise funds, Achala sells merchandise, including mugs, T-shirts and calendars designed by her.

'These days some people come and donate money for the cause of stray dogs in the city. Otherwise I depend on selling merchandise to run my NGO, as there is no funding for us from anywhere,' Achala said.

So how does she convince people to adopt strays? 'By telling them that by adopting a stray dog, they will be saving a life as well as solving the street dog issue. We can't just complain all the time, we should make a difference by finding a home for them,' says Achala.

According to the 2007 census, there were more than 183,000 stray dogs in the city. Residents of many areas say that despite complaints, the civic authorities had not addressed the problem.

'From time to time, the government has adopted the relocation and killing of dogs to solve the stray dog problem in the city. We would like to say that killing is not the solution. The solution is simple. Method of animal birth control should be adopted. People should avoid buying dogs from breeders or pet stores and adopt pariah dogs,' Achala signs off.

(Maitreyee Boruah can be contacted at m.boruah@ians.in)