The Cubbon Park Canines were the first squad to be established in Bengaluru, followed by the Cunningham Canine Squad. Presently, there are 63 more squads in the city dedicated to animal welfare. On World Animal Welfare Day, Bangalore Times shines a light on these groups that work tirelessly to improve the lives of animals, particularly those that are often neglected. Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, the founder of Bengaluru's canine squads, describes these groups as a safety net for animals, serving as advocates for their well-being. She emphasizes the importance of empowering people with knowledge to care for animals effectively. One of the goals of these squads is to educate the public on how to respond to abandoned or injured dogs. For instance, Mallika Ghosh from the CV Raman Nagar Canine Squad regularly shares essential emergency contact numbers to help people in such situations. The canine squads in Bengaluru focus on establishing local communities for animal care, addressing critical issues like neutering and vaccinations, promoting community participation in animal welfare, fostering a sense of community and trust, and collaborating with relevant authorities. Amidst the pandemic, there was a rise in abandoned dogs due to misinformation about Covid-19 transmission, as well as a halt in India's Animal Birth Control programme, leading to an increase in the stray dog population. Parvathi Prabhakar, a member of the Sadashivanagar Canine Squad, took proactive measures by neutering around 400 dogs to tackle this issue.She expresses that neutering is the sole solution to this issue."