By Sanchita Banerjee Rodrigues
On a quiet Sunday morning in July, a train pulled out of Margao Railway Station in Goa, bound for Delhi. Inside one compartment was an unusual family — five Indian dogs, two cats, a bright-eyed two-year-old boy named Kabir, and a young couple carrying far more than luggage.
Passengers stared in disbelief. But for Rahul and Anima, this journey was simple: they were moving home, and family stays together.
The couple had come to Goa seven years earlier, just before the pandemic, for work and research. But life on Chorao Island changed them forever. Surrounded by stray dogs struggling to survive, they could not look away. When the pandemic emptied the streets and the suffering worsened, Rahul and Anima stepped out to help.
Working with local volunteers and the Panjim Animal Welfare Society, they helped sterilise more than 60% of the island’s free-roaming dogs. They rescued injured animals, cared for abandoned puppies and cats, and spent years responding to late-night accident calls and emergencies.
Some animals recovered and found homes. Others stayed back — not because the couple planned to adopt them, but because no one else would.
Over time, the rescues became family.
Unlike many who seek pedigrees, Rahul and Anima chose Indian dogs — resilient, intelligent companions perfectly suited to India’s climate. Every scar their dogs carried told a story of survival, trust, and second chances.
So when the couple received faculty opportunities at Shoolini University in Himachal Pradesh, leaving the animals behind was never an option.
The journey was exhausting. The dogs grew restless, the cats anxious, and little Kabir cranky from the endless travel. Rahul and Anima barely slept as they fed the animals, comforted passengers, and managed the chaos of moving an entire furry family across the country.
Yet kindness appeared everywhere. Railway staff offered support. Strangers helped with water and luggage. One passenger who initially questioned the decision later admitted, “You’ve changed my understanding of what family means.”
Today, in their new home in the mountains, five dogs stretch lazily in the sun while two cats explore sunny windowsills. Kabir runs among them, growing up in a home where compassion is a way of life.
Rahul and Anima’s story is more than a rescue story. It is a reminder that pets are not temporary companions to be abandoned when life changes. They are family.
And family, no matter how difficult the journey, is never left behind.
