DHAKA; For the stray dogs of St Martin’s Island, a better chapter has begun. The Bidyanondo Foundation, a voluntary organisation, has opened a shelter offering food, medical treatment and a safe place to rest for animals that have gone without care for far too long.
The idea began with Kishor Kumar Das, founder and chairman of the foundation, who believes that animals, especially dogs, are far more grateful than human beings. After witnessing the suffering of the island’s dogs, he decided to do something to help them.
With the shelter, everyday life could change for the island’s dogs. An injured dog that once limped from one empty doorway to another can now receive treatment and a safe place to rest. A sick dog will no longer have to suffer alone in the heat and rain, while a hungry one will have a meal waiting.
Sterilisation is equally important because an increasing population of stray dogs in a particular area can disrupt the ecological balance. The number of dogs on the island has now risen to almost 4,000.
Although its impact will take time, sterilisation can prevent more puppies from being born into a world with too little food. Over time, this could mean fewer hungry mouths and fewer animals living on the edge of survival.
Mohammad Jamal Uddin, a board director of the foundation, recalled how the initiative began.
“For years, St Martin’s dogs lived largely off scraps from the tourists, hotels and restaurants that crowded the island. When the government restricted tourism to protect Bangladesh’s only coral island, with the crowds gone, so was the food,” he said.
The shelter is designed to address both healthcare and accommodation needs. It consists of 20 units, each capable of housing up to 12 dogs, giving it a total capacity of about 240 animals at a time.
Two veterinarians supervise medical care. Dogs are rescued from the streets, treated and sterilised on site. Only sick or injured dogs requiring additional care will remain at the shelter, while healthy animals will be treated and released back onto the island.
The initiative has also attracted support beyond the island and the foundation’s team. Volunteers from Germany and Peru have travelled to St Martin’s to lend a hand with the shelter’s work.
For Jolpia and Jessica, the island’s stray dogs are not a distant problem but animals in need of help. Their efforts demonstrate that kindness towards a hungry dog needs no common language.
Jamal Uddin hopes more people will join the initiative. He stresses that the shelter is not meant to be admired from afar. Instead, he encourages islanders, visitors and animal lovers to visit the facility, walk through the units, meet the dogs and observe how they are cared for during the tourist season.
The foundation also welcomes honest feedback on what is working well, what could be improved and where assistance is most needed.
However, the challenge remains considerable. The shelter's organisers aim to balance the needs of the island’s environment, its residents and its animals.
Whether a single facility can make a significant difference to a population of thousands will depend on several factors, including funding, the availability of veterinary staff, coordination with government sterilisation programmes, and the willingness of residents and visitors to support humane management. - Daily Star/ANN
