Aditi's Streeties

Aditi Joshi lives in Mumbai, India. The city of Mumbai has an estimated quarter of a million street dogs. The small neighborhood where Aditi lives has about 76.

The daily challenges faced by street dogs are numerous, they need to find safe shelter, food, and water, and also need to avoid human conflict and inter-dog aggression. If they develop a skin disease, or get injured, hit by a car, or beaten by a human who is less tolerant of street dogs then care is often difficult to come by.

While there are government programs and NGOs who carry out vaccination and sterilization, these programs are woefully underfunded and overburdened. Moreover, these programs do not address everyday caregiving, health, and safety.

Aditi's work therefore is to try and bridge this gap in care for the dogs in her community. She takes care of vaccinating, sterilization, daily feeding, flea and tick treatment, deworming, grooming and other healthcare costs for the dogs in her neighborhood.  She does this mostly out of pocket. 

Your donations would go a long way in helping to meet these ongoing expenses, and to help cover emergencies and more expensive healthcare needs as they arise.

Moreoever, Aditi believe's that a critical aspect of street dog welfare is positive human-animal relationships in the community. 

So much of the work she does is to try and foster stewardship for these dogs amongst local people, to elevate their status as valued members of the community that coexist in the neighborhood.

When properly taken care of, these healthy, settled dogs act as a buffer or barrier against other diseased and potentially aggressive dogs from entering the territory and thus also protect the local people living in that area from illness and injury. This is also integral to keeping pet dogs in the community healthy, disease-free, and safe.

Your donations will also help toward building community awareness and education about street dogs.  

We've included a link to a video that Aditi made to show some of the work that she does with her neighborhood "streeties" and some words from people who have been following and supporting her work.  Please be sure to click on Updates for more information 

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I was first introduced to Aditi through our mutual interest in dogs and community care. In her work with the street dogs in her area, Aditi uniquely combines dog welfare and community development. It is inspiring to follow Aditi’s journey as she works to build relationship between her neighbours and the street dogs who have made her neighbourhood their home. As a social worker, I really appreciate Aditi’s intersectional perspective and the nuance with which she views the question of how communities can care for dogs in a way that continues to respect their autonomy and spirit, while also taking into consideration some of the social aspects that affect people’s ability or interest in caretaking. If you feel pulled to support someone who is doing real and tangible work in her community regarding dog care, Aditi is the person you’ve been looking for!

Abigail Barth
Founder/Coordinator at AEHAB - Academic Explorations of the Human Animal Bond
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I am totally in awe of Aditi’s work with the street dogs that she takes under her wing and cares for. Her immense dedication to their welfare, her compassion, personal sacrifice, patience, tenacity and deep love for them is something to be truly admired. She goes above and beyond what anyone would think is possible, under very difficult circumstances. And her ability to get local people involved in some way with the care of dogs in need, and start to bring about change in the community around her, is a testament to her dedication and skill. I’ve seen her joy and also her heartache as she’s shared her journey with the dogs that come into her life. This is something she does not take lightly. I would love to see her get more financial support so that she is able to do more of what she is driven to do, to help these dogs in need. It really is amazing what she does with so little resources, I can only imagine what she could achieve with some much-needed and well-deserved assistance.

Michelle Davies
Dog Behaviour Consultant and Trainer
Pawsome Dogs
Perth, Australia
www.pawsomedogs.com.au
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I would like to write a few words in support of the amazing work done by Aditi Joshi. Aditi came to my attention via a YouTube video I watched showing her training recall to street dogs so she could get them to come close enough to be checked on. Not only was she showing so much compassion for these animals, this falls with a back drop of a culture that still has a little way to go in acknowledging the emotional and physical welfare needs of these dogs. Aditi embraces the very latest understanding of the ways in which we should train and support dogs and her work has gone to inspire and influence many others far beyond her neighborhood. I am totally inspired by her work and it is important Aditi gets as much recognition and support as possible. She is not only making a real difference to the welfare of very vulnerable animals, but is spreading a positive ethos far and wide. Aditi is one of the dog worlds true unsung heroes and I will also support and champion everything she does.

Andrew Hale
Certified Animal Behaviourist and Chair of the Association of INTOdogs
www.trainpositive.co.uk
www.intodogs.org
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For years I have watched in awe from afar (NYC) at Aditi Joshi's reporting of their work with the dogs they tenderly call "the streeties." It is work that is so desperately needed, work I am confident my own heart couldn't hold, but that I as a dog person am far better for witnessing and learning from. Aditi's reporting on the daily realities of caring for these streeties has taught me so much about dog behavior, and challenged me to have a more expansive (and less sentimental) view of the reality of working with dogs living on the streets in communities around the world

Sassafras Lowrey
Author, Dog Writer, Certified Trick Dog Instructor
www.SassafrasLowrey.com
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I admire the work Aditi does with the various dogs under her care. But perhaps more than that, I’m impressed by the amount of free education she provides to dog lovers (including dog trainers) via her social media presence. She’s made us all more aware of issues related to dogs living on the streets and provided information to improve their overall welfare. I’m happy to support her efforts and I encourage you to do so as well.

Tim Steele,
Certified trainer & Counselor, The Academy for Dog Trainers.
Behavior Matters Academy