Actor Rupali Ganguly has always been an animal lover and recently adopted an Indie dog at an adoptothon. “Other people had ambitions like buying clothes, jewellery or a house, for me, my goal was to earn enough to take care of and feed strays. Dogs are a blessing. I enrich my life by helping homeless animals,” shares Ganguly, who takes care of 15 dogs on the set of her TV show.

Instead of buying pedigree dogs, Ganguly urges people adopt Indie dogs and “give a home to an animal who needs it and discourage breeders”. She adds, “Pedigree dogs need special care. People abandon them when they can’t afford or don’t want to take care of them. They are also a status symbol for some people. Indies are intelligent and sturdy. I wish I could do something to bring about stricter animal cruelty laws in India.”

The new entrant in her family has been named her Kachori. “All my fur babies are named after food dishes in Hindi”, she says, adding, “I had a [dog named] Noodle, who I picked up from a garbage bin in 2013. We got Barfi home in 2010 after he was almost crushed by a bus. I went to the adoptothon to show my support but when I called my husband and son, Rudransh, to talk about Kachori, my son said, ‘Get the puppy no one wants’.”