SAYLI RAJADHYAKSHA, PawsRUs

Sayli did her Masters in Physiotherapy and was clear about what she wanted to pursue in terms of a career. That was until her adorable Labrador, Abby came along. Abby was abandoned by her owners and Sayli welcomed her into both, her home and her heart. Abby had a host of behaviour issues, but that did not change Sayli‘s decision to adopt her. In fact, something in Sayli pushed her to do everything possible to help Abby overcome her issues so that she could make Abby a happy dog again and so that they could coexist peacefully. Sayli consulted with a dog behaviourist and during the process of helping Abby, she figured out her passion to help canines. This put into motion a series of events which included Sayli herself becoming a certified Canine Behaviour Consultant post which she established PawsRUs.

Sayli’s dream is to promote the concept of Therapy Dogs or Animal Assisted Therapy in India so that dogs can help in the rehabilitation of patients with a variety of medical conditions across all age groups. But she faces a lot of push back as Indians perceive animals as unhygienic or as a source of infections. Getting permission from hospitals to bring dogs inside is the biggest hurdle that she is facing at the moment. Sayli continues to stay determined and knows that her effort will pay off some day.  “How is life managing two careers?” I asked her, to which she replied “there are days when I am exhausted to the bone and don’t take a day off for weeks together, but what keeps me going is Abby, my family and knowing that it’s important to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all!”