Rakesh Shukla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1971 |
Rakesh Shukla (born 1971[1][2][3]) is an Indian entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and animal welfare activist. He runs a home in Bangalore for over 700 rescued dogs.[1][4][2]
Early career[edit | edit source]
Shukla received a Bachelors of Engineering degree in Electronics and Communications, then a Masters in Business Administration. He then worked in various telecom companies[specify] in India, the US, and Singapore before becoming an entrepreneur.[5][better source needed]
Shukla self-funded and created The Writers Block (TWB) in 2006, which provides technical writing programs.[6][7] The company employs a large number of women who had left jobs to raise children.[8]
Animal welfare[edit | edit source]
Shukla founded Voice of Stray Dogs (VOSD). In July 2010, it was merely a website.[9]
In response to media reports of the July 2011 death of a two-year-old boy named Sandeep, supposedly killed and eaten by stray dogs,[3] Shukla carried out his own investigations at the site, persuading the authorities to do a second autopsy.[3] He eventually finding evidence against the dogs being responsible.[3] After this, Shukla held a press conference under VOSD's name.[3]
With the eventual death of Cookie, a paralyzed St. Bernard found in garbage in Bangalore in September 2012,[10] Shukla established an independently funded dog rescue home under the auspices of VOSD.[11] VOSD began rescuing injured or ill dogs on 15 October 2012[9] and began emergency rescues on 16 October 2013.[12]
Recognition[edit | edit source]
For his work rescuing stray dogs, Shukla has been labeled "The Dogfather of India".[13][3] He has appeared on television, radio, and newspaper interviews speaking on behalf of dogs, including BBC,[11] Al Jazeera,[14] CNN IBN,[15] NDTV, and TED.[16]
VOSD ran a 2017 program called "PatriotDogs", which provides homes for dogs retiring from the Indian security and military forces. It got support from celebrities Virat Kohli[17] and Soha Ali Khan Pataudi,[18] and appeared in publications Times of India,[19] the New Indian Express,[20] MTV India,[21] and the Deccan Chronicle.[22]
Shukla was named one of Bangalore's Heroes in 2013.[3] He features in the book Real Inspiring Stories by Pradeep Khare.[23]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shekhar, Divya (15 June 2015). "Meet Rakesh Shukla: From a techie to being Bengaluru's dog rescuer". The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pandey, Geeta (19 December 2016). "The man who looks after 735 dogs". BBC News. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Madhukar, Jayanthi (21 October 2013). "The Dog Whisperer - Bangalore Mirror". bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ Mazumder, Tapasya Mitra (11 September 2014). "Dog Activists are 'Bitchy', Ergo..." Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ↑ "Rakesh Shukla, Founder & CEO, TWB_". LinkedIn.
- ↑ "The story of self-funding an enterprise". franchiseindia.com. 26 May 2010.
- ↑ "TWB gives chance to rewrite your success story". IIFL. 4 July 2013. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ↑ "Employers seek out stay-at-home moms - Livemint". www.livemint.com. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Datta, Sravasti (2 November 2015). "When man becomes a dog's best friend". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ "This Cookie refused to crumble - Bangalore Mirror -". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "The man who looks after 735 dogs". BBC News. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ↑ "What We Do". VOSD. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ↑ "In Pics: One Man is Giving Retired, Old Dogs a New Lease of Life". The Quint. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ "AJ+". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ Rakesh Shukla (17 December 2013), CNN IBN 'India Positive' features 'The Voice of Stray Dogs', retrieved 30 September 2017
- ↑ TEDx Talks (3 August 2017), Success, Wisdom and Dogs | Rakesh Shukla | TEDxICTMumbai, retrieved 30 September 2017
- ↑ Kohli, Virat (30 March 2017). "Help @VOSD1 bring home 100 #PatriotDogs! They spend their lives serving us, it's time to do something for them". @imVkohli. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ "Instagram post by Soha • Mar 13, 2017 at 6:20am UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ "A sanctuary where patriot dogs spend autumn years - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ "#Patriotdogs look for shelter and game of fetch". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ↑ "Retired Patriot Dogs have no adopters". MTV India. 23 March 2017.
- ↑ "Patriot Gains in Pooch land". Deccan Chronicle. 20 March 2017.
- ↑ ) Pradeep Khare, Maj. (Retd (January 2014). Real Inspiring Stories by Maj (Retd.) Pradeep Khare. ISBN 9788184302905.