Dawn Williams, 55, Chennai

I was not born a soldier but moulded into one, which is why there have always been two juxtaposing sides to my personality: a rugged and tough side and a compassionate one.

I grew up in rural Tamil Nadu; joining the armed forces was a foregone conclusion as my father was a soldier and I was expected to follow in his footsteps. It was an exciting career and I have no complaints. But I had to take early retirement in 2002.

As I had a family to raise and needed to earn a living, I started looking for work. I did a brief stint as a fire and security manager in Neyveli before I joined the Blue Cross of India (BCI), an animal rights and welfare organisation based in Chennai, in 2011. I am currently general manager of BCI and I have to say, I have never felt more fulfilled.

If you’re wondering why I chose to work with animals, I would say that my love for them dates back to my childhood.

One day, many, many years ago, there was a storm and torrential rain. I saw my grandfather picking up tiny sparrows that were falling to the ground from their nests in nearby trees. He collected them and kept them safely in a corner of a room at home. But he was not the only person to do so. The next morning, when I woke up, a neighbour happily told me that their lunch that day was cooked sparrows! I felt miserable. Worse, she suggested that I ask my grandfather to do the same. I remember running across to the corner of the house where my grandfather had kept the sparrows, in an attempt to protect them. I stopped abruptly when I saw my grandfather cradling some of the tiny birds in his hand and, as I stretched out my hand to stop him, he smiled and released them into the sky. It was a life-altering moment for me.

As general manager of BCI, I am in charge of animal birth control clinics, rescue and protection of animals, training of volunteers, administration of rescue centres and surgical theatres, and so on. Some activities of BCI include medical waste disposal, shelters, re-homing, adoptathons, animal birth control, mobile dispensaries and ambulance services. During the floods in Chennai in 2015, I led a group of BCI volunteers and visited all the flood-affected areas in a boat and rescued animals in large numbers.

Apart from BCI awareness camps and workshops, we conduct workshops to train people in animal handling, rope accession and descending, rope-knots, rope-rigging, and animal first aid. The training is put into practice daily in rescuing different species of animals from wells and buildings. We also impart training in animal laws and filing police complaints.

Every achievement, big or small, makes a difference. How can the life of one animal be less valuable than the life of a few or many? During my tenure at the BCI, I have tried to encourage youngsters and bring to light cases of animal harassment and torture. It is disappointing to know that animal cases are often neglected and justice is denied or delayed. Sexual torture of animals and cruelty are two major areas that we are focusing on today.

My 20 years of experience in the armed forces have helped me become a good leader at BCI. Every individual has to be motivated and people have varying degrees of sensitivity towards animals but in the field, we are all soldiers who are trained and focused on the same goal. At age 55, what else could I want if not a profession that is also my passion?

—As told to Jagyaseni Chatterjee

Photo courtesy: Dawn Williams
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
August 2017